What do women in construction need to know about finances you ask? Well, on February 8th, the BWiC committee brought together a panel of financial professionals from Brown Brothers Harriman to enlighten us.
So who is Brown Brothers Harriman? BBH is an almost 200 year old financial services firm with expertise in Private Banking, Investment Management, and Investor Services AND they have an exciting new company-wide initiative, the Center for Women & Wealth, very much aligned with the goals of the BWiC Committee!
So what did they have to say? Well, first they said, “Smart Women Plan Ahead.” This lead to a discussion on the importance of creating and maintaining an Emergency Fund and what it really means. They also discussed how to prioritize your spending as well as retirement planning and how imperative it is to start early.
But what else? We learned that a Personal Balance Sheet is a key tool to understanding our assets, liabilities, and net worth and how a good balance of all these things can keep us financially sound. And then we talked about investing and got some tips on what to think about when doing so (bonds vs. stocks, equity, inflation and the ever changing financial markets).
The panelists finished up with Estate Planning, its purpose, and covered topics including Life Insurance, the Estate Tax, Wills, and Healthcare Proxys and what these things really mean.
Wow, that’s a lot to digest, huh? I think everyone in the room appreciated the great amount of information we squeezed into our session and for most of us, it lit a fire under our bums or maybe highlighted what we wish we had known 10 years ago. All in all, it was a great session and left us feeling empowered!
So who is Brown Brothers Harriman? BBH is an almost 200 year old financial services firm with expertise in Private Banking, Investment Management, and Investor Services AND they have an exciting new company-wide initiative, the Center for Women & Wealth, very much aligned with the goals of the BWiC Committee!
So what did they have to say? Well, first they said, “Smart Women Plan Ahead.” This lead to a discussion on the importance of creating and maintaining an Emergency Fund and what it really means. They also discussed how to prioritize your spending as well as retirement planning and how imperative it is to start early.
But what else? We learned that a Personal Balance Sheet is a key tool to understanding our assets, liabilities, and net worth and how a good balance of all these things can keep us financially sound. And then we talked about investing and got some tips on what to think about when doing so (bonds vs. stocks, equity, inflation and the ever changing financial markets).
The panelists finished up with Estate Planning, its purpose, and covered topics including Life Insurance, the Estate Tax, Wills, and Healthcare Proxys and what these things really mean.
Wow, that’s a lot to digest, huh? I think everyone in the room appreciated the great amount of information we squeezed into our session and for most of us, it lit a fire under our bums or maybe highlighted what we wish we had known 10 years ago. All in all, it was a great session and left us feeling empowered!
