Turning heartbreak into inspiration

When you’re in a dark place, and can overcome the fear likely paralysing you, it can be a time of self-reflection. It is how multi-disciplined financial services expert, Julia Scott, emerged from a troubled period in her life with a new business, a desire to help others that had been in her situation, and a need to take control of her financial health.

It was divorce that started Julia on a different path. In her early 20’s she had been in a male-dominated financial services firm and had married one of the financial professionals, and promptly handed over control of their combined finances to her new husband – but not before she had been caught up in the testosterone-fuelled enthusiasm in the office and followed a tip to buy a small cap miner. Julia laughs as she recalls they all lost their money.

While her career continued, including stints in wealth management, investment advice and as a tax agent, it was the first and last investment Julia would make until she was divorced.

Julia says: “I had an epiphany, during my divorce I felt like a deer in headlights and my IQ dropped 50%, which is what happens when you’re stressed. I couldn’t make decisions and I couldn’t get hold of my finances and move forward. I thought, if that happens to me and I am a financial advisor, how the hell were others managing.”

The result was the creation of financial wellness business, Love Luck Wealth. It’s not a financial advice business, in fact, it’s more about education: “I wanted to help women not just default to handing over all their financial decisions to a male partner, says Julia. “I wanted them to get excited and pay attention to their money and learn how to invest, not just trade.”

Julia now helps women who are starting out in their career, through to women working through a divorce, or facing up to the loss of a husband. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the women who divorce from wealthy families need significant help and guidance, as coming to terms with a large sum of money for the first time can be quite daunting.

Julia believes, and there are research reports globally to support the thesis, that women make better investors because they research and analyse before committing. However, she says there can be a downside if there is over analysis that leads to paralysis with no action taken.

“Women must make decisions from their own point of power. If they don’t understand something they shouldn’t invest, and if an advisor can’t explain something to you, they’re not the right advisor for you. You need to be able to have a good relationship with anyone providing advice, know the ground rules, and be educated about what’s available to you,” says Julia.

To get clients started and show them how easy share platforms can be to use, Julia takes them through the nabtrade platform to show them how to do a buy order. She doesn’t provide advice on what to buy, instead she focuses on educating on different investment philosophies and the types of investments available: “Long term investing is a lot calmer and even boring, but investing should be boring.” she says. “Investing has a different vibe for women, for us it represents safety.”

Julia’s says: “Get all your fears out on the table, once you do that and act it’s surprising how fast they can vanish, allowing you to absorb the knowledge you need to take control and move forward from a positive place.”

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