Written by Sylvain Chan
Photography by Oliver Chan
LSE students have formed the Personal Finance Society, aiming to empower peers to achieve their own personal financial goals concerning “saving, budgeting, investing, managing credit, and more”.
In conversation with the society’s co-presidents, Aanya Jain and Sophie Anker, they comment on university as a critical developmental stage for students towards ‘adulting’ yet note the lack of practical know-how and sufficient support for handling finances. In a recent study by Santander UK, only one in four young adults (ages 18–21) leave school having received financial education. Aanya reflects on the frequently perpetuated advice of needing to “invest early”: “Everyone at LSE wants high-paying jobs, but what after?” Speaking from personal experience, Sophie recognises that the process of opening an account, paying bills, obtaining a national insurance number, maintaining an investing routine, and beyond can be “really scary[…] [and] a lot of work.”
Without adequate guidance, almost a third of young adults turn to influencers for financial education. While easily accessible, Aanya suggests that relying on ‘Finfluencers’ and direct advice is the “wrong way to go about personal finance.” Attempting to seek right or wrong answers about “what stocks to invest in” overlooks that there is no financial strategy that fits all needs and behaviours. As Sophie describes to The Beaver, the end goal of personal finance is “not what brings […] the greatest returns, but what brings [one] greatest happiness”.
The society primarily aims to provide workshops such as ‘Invest, Save, Spend 101’, speaker events, and other resources necessary to demystify personal finance. After developing confidence through education to take the first step, Aanya and Sophie state that students will then be free to make their own informed decisions.
Aanya and Sophie acknowledge the important role educational systems play in providing the framework for students’ financial literacy. LSE offers various financial resources, such as the LSESU Advice Service, and has partnered with Blackbullion, a financial wellbeing app. However, they allege that utilising these resources requires initiative that may be absent for students who grew up in households that “did not talk about money” or lacked connections. Aanya also describes how women may be discouraged from approaching these topics considering the dominant “toxic masculine lifestyle” of risk-taking investment among the ‘Finfluencer’ sphere. Whether due to cultural, social, or class stratifications, these structural inequalities can impact one’s relationship with money and mental health by extension. Through the society, Aanya and Sophie claim to strive to create a judgement-free space where students can have casual conversations about finances, thereby improving their independence.
Events planned include collaborations between the Personal Finance Society and other LSESU communities, such as the Feminism Society, to address intersectional inequalities in financial literacy, and the LSE Blockchain to unpack the world of crypto-currency. The society also expects to invite people who have built their wealth sustainably. Its subcommittee, Macro Research Team, also plans to investigate global trends for international students who may invest in their home currency markets.
You can find more information about the new society on their Instagram @lsesu.personalfinance.
