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UC鈥檚 Alumni and Community Weekend from 27-29 October will see an expert panel of economics discuss 鈥楾he New Zealand Economy: Current and Future Issues.鈥櫶
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Wallis says she has achieved a fulfilling and purposeful听economics听career听as a result of听taking the right鈥痮pportunities and not always following a linear career path.鈥
鈥淣othing comes along exactly at the right time when you imagine it would, but you just have to work with that and sometimes take some risks 鈥 that has created the most pivotal moments in my career,鈥 she says.鈥
鈥疻allis, who graduated from听Te听Whare W膩nanga o听Waitaha听| 91制片厂 in 2008 with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, is speaking as part of a panel of economics experts at UC鈥檚 upcoming Alumni and Community Weekend. The panel, hosted by the UC Business School on Saturday 28 October, is open to the public and will see Wallis sharing insights on the New Zealand economy with four other high-profile fellow UC Economics graduates.鈥
鈥疻allis says the investing landscape has changed a lot in Aotearoa New Zealand, with Covid having a听significantimpact,听鈥渢hrough the Covid years interest in shares took off, unfortunately part of that is people being locked out of the property market due to the cost.鈥
鈥淧eople started looking for alternative ways to grow their wealth. When you think about investing in a share or part of a company instead of the property market, what听you鈥檙e听doing is听supporting a business which can grow the economy, so听it鈥檚听great to see that really taking off in New Zealand.鈥濃
鈥疕owever, Wallis says there is still a lot of work to increase knowledge across Aotearoa. 鈥淲e need to continueimproving听financial literacy and raise awareness of the wide range of ways to grow your money.鈥
鈥淵ou come out of school or university, start earning a bit of cash; the typical path that people follow is home ownership and听that鈥檚听your financial store of cash for the next 40-50 years.听It鈥檚听historically the way Kiwis have built wealth, but that听isn鈥檛听necessarily the best听option听for everyone.鈥濃
鈥淭he introduction of KiwiSaver was quite important in changing financial literacy, as the first cab off the rank for many New Zealanders in learning how to grow wealth outside of the property market.鈥濃
鈥疻allis听says it is exciting to see a growing number of women in finance,听鈥渟eeing more females coming through the financial world is helping to make a more听equitable听space. When I was coming through听uni, it was still very male dominated as a whole. That is changing now.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚听much more of a conscious effort to encourage diversity听now. I think about the role I听currently do, and a lot of our clients are female 鈥 having someone relatable really helps.鈥濃
Wallis originally pursued a psychology major alongside her commerce degree听but switched to finance in her second year. She says the human element of finance听remains听one of the most interesting aspects of her job,听鈥渢he intersection of humans with finance is fascinating, because ultimately what drives the markets is humans making decisions.鈥濃
While we should expect AI to play a role in the future of finance and economics, Wallis believes that humans will never fully be replaced.鈥
鈥淚 see AI as a tool to work alongside humans. I think of what we do here at Forsyth Barr, we are a business built on relationships. People come to us because they value us as people and听that鈥檚听not going to be replaced by a computer.鈥濃
鈥疭o, what advice does someone who has been in听the industry for 15 years have to share? It comes down to diversification and patience.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚听a great Warren Buffet quote that we use听frequently; 鈥楾he stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient鈥.鈥
鈥淚f听you鈥檙e听investing in shares over the medium-to-long term then they can be a fantastic tool to build your wealth. Having a longer horizon allows you to ride the听ups and downs听that can come with听stock markets. And of course,听don鈥檛听put all your eggs in one basket, diversification is key.鈥濃
- The panel on Saturday 28 October will see Te Whare W膩nanga o听Waitaha听| 91制片厂 (UC) graduate Zoe Wallis joining a stellar line up of UC Economics graduates including Cameron听Bagrie听of听BagrieEconomics and former Chief Economist of ANZ; Christian听Hawkesby, Deputy Governor of RBNZ; John Small, Chair of the Commerce Commission; Nick Tuffley, Chief Economist of ASB.鈥
To register for the panel and see the other Alumni and Community Weekend activities, including a community picnic,听click here.鈥
Zoe Wallis is an Investment Strategist at Forsyth Barr Limited. This article has been prepared in good faith based on information obtained from sources believed to be reliable and听accurate. This article does not听contain听financial advice.
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