Entrepreneur Gaëlle Haag, The NETWORK Team Up to Offer Investment Advice to Women

On Wednesday evening, The NETWORK, Luxembourg's oldest international professional business women's association, held an in-person event dedicated to "Financial Wellness and Taking Control of Investments" at the Luxembourg School of Business (LSB) in Luxembourg-Eich.

The aim of this event was to encourage women to take charge of their finances and invest their hard-earned money savvily and make the most of their investments.

The guest speaker at this event was Gaëlle Haag, CEO and Founder of StarTalers and Capitana, who shared her investment tips with participants, about 10% of whom already considered themselves an investor (according to a show of hands in response to Ms Haag's question on the subject).

Gaëlle Haag emphasised the importance of just getting started and learning by doing, as well as putting a concrete amount (of money) behind one's dream(s) in order to make it tangible. She warned against getting involved in "get-rich-quick" schemes and advised those interested in (or already) investing to take into account their personal background and goals.

Through participatory mind mapping and journalling exercises, participants reflected on questions such as "What comes to your mind when you hear the terms 'money' or 'investing'?", "Do you like or dislike money?", "Can you trust money?" and "What does your effortless financially free future look like?". They also reflected on and later discussed together the following two statements: "Look back at your upbringing, culture and your current environment in relation to money. Become aware of ideas that might not be yours" and "Write a love letter to money. Why do you appreciate it? How can you be a good steward to it?" Regarding the latter, Christine Hansen, Events Director at The NETWORK, recalled that money is neither good or bad, rather it depends on what one does with it.

Gaëlle Haag later presented her responsible investment platform for women: Capitana. She explained that there are different ways to invest via the platform, which offers fully digital onboarding, depending on whether one wishes to "go it alone" or be accompanied by an adviser along the way. She added that the platform is goal-based, meaning the investment goals of potential investors determines their investment journey. Ms Haag also noted that many people, particularly women, remain reluctant to invest due to the fear of risk. However, she recalled that risk is not always bad; "investment is about managing risk". She added that "risk is a muscle", so taking risks (such as those associated with investing) becomes less daunting over time. Capitana actively avoids investing (directly or indirectly) in fossil fuels or weapons.

The NETWORK's President Mariana Florea concluded by expressing her hope that participants had learnt more about how to take better control of their finances through this event, which was followed by networking over food and drinks.

For its June event, The NETWORK will be joined by Mental Fitness & Executive Coach Jill Saville, who will share her tips on "how to get out of your own way". Further details to follow.