Tracey Sofra CFP® is taking the message of self-belief and empowerment to women in regional Australia.

Name: Tracey Sofra CFP^®

Position: Partner and Financial Planner

Practice: Sofcorp Financial Services

Licensee: Consultum

CFP^® Certification: May 2001

Years as a financial planner: 19 years

It’s not easy pinning Tracey Sofra down for a chat. She’s a bit of a whirlwind. If she’s not taking care of her 150-180 clients, she’s organising another workshop for regional Victorian women or speaking at another event. In fact, it’s talking to women about women that this 53-year-old feels most comfortable.

“The most pleasure I get is being in a room with women and sharing my knowledge and experiences with them,” Tracey says, “and then seeing the difference this makes to their lives.”

Tracey, along with her husband, is a partner of two Shepparton-based businesses: Sofra Partners Chartered Accountants, an accounting business started in 1995, and Sofcorp Financial Services – a financial planning business launched in Shepparton in 1999. And it’s at Sofcorp where she spends most of her time advising clients now.

In addition to the standard smorgasbord of financial planning services on offer at Sofcorp, it’s in her capacity as a coach and mentor of women that Tracey truly thrives. In fact, she specialises in women’s financial issues and is passionate about empowering and inspiring women to be the best version of themselves.

As the youngest of five girls in the family, she credits her father for instilling within her this strong advocacy for women.

“Dad didn’t have any sons, so he certainly made sure his daughters were assertive and tough enough to get by in the world. And as migrants, moving to Australia from Turkey when I was only five, we had lots of challenges to deal with, which helped make us all the strong and determined women we are today.”

A deeper connection

But on a personal level, Tracey has always been able to connect with women on a deeper level. Growing up, she was always intrigued that there were many girls who didn’t have self-confidence or self-belief in themselves, but she would always encourage them.

“It’s just a part of who I am and the way in which I was raised. And when you get into a position where you are fortunate in being able to help others, then why wouldn’t you?”

Tracey’s empathy and self-awareness has helped shaped her professionally, where today she specialises in advising women on their financial issues. In fact, she is a passionate advocate of women advising women.

“I think the key to improving the financial wellbeing of women is for other experienced women to advise them,” she says. “Women need to support other women, and if they don’t, then collectively, we are going to struggle for another 150 years.”

She believes the key to this is the way in which women communicate.

“We communicate in the same way and understand each other’s language,” Tracey says. “Women are way more complicated than blokes and we communicate in different ways. So, women understand women. That’s why women need to encourage and support each other to reach our goals.

“It’s incredibly important for women to understand that every other woman around them is a potential support. So, being able to have a variation of perspectives from different women enriches the way you do things. It’s these shared perspectives that can help women achieve their objectives.”

WOW Women

Tracey’s passionate advocacy of women, particularly regional women, led her to set up the Women of the World (WOW) network – or WOW Women – in 2015.

“Living in regional Victoria, you do feel isolated at times. So, to address this, I saw a need to connect with business, professional and entrepreneurial women in my local community who were like-minded, where we could support, encourage, empower and support each other. This led me to launch WOW in 2015,” Tracey says.

WOW is a membership based group for regional women, where members network at events, learn from each other through business forums and workshops, share experiences through social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, and give back to the community through the WOW Women Education Scholarships that supports young regional women with their tertiary education.

Tracey has set herself a target of organising seven WOW events this year, comprising of three workshops, two cocktail functions, one members’ dinner and the annual fundraiser luncheon in May.

“This year’s keynote speaker for our fundraiser was journalist and advocate, Tracey Spicer. And the lunch also included a panel of three local women who shared their stories and challenges. I try to make sure there is a fair bit of diversity on the panel, so everybody attending the luncheon can connect with someone at some level.”

All the proceeds from the fundraiser helps fund the WOW Women Education Scholarships, which assists regional young women with their tertiary education funding.

Over the last three years, WOW has provided seven scholarships, and this year, Tracey is expecting to offer another two or three.

“I’m a great advocate of women and education, so to empower women through education is a wonderful cause to be a part of.”

But why do it? Why set up WOW Women?

For Tracey, it’s all about women sharing and supporting each other.

“I did it because I felt compelled to share everything I have in my heart and in my head with other women. I want to be a part of this amazing movement of raising up women, and encouraging and supporting them in whatever they choose to do.”

This strong advocacy also encouraged Tracey to put pen to paper, with her first book – Finding Financial Freedom – published in May 2016. The book was inspired by Tracey’s educational money program called: The Eight Week Financial Transformation.

“This book is my way of taking what I’ve learnt as a financial planner and breaking it down into eight easily digestible modules. The book has really helped to change people’s lives for the better. So, to empower women through financial education is absolutely fundamental to who I am and what I do.”

The power of self-belief

Yet, it’s no secret that women are behind the eight ball when it comes to their superannuation and retirement savings. And while much is being done to rectify this, Tracey accepts the profession needs to do more to promote greater engagement by women in the financial planning process.

However, she concedes it’s a tough problem and believes the profession still hasn’t articulated a strong enough message to women about the importance of financial planning.

Instead, she believes women in the profession need to collectively come together to create greater awareness around the need for Australian women to embrace and take responsibility for their own financial future.

“Individually, we all need to step up. Just like I’m doing with the WOW Women workshops, we need to promote that message constantly to women everywhere. But it’s not an easy sell. In fact, it’s a really tough sell that is going to take time and a lot of persistence.

“Society is a lot more tolerant to how women choose to live. And whilst perceptions are changing, I’m still not sure most women have caught up with this changing attitude and properly understand that if they are financially independent and not reliant on a husband or someone else, then they can do whatever they want.

“So, the minute you become financially independent and in control of your own money, you have self-power and self-belief.”

For Tracey, self-belief is about giving women the confidence they need to know they can make major financial decisions on their own.

“Statistics show that women lack confidence in making major financial decisions. Yet, when we look at the home front – like budgeting, paying household bills, buying the groceries and paying the school fess – women are absolutely fantastic at doing this.

“But when it comes to making major financial decisions, like superannuation, they shy away. And that shows a strong lack of confidence, which is part of the self-belief piece,” Tracey says.

“The self-esteem piece, comes from the self-belief piece, that comes from self-confidence – it’s all intertwined.”

Career engagement

And with only about 20 per cent of planners in Australia being female, Tracey believes the profession needs to step up in how it engages with and encourages more women to seek a career in financial planning.

“Financial planning is a brilliant career choice. Women need more financial planning advice. And when they seek it, they are looking for other women to provide that professional advice. But where are all the female financial planners? There’s just not enough of them,” she says.

“I know the FPA and other organisations are working on a number of initiatives to promote greater gender diversity in the profession and encourage more women to consider financial planning as a career. But there is always more that needs to be done.

“Personally, I think having a blend of men and women in the office is brilliant. As a woman, I love bouncing ideas off my male colleagues and getting their perspectives on issues. So, I think gender diversity in the office is important, but I also believe that women are more nurturing and do have a different way of advising than men.

“As a planner, financial planning is about bringing yourself to the table for your clients. When I advise my clients, it’s not just about my expertise and knowledge, but also about who I am as an individual. Being open, honest and relatable in your advice is what’s going to help your clients the most – and that’s something that women are great at bringing to the table.”

Skin on the table

While Tracey confesses to not having had too many challenges put in her way as a woman in the profession, she does believe the constant evolution of the profession remains the key challenge for all planners.

“The financial planning profession is going though a metamorphosis. Ever since I’ve been in the profession, there’s been nothing but constant change. And having come from an accounting background, I don’t have a chip on my shoulder about professionalising the industry, because that’s where we’re heading.”

But what about specific challenges facing women in the profession?

“For me, it’s about getting the message out to more women about the value of advice. That’s something we need to be more proactive about, which includes promoting our achievements.”

As an example, she refers to her 2017 Money Management Financial Planner of the Year Award she won and being a finalist in the AFA ‘Female Excellence in Advice’ award. “Winning awards is great and gives credibility, but shouldn’t we be doing something more with them?,” she says.

“There needs to be some skin on the table. Award givers need to do a better job working with the recipients in using the awards as a way to coach, mentor or engage with the community. There definitely needs to be more proactivity in our profession.”

The next decade

Through her involvement with WOW Women, her focus on helping and supporting regional women, financial literacy and assisting young women in their tertiary studies, it’s easy to forget that Tracey is also running a financial planning practice. The Shepparton CFP^® packs a lot into her day. And as we edge closer to the next decade, she doesn’t see things slowing down.

“I want to focus more on the advocacy side of planning, which means doing more speaking engagements and workshops with women. I want to use all my knowledge and experience in ways that will encourage and support other people, especially women, both in regional Australia and nationwide.

“In fact, the most amount of pleasure I get is being in a room with women and sharing everything I have with them, and then seeing the difference this makes to their lives. Now, that’s empowerment!”