Alix de Renty, co-founder of Oddo BHF’s The Ladies Bank; “Not investing money today is equivalent to losing it.”

Madame Figaro. -Women, even the most informed ones, you mention, still postpone the moment of developing an investment strategy for their money. Why is it urgent to get started?

Alix de Rentie. – Today, not investing money in all aspects, especially in the conditions of inflation, is equivalent to losing money. Meanwhile, by making just a few simple decisions, you can double your investment in ten years… Constantly postponing the moment to address this topic only brings negative things; in case of business sale, taxation will be less attractive; it will be more difficult in case of divorce, etc. Reviewing your marital regime, the legal part of your finances (how do I own my business, how do I structure my holding company), or even the tax aspect (how do I manage my savings) can greatly improve the future. It is not only about unpleasant things. very often, couples married under the regime of property division want, for example, to leave their spouse more than what is provided for in the marriage contract, in case of death. In 90% of cases, there is no correspondence between what each person was thinking of doing fifteen years ago and the vision he has for life today. However, not revising your prenuptial agreement mostly has a negative effect on women.

What to install without delay?

The least painful thing to do when you’re living as a couple is to grab a big Excel spreadsheet and write down everything you own, separately and together. Income, assets (real estate, savings, investments, etc.). What kind of foresight do you have? As death insurance. How many accounts does your spouse have and how are their savings distributed? Most of the time we have absolutely no idea how to answer these questions, hence the importance of clarifying the topic. I also recommend writing the account numbers and advisor contact information in this same document. Then ask yourself: what is the liquid part of the whole (listed investments, readily available money, etc.) You can put in the A book or LDD the money you need for entertainment for the year, or from which you can borrow to improve your daily life.

For the remainder, check that this liquid portion is invested through tax envelopes such as PEA and life insurance. You can also improve returns by taking more risk. the investment would then be long-term and illiquid. You can also deduct bonuses from your income, as well as day-to-day expenses such as food, rent, babysitting, to assess whether you can take on a little more debt, such as rental investments. For the first time, this exercise of research and information gathering is quite tedious. But after that it is enough to update this table every year. Organizing your legacy gives it meaning. Once they realize what we’re showing them, our customers want us to accelerate.

These two-person discussions about cost sharing, saving each person, possible compensation, are often difficult…

Yes, and that’s normal: once again, everyone approaches the topic based on their education, the example of their parents, their family history… But if we don’t talk about it, the tension increases in a different way. I think that we should prepare for a civil marriage in order to better decide how we live and divide money between couples. Financial education in school, high school would be so helpful and would avoid many crises, between siblings, between partners, between children during inheritance… Talking about money remains taboo in France. The best way to deal with this is to provoke discussions, if possible, in the presence of a professional, attentive and trusted third party. If the tools of banks are often similar, consultants, on the other hand, are less so.