Financial Planning

A better future

22 June 2020

Money & Life team

Money & Life contributors draw on their diverse range of experience to present you with insights and guidance that will help you manage your financial wellbeing, achieve your lifestyle goals and plan for your financial future.

The five core values at Lumix Wealth are providing women with the framework to build a more rewarding future. Joanna Ryan CFP® talks to Jayson Forrest. 

Name: Joanna Ryan CFP®

Position: Managing Director and Founder

Practice: Lumix Wealth

Licensee: Lumix Wealth

Years as a planner: 20 years

There’s something a little bit special about Lumix Wealth. It’s not that the financial advice business specialises in providing tailored advice to business professionals and entrepreneurs, nor is it the raft of awards the business’s founder and managing director, Joanna Ryan CFP® has received over the years.

What sets this boutique Sydney-based practice apart from others is its sole focus on the financial wellbeing of women.

As Joanna says, it’s about the business being involved across all its clients’ money decisions – from building wealth and holding onto it, to empowering women to be in control and enjoying their financial journey, to assisting women create a lasting legacy through philanthropic giving or generational wealth transfer.

The staff of four, including two practitioners, currently oversee just over 100 client relationships, which Joanna says is ideal for the size of the business.

Advice specialisation

Although the clients of Lumix Wealth are successful and often highly educated professional women, Joanna cautions by saying that doesn’t mean all these women are financially savvy.

“I work with a lot of accountants, lawyers, engineers and women in government, but when it comes to money matters, many of these women lack the knowledge and confidence to make informed long-term financial decisions.

“In fact, one of the big challenges when it comes to working with women is they are not giving enough thought to the long-term. Unlike men who are generally comfortable talking about their investments, these aren’t the types of conversations women have,” Joanna says.

“And that’s because of the many roles women take on, like being the primary family caregiver, where they have more immediate needs to worry about. Unfortunately, all too often, this prevents them from thinking about their own future.”

Understanding and empathising with the difficulties women face everyday in securing their own financial wellbeing was the motivation for Joanna to specialise in advice to women. It’s a decision she does not regret.

“When I first started this business, it was the stories from women that resonated with me. Their needs are challenging and complex. They tend to be less confident with their finances, they take longer to make financial decisions, and it takes time for them to trust you.”

What particularly touched Joanna was the fact that women already knew they were behind the eight ball in so many ways, like salary inequality and lower superannuation savings.

“Women are vulnerable. They’ve had interrupted careers, having to give up income and their capacity to save, in order to care for others, like their children or ageing parents,” she says.

“Female poverty is a very real issue in Australia. But by working with women, I know I can make a meaningful difference in helping them achieve their financial wellbeing.”

Five core values

Joanna doesn’t believe it’s too hard to stand out from the crowd when you do something really well and importantly, you live by the values you espouse. The CFP® practitioner has set the foundations of her business on five core values, which Joanna believes go to the heart of addressing the financial inequality of women, and which defines Lumix Wealth. They are:

1. Focusing on women, not just finances

Women operate differently to men when it comes to money matters. By understanding their lifestyle, needs and goals, Lumix Wealth is able to help women build a blueprint for a better future, and support them every step of the way.

2. Helping women believe they can do it, because they can

The practice firmly believes in inspiring women and giving them the confidence they need to achieve their financial goals, now and in the future. As Joanna says: “If you believe you can do it, you’re half way there. We focus on instilling women with a sense of belief that they absolutely can succeed financially.”

3. When you know better, you do better

According to Joanna, unfortunately, women are often financially unprepared. They don’t have confidence in their financial knowledge, don’t devote time to their financial affairs and avoid involvement in money because they find it too complicated, confusing and sometimes even overwhelming. Therefore, the practice actively educates women, so their fears dissipate and they have a healthy relationship with money.

4. Supporting women in achieving their goals

Financial planning is not just about gaining money, it’s about opening the door of opportunity and giving women choices. “We guide women on their journey from uncertainty to independence.”

5. Women dealing with women

“We understand women, because that’s who we are,” says Joanna. “We’re a team of women, for women.”

Joanna says that by embracing these five core values, it makes the business think more deeply about how things are done at Lumix Wealth.

“We’re a very hands-on practice. Everything we do in the business is centred on these five values and how we help our clients feel more confident and enjoy the journey of money.”

Money coach

One of the ways Joanna improves the confidence of her clients and their journey with money, is by talking about their ‘financial wellbeing’. In fact, it’s a term often used by the team at Lumix Wealth.

“We work closely with our clients on their attitude to money, their resilience to change, and their goals and aspirations,” says Joanna. “We aim to set our clients up as best as possible, both financially and psychologically, to enable them to absorb short-term financial shocks, like the current COVID-19 pandemic, while setting them up for their long-term future.”

And it’s through this intimate relationship Lumix Wealth has with its clients that Joanna is at ease describing herself as a money coach, mentor and financial educator, just as she is with using the term financial planner.

“I actually see my role with clients as their money coach and mentor, where I help clients manage the money they have now, so they feel confident that the decisions they are making now and for the future, make sense,” she says.

“Being a money coach and mentor allows me to work with my clients on their own unique financial journeys, because everybody’s journey is different. As a coach and mentor, it’s about giving women the permission to make this their own journey, and to be satisfied with the journey they have set up for themselves.”

And as a coach, Joanna actively encourages her clients to talk about their experience with money – both good and bad – as part of empowering them with their own financial journeys and decision-making.

“Because women, as caregivers, often have to think beyond themselves, it’s important to provide a safe environment in which they can openly talk about money without fear of judgement. That’s why it’s important to talk about everything with the client, with no topic off limits.”

Advice packages

To help her clients achieve their journeys and financial wellbeing, Lumix Wealth offers three fixed fee packages for clients to choose from – Essentials, Classic and Premium. According to Joanna, these packages give clients the flexibility to chose how they wish to engage with the business.

The Essentials package is aimed at women who are focused on reaching their long-term goals and who are keen to ensure the choices they make are consistent with their goals and values. This service works on the client’s cashflow and balance sheet to assist them in achieving their goals.

The Classic package is suitable for women who may have more complexity around their financial situation. These clients tend to have direct equity holdings, complex trust structures, self-managed super funds or are involved in charitable giving.

However, the Premium package is a higher touch service for women seeking closer involvement with their money, including meeting fund managers, attending investment briefings and being intricately involved with their decisions every step along the way.

And while Joanna concedes the Premium package does require a higher level of client servicing, it targets a specific niche of clients who want much closer involvement with the money management process.

Lumix Wealth is also committed to giving back to the community, which it does through its pro bono program. The program is available to Premium package clients, who nominate a candidate in difficult financial circumstances to receive access to the practice’s professional services.

“We also want to make a difference in our local community and do so by supporting Mary’s House – a shelter that supports women and their children who are victims of domestic violence,” says Joanna.

More needs to be done

While Joanna believes financial planning advice is important for everybody, she particularly believes it’s important for women, because structurally, the system works against them. “Women often earn less, they have interrupted careers, they retire earlier, and they live longer.”

So, to better help women with their financial needs and objectives, Joanna believes the profession needs to step up on two areas: more female practitioners and a fairer superannuation system for women.

She explains: “Women typically want to deal with other women. They feel more comfortable around other women. But women only represent about one-fifth of practitioners in the profession, so more needs to be done to encourage women to seek a career in financial planning.”

Also on Joanna’s wish list is greater reform of the Australian superannuation system.

“We all want women to be given equal chances in what they do. But women never realise the massive impact of taking time out of the workforce to raise a family will have on them, both financially and emotionally,” Joanna says.

“So, we desperately need to make the superannuation system fairer for women. When people take career breaks to raise a family, which is a benefit to society, we need to ensure that women and men are not adversely affected financially by doing that.

“There is a ripple effect of taking time out of the workforce. When people have less money and when that money doesn’t grow for a long time, people become disengaged with their finances. And when that happens, you’ve lost them.”

Accept the opportunity

For any practitioners considering specialising on the advice needs of women, Joanna has some simple advice: “You should definitely do it!

“Women are the most rewarding clients to work with, and everybody benefits from women being looked after financially.”

With many businesses claiming to specialise in working with women, Joanna believes there is still plenty of room for other practices to focus on the financial needs and wellbeing of women. But she does concede it can be a slower journey for practitioners, as it generally takes women longer to feel confident about who they can trust to work with.

“Planners need to understand that women don’t want to be rushed into making decisions. You need to be patient and work to their individual circumstances, and not provide a cookie-cutter approach to your advice offering.

“And you need to be non-judgemental. I have clients who are married, divorced, widowed and single. But they all share something in common; they’re all going to have a financial future.”

Joanna advises practitioners to steer away from stereotypes when dealing with women.

“Relationships have changed. Society has changed. There are more people today who feel that the stereotypical ‘happy couples’ messaging on marketing brochures don’t apply to them. They feel offended by that presumption, and so they should.”

She adds: “Consider your marketing material and messaging for women. Drop the stereotypes and be sensitive to women, because they really do need your help.”