Celebrating Women in Finance During Women’s History Month

All hail the powerful women who are making strides and breaking glass ceilings in the world of banking and finance! As it is Women’s History Month, the team at Next Generation is shouting out kudos to female visionaries and leaders in the financial realm.

Although women in the U.S. only gained the right to open their own bank accounts in the 1960s, today they are at the helm of global banks as CEOs, presidents, executive VPs, chief strategy officers, risk management officers, senior investment strategists, and many more leadership roles. According to American Banker, this year’s Most Powerful Women in Finance lead major banking institutions, credit card/transaction processing companies, and asset and investment management firms (no surprise, given the organization’s name). You can read about 100 influential women in U.S. finance on Barrons (March 2020 list). For a regular dose of inspiration, you can hear from women about their careers, industry trends, and diversity issues in the Women Leaders in Finance podcast out of London.

Today, the doors are opening to more and more women in the financial industry taking their places at the head of the figurative table in many ways, in fintech, alternative assets, traditional banking and finance, and more.

Among the women we herald are Wall Street veteran Sallie Krawcheck, who founded Ellevest in 2016, in recognition of gender wealth inequality and how the financial industry was not serving women (“built by women+, for women+”). According to its website, the organization’s mission is to get more money in the hands of women, non-binary individuals, and allies. Membership in Ellevest provides access to investing, banking, learning, and coaching.

Currently an organization in Chicago, First Women’s Bank is setting sights on bridging the gender gap in lending by connecting women-owned small businesses with capital solutions. Marianne Markowitz, who was acting administrator for the SBA nationally and regional administrator for its Midwest Region V will be president, CEO and a member of the board of directors of the bank and the company. Amy R. Fahey, whose banking career spanned nearly 29 years at JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor organizations, will be the chair of the boards of directors.

Given her remarkable career in the public and private sectors, we must also include economist Janet Yellen. The current (78^th) secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, she was the chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018 and the first woman to serve in those roles. She chaired the Council of Economic Advisors in the Clinton administration and is the first person in American history to have led the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.

Our praises would be incomplete if we failed to mention Jaime Raskulinecz, founder and CEO of Next Generation, who has nurtured and grown our organization to become two sister firms—one focused on the administration of self-directed retirement plans, the other a custodian for the assets held within our clients’ plans. Her vision, determination and guidance have helped our team develop and expand professionally, so we can help our clients develop and diversify their retirement portfolios with alternative assets. Thank you, Jaime, for all you do for Next Generation and its clients!

This is dedicated to the memory of Ms. Raskulinecz’s mother, Ella Raskulinecz, 1/7/1929-3/12/2021. Ms. Raskulinecz said, “She was an extraordinary woman who was fiercely independent and much stronger than she realized. It is because of her unconditional love and unwavering support that I have become the woman I am today and I cherish every day we had together.” May she rest peacefully.

Women’s History Month: A Look at Women and Their Financial & Investing History

Ever since the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s a lot has changed for women in America, thanks to spitfire pioneers who generated shifts in societal attitudes and pushed for legislative changes.

The National Organization of Women advocated for six measures to ensure women’s equality: enforcement of laws banning employment discrimination, maternity leave rights, childcare centers (so mothers could work), tax deductions for childcare expenses, equal and unsegregated education, and equal job-training opportunities for women in poverty. These all took many years to pass.

Eventually, as more women entered the workforce employers were barred from firing a woman because she was pregnant. More women began running for political office. No-fault divorce laws arose. Women began serving in combat, became astronauts, and sat on the Supreme Court bench. Moreover, they could finally apply for a credit card or loan in their own names.

Women in financial history

Women have been making their mark on the financial sector since our country’s early days. In fact, future First Lady Abigail Adams began trading in government-issued bonds during the Revolutionary War with strong results, and a woman named Victoria Woodhull opened her own brokerage house in 1870 with her sister; she also ran her own newspaper company and was the first woman to run for U.S. President.

Some more notable firsts in modern times:

• Isabel Benham was the first woman to work on Wall Street in the 1930s at R.W. Presspich & Co. and in the 1960s, became the firm’s first female partner.
• Muriel Siebert was the first woman to purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967 and the first woman to be appointed Superintendent of Banking a decade later.
• In 2014, Janet Yellen became the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve.

Women and investing

The women’s liberation movement notwithstanding, it’s been an uphill climb for women to take their rightful places in the workplace and take their seats at corporate tables. As of January 1, 2020, there have been 82 individual women in Fortune 500 CEO roles in total, with three serving as CEO twice.

However, more women are undergoing a new women’s liberation movement when it comes to their investment choices . . . and discovering they can take more control of their financial futures through self-directed investing.

Self-directed IRAs enable investors to better control their retirement savings by investing in alternative assets they know and understand. Although historically, women have taken a more moderate approach to risk, those who prefer to make their own investment decisions can open a new self-directed retirement plan and include non-publicly traded, alternative assets to build a more diverse retirement portfolio. These investments might include real estate, private equity, private lending, partnerships, precious metals or impact investments.

Self-directed investors also conduct their own research and due diligence about the alternative assets they wish to include in their retirement plans. They may already be investing in these assets outside of their existing retirement accounts. In fact, that’s how our founder and CEO, Jaime Raskulinecz, started Next Generation.

Next Generation’s Women in History

Jaime was a seasoned real estate investor who wanted to include real estate in her IRA; she discovered self-direction as a retirement strategy that would allow her to do so. As a pioneer in her own right, Jaime started a company in 2004 to enable more investors to include nontraditional investments in their retirement plans and Next Generation, a third-party administrator for those plans, was born. Continuing to build on her success, in 2017 she led the formation of its sister firm, Next Generation Trust Company, which now acts as custodian for all of its accounts.

Jaime and her partner Linda Varas, Principal of Next Generation, have always believed in the power of women in the workplace and our team is a testament to that. Jaime and Linda have cultivated a career-building environment for women (and men, too!), as you’ll see on our team page.

We are proud to recognize Jaime’s many professional achievements as we continue to educate more women on the power of self-directed investing. Want to take control of your future, today? Sign up for a complimentary educational session with one of our knowledgeable representatives. Alternatively, you can email us directly at NewAccounts@NextGenerationTrust.com or call 888.857.8058 to get started.