Financial literacy campaign in second year
La Trobe Financial is supporting a campaign in partnership with Are Media to improve women’s financial literacy and wellbeing.
One of the pillars of the La Trobe Financial Charitable Foundation is financial literacy for women. Currently in its second year, the campaign aims to support women in their quest for financial wellbeing.
Through the charitable foundation, La Trobe Financial recently launched a six-month campaign in which several educational features were published within Are Media publications The Australian Women’s Weekly and Better Homes and Gardens.
The campaign was followed up with sell-out events in Sydney and Melbourne, which included a panel session with La Trobe Financial incoming CEO Chris Andrews and Australian financial commentator and author of Ditch the Debt and Get Rich, Effie Zahos (pictured above centre).
Read more: La Trobe Financial: How COVID-19 has changed the economy
La Trobe Financial director ESG and international partnerships Caterina Nesci (pictured below) told MPA the goal of the campaign was to provide a platform for women to improve their financial literacy and empower them to take control of their finances.
After coming up with the campaign concept, the credit asset manager partnered with Are Media to communicate key messages to readers.
Research conducted during the campaign showed 42% of respondents experienced financial concerns and hardships due to the impacts of COVID-19.
La Trobe Financial operates within the financial services industry, and Nesci said as financial wellbeing is a growing issue, the partnership and campaign made sense.
“COVID-19 was tough … what we’re trying to do for those situations in the future is to help people take control,” Nesci said.
While Nesci acknowledged her parents for instilling personal financial literacy from a young age, she said people started out in life with varying levels of knowledge.
A lot of women have taken control of the family and home. Depending on how couples choose to operate and manage family roles, family finances may fall more within the domain of one spouse rather than being handled together.
The aim of the campaign was to educate and empower women to take control, so they feel empowered irrespective of the circumstances that life may bring, she said.
“No matter what age [or] stage of life, you can always do something good for your wealth and build your knowledge,” Nesci said.
The La Trobe Financial Charitable Foundation was first launched in 1978, starting out with scholarships for borrowers’ and investors’ children.
Over the years, the charitable foundation has evolved along with the events impacting Australians. More recently, the foundation has donated funds to causes such as the bushfires and the Australian Red Cross, Nesci said.
“It’s about supporting communities … when you support communities, the economy benefits as well,” Nesci said.
La Trobe Financial is partnering with The Australian Women’s Weekly to sponsor the upcoming Women of the Future Awards, giving young and inspiring women the opportunity to pitch projects that improve the community, deliver innovation and/or make a positive difference.
Read more: Call for diversity as female broker numbers dwindle
For women wanting to progress their financial knowledge and wellbeing, including brokers working with female clients, Nesci said the top three financial literacy tips shared at the events were:
- Take control earlier than later: Begin the journey of building wealth as early as possible. This includes being “financially alert” from an early age and sharing knowledge with children
- Diversify investments: Choose investments aligned to personal financial goals and aim to spread money over a number of asset classes
- Start small and build up: Start saving a small amount to create positive habits and a savings discipline. Use the effects of compound interest to build money over time
“By starting those small habits, as early as possible, when [people] do have a mortgage, it’s not so intimidating,” Nesci said.
In operation for 70 years, La Trobe Financial is an asset manager offering home loans and investments. It works with brokers, offering their clients a broad range of home loan options.
