THE MONEY MAKING GUIDE
had to learn a new system.’ She has ensured her nine children keep on top of money issues. Her youngest daughter, for example, knows the cost of ingredients for her latest hobby – making toy ‘slime’.
Morrissey has enough money these days not to worry about household bills, but it was not always so. She says: ‘It took me a long time to enjoy financial comfort, especially with all the childcare costs.’
Her first investment was in property, a flat purchased in 1988 just as the housing market peaked in advance of a colossal crash. It left many homeowners, including Morrissey, in negative equity. To add to the pain, mortgage rates shot up to 15 per cent. ‘In hindsight this proved a big motivator,’ she says. ‘It made me hungry to make money.’
A bit of serendipity helped improve her financial fortunes. She says. ‘I was sent to New York soon after joining Schroders. But because I was being paid in pounds the exchange rate worked in my favour. I managed to save that extra.’
Morrissey recognises that many young mums have other issues on their mind than saving for the future. But she wants to convey the message that investing little and often is the best strategy for building wealth.
She compares the approach to getting fit. She says: ‘I want to make women think about investing in the same way as they do about keeping fit and healthy. Doing regular steps, attending classes, making it part of the everyday routine.’
INVEST LITTLE AND OFTEN
SMALL beginnings might mean putting aside just £20 on a regular basis. She says: ‘If there is volatility in stock markets then do not worry as that can be an opportunity to invest for less.’
Just one in 10 fund managers are women. But when she looked a couple of years ago at who were the managers behind ‘environmental, social and governance’ funds – investments that buy shares in companies looking to make the world a better place – nearly two thirds were female. Unsurprisingly, this type of fund is also popular with women investors.
With this in mind, she masterminded the launch earlier this year of L&G’s Future World Gender in Leadership fund –dubbed the ‘Girl’ fund. It invests in those firms with good diversity profiles and aims to ‘empower investors to make a difference to the companies in which they invest and wider society’.
Experts such as Jason Hollands at broker Tilney believe there is a role for such an investment strategy. He adds: ‘This is a fund for those who want their money to have an influence.’
L&G also embraces younger females by sponsoring a new ‘saver badge’ with Girlguiding, the life skills organisation. She says: ‘The badge is about teaching girls about saving time, money and resources.’
Ultimately, she wants organising financial matters to slip neatly into women’s everyday life. She says: ‘It would be great if we could end up with everyone setting aside a couple of hours once a quarter to focus on finance. It would give women a sense of achievement and make them less worried about money.’
There is still a long way to go before the wealth gap between men and women is plugged. But as Morrissey unwraps her briefcase on Christmas Day she will be sending a powerful message. This working girl still means business.