Death, sex, and money are uncomfortable topics that we tend to sweep under the rug and discuss only behind closed doors. How much money do we have, and how does it compare to other people's? How much money do we need? How much will we need? What is the money for? Talk to any financial advisor, and they will tell you it is never just about money, but about values and priorities.
In the 21st century, women are making more, saving more, and still investing significantly less than their male counterparts. Women retire with US$1 million less, only 7% of women work with financial advisors, and in Hong Kong, women's average MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) is 14% lower than men's.
At Sophia's Financial Confidence Summit, hosted by Sophia founders Nicole Denholder and Christine Yu, expert speakers discussed how "women don't have a knowledge gap, they have an experience gap." Just like learning a new language, we gain confidence through learning, trying, failing, correcting, setting goals, and following through.
What does financial confidence mean? Financial confidence is not a fixed state of knowing everything, but rather the agency, willingness, and practical ability to take active control of your financial future. That agency has to start somewhere and for most people, it starts with looking honestly at where they actually stand.
This summit explored financial confidence through the lens of health, investing, and how to use AI thoughtfully.
The summit's MC, Jennifer Flowers, discussed the importance of compound interest and how it applies to both our wealth and our health. The Health and Wealth panel was moderated by Christine Yu of Sophia, with Gautam Dev (Hong Kong Jockey Club), Karen Seymour (World Flourishing Organisation), and Maaike Steinebach (FemTech Futures).
Tracking your monthly finances compounds over time into better habits as you understand your inflows and outflows. Each exercise makes you a little stronger. Every article you read on ETFs and stocks makes you a little more knowledgeable and better able to make financial decisions.
Each coffee or check-in text from a friend compounds into a deeper friendship, one iced matcha at a time. That compounding works in your favor but neglect compounds too, and it shows up in both your health and your bank account.
It cannot be overstated how intertwined our mental, physical, and financial health are. Anxiety, worry, a transactional workplace, and a lack of relationships all chip away at meaning, purpose, and social connectedness, and that shows up in both our health and our finances. It was striking to learn that only 5% of employees in Hong Kong are engaged at work, while 44% report feeling burned out.
This burnout increases when caregiving for children or ageing parents comes into play. Caregivers aged 34 to 54 in Hong Kong, the sandwich generation balancing work, kids, and ageing parents, report the highest rate of high-stress caregiving at 50.4%, according to Suicide Prevention Services Hong Kong's 2025 Caregiver Stress Survey of 942 respondents. None of these numbers are surprising once you realize most of us only look at risk when it's already too late to plan for it.
This begs the question: how do we mitigate risks when it comes to our mental, financial, and physical health?
Most people find the gaps only when they are already going through an emergency, whether their insurance company does not cover cancer treatment at the clinic, their rainy-day fund is not enough for a typhoon, or they do not have the right legal, medical, or financial documents after a parent's fall. The panel's advice was really one long answer to a single question: what can your life actually withstand?
Some of the excellent advice shared on the panel:
When we know what lies ahead, we are better able to prepare, but we cannot prepare for things we do not talk about. Discomfort fades with exposure, even around money, and there is one question we can start with.
On the Retirement and Designing Your Best Life panel was moderated by Brian Henderson, with Amelie Dionne-Charest (Alea) and Steffanie Yuen (Endowus). We are taught that we need to save, but save for what, and for when? The investors discussed how they hear clients say, "I save 10%," but what is that money actually working toward? What do we value in our lives when it comes to money? Whether it is experiences, nice shoes, or buying a house, the bigger question still stands.
I cannot answer that for you, but there is a simple question the panelists raised: What are your short-, medium-, and long-term goals? Those questions are simple to ask and surprisingly hard to sit with, which is exactly why most people don't.
The last panel at the Financial Confidence Summit was about AI in investing. The reality is that AI cannot do the thinking for us, and it cannot predict future events. It can, however, act as a research associate that helps us learn about concepts and real-time data, if we are thoughtful about where our data comes from and what sources we trust.
If the Financial Confidence Summit taught me anything, it is that the people who feel most in control of their future are not the ones with the most knowledge. They are the ones who have actually sat down and asked themselves the uncomfortable questions, out loud, more than once.
Financial confidence and health confidence are built the same way: not all at once, but one iced matcha, one workout, and one hard conversation about the future of caregiving at a time. That last conversation is the one most families put off the longest, and it's the one CrossGen Health exists to make easier.
CrossGen Health helps you mitigate the time, financial, and emotional risks associated with caregiving for your ageing parents.
With the Ageing Parent Roadmap, you leave with a clear picture of where the gaps are, a document checklist, and a plan for what to do next before an emergency makes the decision for you.
If this piece got you thinking about your short-, medium-, and long-term goals for your health, wealth, or family, book a session and let’s map them out together.