Author: S.K. Chakravarthy

Surprise: In Money Matters, the Blind May Lead the Blind Better

Posted on by S.K. Chakravarthy

 

In a recent post, we saw how people across all socioeconomic categories heavily used their social networks to help them with their personal financial decisions. Interestingly, we also saw that the reliance on this network drops significantly as you climb up the ladder of wealth and status.

It would seem a matter of immense concern that those on the lower rungs, and presumably less financially savvy, would put themselves at risk of making decisions or taking actions that could hurt them financially. After all, how can the blind lead the blind effectively?

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Green Shoots of Hope: 5 Great Books for Women on Money

Posted on by S.K. Chakravarthy

 

Books on finance seem to be an evergreen source of advice and wisdom. About one in every five households reported relying on media including books for information to guide their financial actions and decisions. Yet, when one wades through the huge number of books on money whether they are targeted at women or not, it’s hard to find the few that stand out by taking a truly innovative and effective approach to an admittedly complex and intimidating topic.

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On Friends, Family and Finances

Posted on by S.K. Chakravarthy

 

Here’s a pop quiz: Did you ask a friend or family member the last time you were pondering a financial decision? Why or why not? And if you did, did you actually take their advice?

The field of sociology is not one we immediately connect with the world of hard numbers, money and finance. Yet, it feels intuitive and natural that friends and family must have some bearing on an individual’s financial and particularly investment and savings activities. But how to get an objective view? And more importantly, what does that objective view imply for specific groups or segments, such as women, for example?

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Getting Women to Invest : Low-hanging Fruit

Posted on by S.K. Chakravarthy

 

When looking at the problem of how to cross the seeming chasm of getting women to enter the arena of investing, the first ideas that come to mind are those to do with making investing simpler, easier or less intimidating.  Rarely is much thought given to what might appeal to already strong desires and drives that women have, and even less to existing products and ideas that might elegantly leverage this interest and energy to create better on-ramps for women to initiate investing activities.

There is one area of very low-hanging fruit that meets all these criteria – and puzzlingly remains highly under-utilized: the area of impact investing.

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