INSIGHTS

Craigs Women's Wealth programme is run by 35 women advisers around New Zealand, with a vision to empower women of all ages with more confidence and knowledge to start investing or become better investors.

We recently caught up with Annemarie Hills, one of our investment advisers in Tauranga, and asked her some quick questions about how she helps her clients, her view of success and some learnings. Read what Investment Adviser Annemarie Hills had to say.

How do you help your clients? I work with my clients to keep ahead of the bank (and inflation), by investing in line with their willingness and capacity to do so.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? Seeing clients succeed and grow their wealth overtime, ultimately providing them with a better lifestyle and options for the future.

To you success means: Always striving to make a difference.

What is the best leadership or career advice you ever got? Take the time to listen.

Who is someone who paved the way for you? My business partner, Investment Adviser Ruth Jackson-Smith.

What is something you wish you could have told your 20 year old self: Invest early and continue to invest regularly (even if it seems pointless with a small amount!).

Women who inspire you and why? Sharon Zollner - ANZ Chief Economist, she has risen to the top in a male dominated industry and has an incredible ability to communicate and get her message across. Her commentary is always humorous and enjoyable. And my late Nan. She had such a fun outlook on life, everything was always possible and she accomplished the impossible in many ways throughout her life.

Change I want to see in the next 12 months: A continued increase in flexibility in the workplace regardless of the reasoning (stay at home parents, young parents, looking after elderly, sickness etc). Innovative thinking by corporates in NZ for retaining good staff and in particular what we can do to support women who are rising to the top whilst also supporting family and wellbeing.

What advice would you give to women aspiring to be great leaders? Don’t sweat the small stuff.

What useful money lessons/advice do you try to instill in your children? It's early days but so far I have started with saving for purchases. Both of my girls also have small investments in shares that will be for their future and that I hope they will add to and use as an education along the way.

What is the most valuable financial advice you ever got? Diversification.

What has been your own journey with investing? What age were you when you started? My parents bought shares for me in the 80s that didn’t fair so well! I personally started investing as a part of a share club just out of university with which we had some big wins and big losses!

What would you say to someone considering investing, but is a bit anxious? There is nothing wrong with investing in line with a lower risk profile. At Craigs we don't just invest into shares for clients. Many of my clients hold the majority of their portfolio in term deposits and NZ fixed income securities (with a lesser % in shares) which is absolutely the right mix for them personally.

FAST FACTS

Home town: Auckland.

How you made your first dollar: A paper run when I was 8. After school job for the local pharmacy - counting pills and delivering prescriptions (in a small bubble car) to elderly folk at their homes.

Favorite read? Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts.

Favorite podcast? Heather du Plessis-Allan - HP Business Class Podcasts - all of them!

Motto you live by: Try to have fun everyday. Favourite quote - 'be nice to those you meet on the way up, you may just meet them on the way down'.

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