This Women's day, let us talk about the Financial Freedom of women. A lot has been talked about educating women on the need to invest better, understand the various financial instruments available to them and plan their finances to meet their financial goals. In my experience, I have seen investment decisions are taken very differently by different people.

My housemaid regularly invests her savings in chit funds (popular financial instrument in some states in India) and when she gets to save larger chunks, she buys Gold coins or Golden ornaments at a local jeweler's shop.

I know quite a few mothers that talk about the monthly scheme (a kind of SIP) offered by a known jeweler shop where they can invest monthly over a period of 12 months to encash the same at the end of the 12th month as a Gold coin OR an ornament. Some of them don't talk about Gold in terms of grams, but in terms of 'Tola' (or 'Thula'), a unit of measurement they understand.

Some urban educated blue collar Corporate women I know, who are in their thirties, convert the bonus they earn into Gold coins or a beautiful Golden ornament they always wanted to purchase.

What is this attachment these women have with Gold?

As I interviewed them, I learned that they have a very intimate understanding of Gold. Their social circle regularly updates them on the current price trends of Gold and promptly advises them when it is the right time to buy. To most of them, Gold offers a sense of safety and security that men really don't understand that well. Only poets can describe the emotions of a woman who has finally purchased that dream ornament she had lusted after for decades - a 'Vaddanam' (a Golden waist belt in Telugu), or an armlet, or a necklace.

When we talk about financial education, we normally think of equities, mutual funds. Or probably Fixed Deposits, Recurring deposits, ETFs, etc in a different context. Alternative assets like Real Estate, Commodities, Gold etc are talked about much less. A lot of effort in Financial education has gone in advertising about Mutual Funds ending with a statement, 'Mutual Funds are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document carefully'.

Warren Buffet who is one of the richest persons on Earth and arguably the best ever strategic investor on the planet says when it comes to financial investments, 'Stick with what you know'. I believe the objective of financial education should not be to 'correct' the perceptions and decisions of the investors. It should be more geared towards helping them articulate their financial goals more clearly, understand their own risk appetite, fathom the risks associated with various instruments they are considering, have a fair idea of assessing whether a particular instrument is underpriced or overpriced and finally align their asset allocation towards achieving their financial goals. Of course, wherever possible, investors should take the advice of certified financial advisors who can translate their financial goals and align their portfolio allocation with their risk appetite.

While I personally am an advocate of equities, mutual funds, Fixed Deposits etc, I have learned not to judge the behaviour of various investors coming from different backgrounds having nuanced perspectives on different financial instruments and markets. When I learn from a friend that they made a Real Estate investment as they feel the downside of them ending up with a property is something totally acceptable to them, I understand they have a way of evaluating the risks associated with the instrument they are dealing with and they have a fair idea of their financial goal. Similarly these women I talked about have an intimate understanding of the Gold prices and they more often than not have a well articulated financial goal in their mind - an ornament to purchase, child's marriage, safeguarding wealth, gift to children / grandchildren etc. Most of them even have a fair asset allocation model working for them - some percentage in Gold, a significant bit in saving instruments, the sophisticated among them allocating some percentage to equities, mutual funds, ETFs etc.

On this Women's day, I wish to salute those women that have achieved their Financial Freedom. We at eBullion understand that the purpose of investment in precious metals like Gold and Silver goes beyond the numbers involved. We are glad to announce that we are about to launch an option for our customers to convert their digital precious metal savings into physical gold and silver minted bars.  The glee felt and the sense of security you get when you hold a shiny beautiful piece of metal in your palm is something we wish to enable. Follow us to hear more on this.

In the meanwhile, we wish you a Happy Women's Day. We salute the feminine spirit that is much needed to enhance in this world, the faculties of empathy, nurturance, perseverance, warmth and compassion.

--- written by Srinivas Kotamarthi