WEALTHTRACK WOMEN

WOMEN MAKING IT ON WALL STREET

June 2, 2022

Part 2 of 2

Candid career advice from three super successful women portfolio managers. Causeway Capital’s Sarah Ketterer, Capital Group’s Karen Choi, and Canyon Partner’s Robin Potts share their victories, setbacks and strategies as they tear down the pink wall.

THREE INVESTMENT PROS DISCUSS THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES EMERGING FROM THE MARKETS’ VOLATILITY

May 27, 2022

Part 1 of 2

The investment opportunities surfacing in the volatile stock, bond, and real estate markets. Causeway Capital’s Sarah Ketterer, Capital Group’s Karen Choi, and Canyon Partner’s Robin Potts share their perspectives.

WIDOWHOOD: THE MOST TRAUMATIC TRANSITION OF ALL

September 10, 2014

Of all the transitions women go through — marriage, childbirth, divorce — becoming a widow quite likely is the most traumatic. Advising recently-widowed female investors is emotionally draining, our financial advisors say. Having previously looked at the need for women investors to think of themselves as “pre-widows” before their husbands die, WEALTHTRACK WOMEN now looks at what new widows must do, and just as importantly, what they should not do, at least not before the grieving subsides.

What New Widows “Must” And “Should Not” Do

There are certain things a new widow must do. Just as important, there are many things she should not do, at least not for several months, says Maura Griffin of Blue Spark Capital Advisors in New York.

More On Do’s and Don’ts:

The Financial Mistakes Widows Make and How to Avoid Them

Kiplinger: A To-Do List for Widows

It’s OK To Disagree With Your Dead Husband

Some widows feel it’s wrong to disagree with their dead husband, says Debbie Taylor of Taylor Financial Group in Franklin Lakes, NJ. But as the grief fades, they are able to start charting their own financial course — and even enjoy the process.

More On Going Your Own Way as a Widow:

The Widow’s Guide to Social Security Benefits

MoneyWise Widow

Advisers Must Overcome Grieving Widows’ Disinterest

Many recently-widowed women need help just figuring out what papers are important, says Eve Kaplan of Kaplan Financial Advisors in Berkeley Heights, NJ. She emphasizes that many are so overcome with grief, they have zero interest in planning their financial future, and so their advisers must (gently) push them to take the next step.

More On Advice for Widows:

Forbes: Sudden Loss; Financial Advice for Widows

CNBC: Sound Advice for the Recently Widowed

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

DORIE FAIN

AndWealth

Ms. Fain runs a boutique financial advisory firm for a select group of women who are managing their new-found finances for the first time. She spent 12 years at Smith Barney, where she was the youngest woman ever hired into their training program.

MAURA GRIFFIN

Blue Spark Capital Advisors

Ms. Griffin has more than 20 years experience in the financial services industry, including stints at UBS Equities Research and Citigroup Private Bank. A graduate of Georgetown University, she is a Certified Financial Planner.

JENNIFER HATCH

Christopher Street Financial

Ms. Hatch has more than 20 years of Wall Street experience, including stints at JP Morgan and Bear Stearns, where she specialized in high yield bonds and international equities. She is a Certified Financial Planner dedicated to solving the financial dilemmas of same-sex couples.

EVE KAPLAN

Kaplan Financial Advisors

Before starting her own firm, Ms. Kaplan spent many years in international finance in New York, Tokyo, Singapore, and Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, she managed nearly $1 billion in invested equities.

Columns on The Alternative Press

Contributions to Forbes

HOW YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN CAN GO OFF COURSE

July 16, 2014

Like potholes on a highway, there are lots of ways your financial plan can go off course. Part of a financial advisor’s job is to teach you how to drive defensively so that your financial plan doesn’t end up in a ditch.

Most People Don’t Complete Their Estate Plans

Gay or straight, when it comes to wills and estate planning, people have a hard time finishing what they start, says Jennifer Hatch of New York-based Christopher Street Financial, which specializes in LGBT clients.

More On Completing Financial Plans: Women Say Financial Planning Too “Stressful”

Student Debt Can Ruin All Your Dreams

Eve Kaplan of Kaplan Financial Advisors in Berkeley Heights, NJ has clients in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s who can’t afford to buy that nice house they want or, for that matter, do much of anything that costs money, because of the unending burden of student debt. Can their dreams be saved?

More On Student Debt:

Forbes: $1 Trillion Student Debt Problem Worsening

CNBC Special Report: The College Debt Crisis

You Need to Think of Yourself as a “Pre-Widow”

Think of it as pre-widowhood, that time when your husband is starting to falter and it’s becoming increasingly clear you’re going to be left in charge of your own finances. As a pre-widow, you need to prepare for what’s to come, no matter how unpleasant the thought, says Debbie Taylor of Taylor Financial Group in Franklin Lakes, NJ.

More On Pre-Widowhood:

Pre-Widowhood “Preparation Guide”

Survivor’s “Checklist”

For Working Moms, Flexibility is the “Key to the Whole Puzzle”

Beware, single moms: the traditional corporate workplace can not or will not accommodate a woman’s need to work and raise kids at the same time, says Dorie Fain of AndWealth in New York. Above all else, says Fain, a single mom herself, you have to build flexibility into your life . . . and accept that you can’t “have it all.”

More On Moms’ Need For Flexibility:

Six Steps to a Schedule with Flexible Hours

Would Work Flexibility Make You a Better Mom?

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Before starting her own firm, Ms. Kaplan spent many years in international finance in New York, Tokyo, Singapore, and Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, she managed nearly $1 billion in invested equities.

Columns on The Alternative Press

Contributions to Forbes

DEBRA TAYLOR

Columns on The Alternative Press

Contributions to Forbes

PRENUPS MAKE A LOT OF $ENSE

May 29, 2014

With roughly half of all marriages ending in divorce, prenuptial agreements should be part of a woman’s financial thinking and planning, according to our financial advisers. As unromantic as it sounds, a woman needs to think of marriage — especially if she has significant assets of her own — as a financial transaction. Negotiating a prenup can be an ugly process, our advisers warn, adding that if things get ugly, that can be a signal of how the marriage itself will turn out.

Who Gets Grandma’s Lamp?

Prenuptial agreements are highly personalized and can get very specific regarding who gets what in a divorce, says Dorie Fain of AndWealth in New York.

More On Prenup Basics:

Why Every Woman Should Get a Prenup

Add a Prenup to Your Retirement Plan

Everything You Need to Know about a Prenup

Oprah.com: Prenup? Yup.

How to Bring Up a Prenup

Can Child Custody be Addressed in a Prenup?

We Call It the “Bimbo Clause”

Whether you’re planning a traditional or same-sex marriage, among the most important details of your prenuptial agreement is what Jennifer Hatch of Christopher Street Financial calls “The Bimbo Clause,” as she explains in describing her own same-sex marriage.

More On Prenup Infidelity Clause:

Do You Need an Infidelity Clause?

Can Infidelity Clause Deter Spouse from Cheating?

Legal Issues Regarding Infidelity Clauses

Infidelity Clauses May be Less Effective Than You Think

No Pre-Nup? How about a Post-Nup?

Jennifer Hatch of New York-based Christopher Street Financial sees a lot of value in a pre-nup. When there’s no pre-nup, a post-nup may do the job.

More On Postnup Agreements:

What’s a Postnup? Do You Need One?

Why Stay-at-Home Moms Need a Postnup

Postnups More Popular, but They’re Not for Everyone

Can a Postnup Save a Marriage?

Remarrying? Prenup Essential. Process Can be “Horrible”

The first piece of advice that Debra Taylor of Taylor Financial Group gives a woman considering remarriage is to get a prenup, no matter how difficult the negotiating process may become. And, boy, can it get difficult, she warns.

More On Prenups & Remarriage:

Remarriage and Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial Agreements for 2nd Marriage Seniors

Think Through Second Marriage Prenup

Protecting Your Child’s Inheritance in a 2nd Marriage

Private Trusts & Premarital Agreements in Remarriage

Ugly Prenup Process Can Foretell Ugly Marriage

Women should keep a close eye on the attorney their future spouse picks to represent him in prenup negotiations, advises Dorie Fain of AndWealth in New York. If the lawyer is contentious and/or condescending, that can be a tipoff about how the marriage will go.

More On Prenup Process:

5 Reasons Why Your Prenup Might Be Invalid

10 Most Common Mistakes of Negotiating a Prenup

Surviving Prenuptial Agreements