Yahoo Finance The two women who want to pick up where the Banking Royal Commission left off
Of the six underlying principles of conduct outlined by Banking Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne in his Final Report, two of them were ‘do not mislead or deceive’, and ‘when acting for another, act in the best interests of that other’.
The major inquiry found too many instances where customers had the wool pulled over their eyes, and a trusted professional had not done the right thing by their client.
A year on, the banking and financial services industry is still rolling out the Final Report’s 76 recommendations designed to tackle this culture of deceit – and there is still a long way to go.
However, according to financial adviser Jessica Brady and loan advisor Chandel Brandimarti, tackling the systemic issues that have been exposed by the major inquiry will require change from the bottom up.
“If the Banking Royal Commission taught us anything, it is that deep and systemic cultural change is needed in the financial services industry,” said Brandimarti.
Working in the financial services sector, Brandimarti and Brady were spurred on to create something that would “change radically” the industry and society at large. The two have launched an eight-part video series that aims to help women have open discussions about money and tackle financial inequality.
The free video series, Ladies Talk Money, features Brady and Brandimarti having candid discussions with one another about stereotypes, the pay gap, unpaid work, the investment gap, property investing, and relationships.
“We’re also hoping to remove a lot of the jargon and intimidation that can often exist within traditional financial guidance, which can make women feel excluded,” Brandimarti said.
The series intends to be inclusive of all kinds of women, she said.
“It’s going to be incredibly hard, even impossible, for this change to occur if we aren’t going out of our way to adopt a diversity of experience and ideas – that means women, that means people of colour, that means single parents, that means low-income earners.
“Nothing changes if nothing changes, and we must do better as an industry.”
The first video ‘The Final Taboo’ has been released on the Ladies Talk Money website and features the two financial professionals discussing reasons why women feel uncomfortable about money.
“If you think about some of the other taboo topics that we’ve moved beyond and now accept as a normal part of conversation, 50 years ago, it would have been very unladylike for women to talk about politics or sex,” Brady says in the video.
“It feels like this is the last hang-up.”
The other seven episodes will be released monthly, and are supported on the website by accompanying articles and guides on the same topic, as well as other content such as blog posts, links to other financial resources, and books. The videos and all content are free to access.
Jessica Brady will be speaking at the first of Yahoo Finance’s Breakfast series on March 18, Women 2020: Unlock your investing potential.
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