Employees are seeking courses around investment management, financial management, asset management, or even financial courses for beginners who want to learn how to invest or better manage their money. Get to know Myrna Laine-Hyppolite, who teaches 5 Steps to Financial Wellness, the ABC’s of Stock Market Investing, and Budgeting is Not a 4 Letter Word. Enjoy our conversation with Myrna below! 

Q: Myrna, how did you get to where you are in your career focusing on financial wellness? 
Myrna: I started off my career back in the day in mutual fund accounting, but I was always curious to learn more about fund managers who make the investment decisions. I then pursued my MBA at Dartmouth College, where I also went for undergrad. After business school, I became an equity analyst and I had my dream job working as an equity research analyst within the health & wellness and IT industries. I also continued to grow my career across various aspects of finance: private equity, corporate finance, venture capital consulting. 

Today, I work for a large network of 90+ charter schools where I head up budgeting and accounting. In the midst of all this, I also founded my company Empower Financial Wellness, which helps high achieving individuals remove anxiety around managing finances and think about investments in the stock market.


Q: What sparked your passion for educating individuals around financial wellness? 

Myrna: I think it started in my job as a mutual fund accountant. I also didn’t grow up in a household where we had conversations around investing. I grew up in a Caribbean household and the priorities were to work hard, study hard, go to college, and get a good job. In that order. We didn’t have conversations around investing so I didn’t really know about investing until I got my job as a mutual fund accountant. Once I got into the mutual fund work, my curiosity peaked when I heard about investment decisions that were made.

I also learned a lot from the people around me who were investing in the stock market – people who were my age! I was surprised that you could just invest in general. After that exposure, I started to learn by myself. I listened to individuals like Susie Orman, who was one of my favorites back in the day and she helped me think about how to invest, as well as experimenting on my own.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher with Electives? Why do you focus on topics such as financial wellness? 

Myrna: With Electives, it’s really the concept of educating and having the opportunity to reach people through a platform. I want people to learn how to be financially well. I think of managing finances as a form of self-care. So just like you enjoy a massage or a pedicure, you can create a routine around managing your finances that can be rewarding.

Q: What do you hope attendees will learn from your Electives classes on financial wellness? 

Myrna: If you’re someone who has never invested in the stock market before, I hope that a learner will take action by the end of the course. The elective is built to walk you through the different ways for someone to invest in the stock market. 

Q: What advice do you give to parents who want to have conversations about financial wellness with their children? 

Myrna: It’s important to educate your kids early on. I have a regular conversation with my kids now as a parent. I ask them about companies they like: maybe Nike, or Starbucks. I actually go through an exercise with them where they learn to trade with companies they like on the stock market. There are so many resources out there, but start having the conversation early! Fidelity, for example, also has a Fidelity Youth Account where kids can learn how to manage their finances, starting with $50 in their bank account, and they can learn about investing too. 

As I mentioned before, growing up in a Caribbean household - we weren’t necessarily talking about assets, e.g. here are the assets mom and dad have. But we missed the topic of generational wealth where you may not need to start from scratch. Maybe it’s that house in the country that’s worth millions of dollars that you can keep to build equity. So I encourage parents to have conversations with their children around assets (e.g. land, money) so they are informed instead of after parents pass when children are confused when having posthumous conversations around money.

Q: Is there a resource you recommend to learn more about financial wellness? 
Myrna: In terms of books, I would recommend Get Good with Money by Tiffany Aliche. In terms of podcasts, Afford Anything with Paula Pant is great because they talk about all types of financial challenges or Earn Your Leisure, which is a podcast by two African-American men who have created an Earn Your Leisure university to educate individuals about finances especially within the African-American community.

Employees are seeking courses around investment management, financial management, asset management, or even financial courses for beginners who want to learn how to invest or better manage their money. Get to know Myrna Laine-Hyppolite, who teaches 5 Steps to Financial Wellness, the ABC’s of Stock Market Investing, and Budgeting is Not a 4 Letter Word. Enjoy our conversation with Myrna below! 

Q: Myrna, how did you get to where you are in your career focusing on financial wellness? 
Myrna: I started off my career back in the day in mutual fund accounting, but I was always curious to learn more about fund managers who make the investment decisions. I then pursued my MBA at Dartmouth College, where I also went for undergrad. After business school, I became an equity analyst and I had my dream job working as an equity research analyst within the health & wellness and IT industries. I also continued to grow my career across various aspects of finance: private equity, corporate finance, venture capital consulting. 

Today, I work for a large network of 90+ charter schools where I head up budgeting and accounting. In the midst of all this, I also founded my company Empower Financial Wellness, which helps high achieving individuals remove anxiety around managing finances and think about investments in the stock market.


 

Q: What sparked your passion for educating individuals around financial wellness? 
Myrna: I think it started in my job as a mutual fund accountant. I also didn’t grow up in a household where we had conversations around investing. I grew up in a Caribbean household and the priorities were to work hard, study hard, go to college, and get a good job. In that order. We didn’t have conversations around investing so I didn’t really know about investing until I got my job as a mutual fund accountant. Once I got into the mutual fund work, my curiosity peaked when I heard about investment decisions that were made.

I also learned a lot from the people around me who were investing in the stock market – people who were my age! I was surprised that you could just invest in general. After that exposure, I started to learn by myself. I listened to individuals like Susie Orman, who was one of my favorites back in the day and she helped me think about how to invest, as well as experimenting on my own.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher with Electives? Why do you focus on topics such as financial wellness? 
Myrna: With Electives, it’s really the concept of educating and having the opportunity to reach people through a platform. I want people to learn how to be financially well. I think of managing finances as a form of self-care. So just like you enjoy a massage or a pedicure, you can create a routine around managing your finances that can be rewarding.

Q: What do you hope attendees will learn from your Electives classes on financial wellness? 
Myrna: If you’re someone who has never invested in the stock market before, I hope that a learner will take action by the end of the course. The elective is built to walk you through the different ways for someone to invest in the stock market. 


 

Q: What advice do you give to parents who want to have conversations about financial wellness with their children? 
Myrna: It’s important to educate your kids early on. I have a regular conversation with my kids now as a parent. I ask them about companies they like: maybe Nike, or Starbucks. I actually go through an exercise with them where they learn to trade with companies they like on the stock market. There are so many resources out there, but start having the conversation early! Fidelity, for example, also has a Fidelity Youth Account where kids can learn how to manage their finances, starting with $50 in their bank account, and they can learn about investing too. 

As I mentioned before, growing up in a Caribbean household - we weren’t necessarily talking about assets, e.g. here are the assets mom and dad have. But we missed the topic of generational wealth where you may not need to start from scratch. Maybe it’s that house in the country that’s worth millions of dollars that you can keep to build equity. So I encourage parents to have conversations with their children around assets (e.g. land, money) so they are informed instead of after parents pass when children are confused when having posthumous conversations around money.

Q: Is there a resource you recommend to learn more about financial wellness? 
Myrna: In terms of books, I would recommend Get Good with Money by Tiffany Aliche. In terms of podcasts, Afford Anything with Paula Pant is great because they talk about all types of financial challenges or Earn Your Leisure, which is a podcast by two African-American men who have created an Earn Your Leisure university to educate individuals about finances especially within the African-American community.


check out our financial wellness electives

Myrna Laine-Hyppolite teaches Electives classes that focus on budgeting, investing in the stock market, and financial wellness. 

Meet Electives Teacher Myrna Laine-Hyppolite: Expert on Financial Inclusion, Stock Investing and Financial Wellness

Wed Jul 27 2022

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