Let's Demystify Personal Finance: Sangeeta Moorjani, of Fidelity Investments, on Being a Woman in Finance
“A phrase I hear too often from women is “finances are complicated, I let my male partner, father, or someone else do it for me”. I’ve always been surprised by that response.” Today’s woman dreamer, Sangeeta Moorjani, an Executive Vice President at Fidelity Investments, demystifies personal finance for us, breaking down what every woman must know. She reminds us, “What will happen if we do not prioritize our finances?” A truly insightful woman, Sangeeta also shares some personal philosophies she lives her life by and have aided her in her career, such as having a “service-driven mindset”, embracing failure as an opportunity to learn, and how “life is the best teacher”. Enjoy her story below!
1) Tell us your story. What has your journey been like as a woman in finance?
My journey started from a little town in Gujarat, India. From there it has been a tour around the world. I did all my schooling in Dubai; college in India; then several years in Toronto and now in the Boston area for two plus decades.
I feel fortunate that life’s journey has taken me to new places. new experiences, new relationships. In many ways that has shaped my approach to life - change is inevitable, give new things a try.
Now coming to financial services, one could easily say my career choice was a mere coincidence. I started as a summer intern in Citibank, in Dubai during my MBA. It was a beautiful new building and I was drooling at the chance to work there! Fast forward a few decades I’ve stayed in finance.
After 25 years in the industry, I can say it’s more than a mere coincidence! I’ve always gravitated towards facts, figures, data, statistics. Anchoring decisions by rolling them through the head first and bringing my heart in next. So it’s no surprise I was drawn to financial services even though it’s not an industry that a lot of other women from my graduating class were drawn to. Personally, I’ve been committed to changing the narrative on the need for women in finance. Women make strong leaders and great decision makers. We need more of them in every industry, and finance is definitely one of them.
I’ve always thought of life as a balance sheet. For those of you who are accounting or finance geeks – assets and liabilities have to be in balance. Similar to finance, life is seldom a bed of roses or just thorns. It’s about taking the positive with negatives. That has always been one of my life mantras. I am fortunate to be able combine my life values and work interest and merge them into one!
2) You are currently at Fidelity, working primarily in the retirement business. With the pandemic, people have had new challenges with savings and retirement planning. What is your perspective or any trends you have noticed? And what is your top advice for retirement planning and saving this year?
It’s very natural to worry about money and finances. As women, we are innately caregivers and worriers. We want to make sure that everyone is taken care of. And as a result, we can put ourselves and often our finances on the back burner.
To top that we are in the midst of a pandemic. There are lots of trade-offs women are facing. The number one reason women state for not taking care of their finance is lack of time. Responsibilities at work and at home are just too great and we are pushing things to the bottom of the to do list!
Another phrase I hear too often from women is “finances are complicated I let my male partner, father, or someone else do it for me”. I’ve always been surprised by that response. There’s no secret that money helps us live the life we want. So how can you ignore spending time on your finance – whether you are a women or man! Spending time on your personal finances, your retirement plan is. It about being money minded; it’s about being smart.
A question every woman (and men) should ask - What happens when we don’t prioritize our money and finances?
Making financial decisions can be overwhelming. When you look at the finance section on Amazon and find 100s and 1000s of books, it is overwhelming. One of my goals has been to simplifying the complexity around personal finances.
Let me demystify personal finances:
You don’t have to plan for your finances all day everyday. And there is a lot of professional help and education that is available, so you should never feel alone.
Start with a simple checklist that you can revisit at least a couple of times a year. Ask yourself:
Do you have 3-6 months of Emergency savings? If not, start building it.
How much are you saving for retirement? And if you working are you taking full advantage of saving in your 401k plan and making contributions to an IRA
And definitely have a plan for how you are going to pay down any debt, and always pay down high interest debt first.
Ta-da…. how tough is that for a start!!
3) You are also passionate about a service driven mindset, embracing serving and helping others in every aspect of life, and you bring this to the businesses you run/have turned around at Fidelity. Tell us more about this, and what inspires you to encompass service into your life?
One value my grandfather and my father lived by is “Service of poor is worship of God”. There are two key words here:
First “poor” is not just poor in money. I had to stop thinking narrowly. Look around and we see people who are poor or lacking in – money, confidence, friendships, relationships, courage.
Second is “service”. Once you understand what someone is lacking, you ask yourself - how can I serve, how can I help., what can I do, to ease the burden for someone, to bring a smile to someone’s face. Service doesn’t have to be complex or require a lot of planning. Just be you – a note of encouragement, listening to someone who is looking for advice, giving money to a cause you are passionate for. I’ll share a personal story with you. A few years ago I went through my cancer journey and some of the most meaningful things that helped me were sweet notes of encouragement left at my door, in my email, in my mailbox, through texts. How simple and yet tremendously powerful!
As I reflect back on life, Service can and should be a joyful experience for the giver and receiver. Think about what gives you joy; or what do you want to spend more time doing. My service journey started in my teens. Babysitting and helping family friends with young children. When I moved to Toronto, I was 21 and I would volunteer to teach Ramayan and Mahabharat to young children. Once I had kids of my own, I rallied 20-25 little kids around Andover and taught them dance (those poor kids, since I was far from a dance teacher). The kids got to perform at Indian festivals, learnt our culture, Indian music, got over stage fright and most of all they had fun, as did I. This is what I mean by it doesn’t have to be complicated. Over time I have started to spend more effort on cancer survivors – as I went through my own cancer journey and my father’s battle with cancer. I joined the board of Pratham Boston to further the cause of education in India.
4) You are a big believer in the power of having the right attitude and embracing failure as a chance to pivot. Women especially can be hard on themselves when it comes to failure. What is your advice for women in their careers, as well as for new hires, who may be struggling with this, given the virtual work/onboarding?
There are a few life mantras and life lessons I live by:
Attitude is everything: I learnt this from my dad. Whenever anyone asked my dad – how are you? He would always respond with a broad, beaming smile and say – Absolutely Tremendous! He could be having the time of his life, be tired from a long a day at work, or be in the hospital bed – the answer consistently was Absolutely Tremendous! I strive everyday to live by this.
Plan for the best but be prepared for the worst: One can never predict the curves balls that will come your way. But being ready for them is more than half the battle. Our family has always loved to travel. I remember from the pre-GPS days, my brother and I would go to the AAA office with my dad to get maps to plan our trips. Often, despite all the planning, we would encounter detours. Whether it was road trips or life events, anticipate the fact that things will not always turn out per plan. This makes you think of options and what-if something happens. Failures naturally bring disappointment, frustration, and even pain sometimes.
One thought I keep in the back of my mind is “what’s Plan B”. Sometimes I’m faulted for being paranoid, and over planning. But having a Plan B or being able to think of a Plan B can help you pivot vs. get lost in failures!
The need for a Plan B is so relevant during this pandemic. Working from home; working and managing kids at home simultaneously; starting a new job without physically interacting with anyone. My advice to women is don’t try to be a superwoman. It is not sustainable in the long run. Do the best you can but also don’t be afraid to ask for help – help at work, help from your partner at home.
You can’t give from an empty cup: this is lesson I wish I had incorporated in my life a lot sooner. As women, we tend to focus on everyone other than ourselves. In fact, I would feel guilty if I took time for myself. I also like to maximize every minute of the day and would often push myself to the edge at work, as a mom, as a wife, as a friend, as a daughter…. Pretty much in every relationship. Thank God my life crossed path with my yoga mentor, Lee Majeswski 10+ years ago. Through yoga, meditation, mindfulness, I have learnt the importance of self care. So ladies feel no guilt about making time for yourself. Think of it as a the energizer boost to be your best self to the world!
6) As #Dreamcatchers, we have to ask, what is your next big dream?
I do dream a lot. But before we get to what’s the next big dream, I like to remind people to make sure you are living you current dream. Too often we forget to live in the present because we are busy formulating the next big thing.
When I’m coaching folks at work, people often ask me the question – how do I get ready to do your job, how do I become the CEO. I love it that people dream big and break glass ceilings. My guidance has always been, first figure out what you are great at. Put in all the hard work, passion and persistence in that skill and that will open the next door and the one after that for you.
Now going back to dreams. Two words come to mind – Empower and Educate. I dream about empowering youth, about empowering women. About living in a world where we can make our diversity our advantage.
A future where everyone is able to reach their full potential. Where everyone has the access to education to be their most powerful self!
These dreams have lead me to invest my time in organizations like Pratham, like TiE.
Thank you for letting me share my story.
Thank you Sangeeta for sharing your insights and story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
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