On Thursday 23 March Mishcon de Reya hosted an event with WealthiHer, discussing 'Matters of the Heart'.
The Panel included:
Tamara Gillan, Founder of WealthiHer; Barbara Reeves, Partner and Head of Family at Mishcon de Reya; Maya Prabhu, Managing Director and Head of Wealth Advisory for the EMEA region at J.P. Morgan Private Bank; and Marcie Shaoul, Founder and Director of The Co-Parent Way.
The panellists explored the interaction between love and money, and how women can best navigate the different stages of their relationships to enable themselves and their families to make prosperous and protective financial decisions. Establishing and maintaining financial independence was a key tenet of the discussion. Indeed, financial independence has been shown to be the biggest driver of self-esteem for women and foremost contributor to overall female wellbeing. The panellists discussed the need for women to educate themselves about their legal and financial standing throughout a relationship, and how professional advice can help women get through the financial and legal complexities of relationships.
Another key theme that arose was the importance of communication between partners around their finances and respective intentions. This is supported by research run by WealthiHer, which shows that 85% of people in relationships felt that having similar financial goals was a must for healthy, long-term relationships. The panellists concurred on the necessity of having what have typically been regarded as difficult conversations around money, and noted that if couples can't have the conversations in the good times, it will be even harder in difficult times.