Photo: Jacqueline Dersjant
Impact investing as a woman
For many women, impact investing starts with developing their own perspective on wealth: what matters to me, what role do I want to play, and how can I align my money with those choices? At PYM, we create space to explore these questions openly, exchange experiences and learn from other investors who have faced similar decisions.
Explore the steps below to help you move forward on your impact investing journey.
1. Read and get inspired
After a certain amount, money doesn’t create more happiness
Ruth van de Belt is an impact investor and the founder and CIO of Kosmos Impact. As an angel investor, she backs Dutch start-ups in the bio-based economy, from seaweed to mycelium. She will soon be joining the board of PYM.
If you have money to invest, you are an investor
Marine de Waziers is a French-Belgian impact investor based in Brussels. She founded ROOM and Wealth Currents Magazine. Together with PYM, she will be hosting an evening for French-speaking female wealth holders from Belgium on October 5th.
Finding hidden treasures is the common thread throughout my life
Annegien is Founder & Lead Angel of the Catalyst Impact Investment Club, which focuses on Regenerative Tech companies: start-ups with the potential to heal and repair our planet and society.
2. Watch the introduction video
What does impact investing actually mean?
In this video, together with CSP, we introduce the fundamentals of impact investing. How does it differ from traditional or sustainable investing? And what opportunities are there across different impact themes and asset classes?
3. Join Inside Impact Investing
Learn from experience
During this online session, we briefly revisit the key principles of impact investing before focusing on practice. An experienced impact investor shares how she makes decisions, builds her portfolio and deals with questions and dilemmas along the way. There is plenty of room to ask your own questions. Hearing how someone else found her way, which choices worked well and what she encountered along the way can give you more confidence and direction in deciding on your own next step.
4. Discover the meaning of your money
Impact investing does not start with the question of what you want to invest in, but why. Taking the time to reflect on what your wealth means to you can make it easier to choose investments that align with your values and ambitions. And that sense of purpose often leads to contributing more than capital alone — through your time, knowledge, network and personal involvement.
We will soon be organising regular gatherings around this topic. Want to get started now? Read Spark Your Meaning by Liet van Beuningen, which helps you explore the values that matter most to you.
5. Speak to a PYM ambassador
Do you have questions about where to start, how to develop your own investment perspective or how to take more ownership of your portfolio? Perhaps you want to feel better prepared for conversations with an advisor, or hear how other women make investment decisions and what they consider along the way. Let us know what is on your mind. Maud will be happy to connect you with a PYM Ambassador who has experience with similar questions and is willing to share her insights.
Maud van Beuningen
PYM Board Member
6. Join a knowledge session
7. Join a PYM Impact Circle
In a PYM Impact Circle, you embark on a personal impact journey across six sessions with a dedicated group of peer investors. Guided by experts, you share experiences and learn from one another, often building valuable connections that last long after the final session.
Whether you are a next-gen investor, part of an entrepreneurial family, or a (female) wealth holder, we have a specific group tailored to your experience level. Interested in joining? Veerle is happy to help you find the circle that perfectly aligns with your goals and questions.
Veerle Berbers
Board member
8. Discover new investment opportunities
Many investors discover their next investment through other investors. Within the PYM community, members share investment opportunities, experiences and lessons through our dealsharing platform. Join the dealsharing mailing list to hear about new opportunities shared within the community.
Dealsharing is exclusively available to members of the PYM community.
9. Find a deep dive expert or club
Sometimes, a deeper dive with a specialized advisor is exactly what’s needed. From our independent position, PYM is happy to help you find an expert or trusted partner tailored to your specific situation.
This could be an independent financial advisor specialising in female wealth holders, an impact coach or an organisation offering in-depth gatherings for female investors. Whatever the challenge, there is a good chance we know someone worth speaking to.
Suzanne Rosman
Director
10. Keep learning
Impact investing is not an end point, but an ongoing learning process. As you gain experience, your questions often change too: does my portfolio still reflect what matters to me? Where do I want to have more influence? And which decisions do I want to make more consciously myself? By sharing experiences and dilemmas with other female investors, you can continue to develop both your portfolio and your own perspective. Many valuable insights come from conversations with others navigating similar choices.
We are currently developing a more advanced programme for experienced impact investors. Until then, we are happy to connect you with other PYM’ers who are exploring similar questions.