Investing Demystified Program Mission

Investing is an important, if not critical, way to gain financial security. However, almost 50% of Americans do not invest. Women, in particular, have historically lacked the confidence in their ability to invest. This is despite factual evidence that, when they invest, they tend to do better than men. Women, also, on average, earn less and live longer, so they have higher needs when it comes to retirement savings and healthcare costs.

The Investing Demystified team is here to provide the tools to enable investing early and smartly. In a small class setting, with volunteer instructors that have worked at some of the biggest financial institutions in the country, this one session course covers the basics of investing, familiarizes the audience with the industry jargon, and provides a simple plan for the participants to get started as well as additional resources to help them continue their journey.

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 Sources: Forbes | Motley Fool

Course Details & Upcoming Sessions

Investing Demystified is ideal for beginners who want to start investing or for those looking to learn more about it. This course teaches the fundamentals of investing, introduces and explains industry jargon and terminology, and covers the basics on how to get started. Each class is around 2 hours which allows ample time for questions and answers. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

  • Introduction to common investing options such as stocks, mutual funds, etc.

  • Overview of account types such as 401(k) or brokerage account

  • Determining the type of investor you are and setting your investment goals

  •  How to research your investments

  • Do’s and Don'ts of investing

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Investing Demystified is currently on hiatus, please standby until we announce its return

 Investing Demystified Team

Our amazing team of volunteers have a combined experience of nearly 100 years in the finance and investing fields. They want everyone to know that you don’t have to be a genius or a math whiz to understand investing. They hope to teach the course participants how to start investing and making their money work for them, while having fun.

  • Anca Enache

    Anca has 20 years of experience at firms such as Bank of America, PennyMac Loan Services, 3P Impact Consulting in roles ranging from accounting to SQL coding reporting, to project management and more recently ESG reporting. She received an MBA from California State University, Northridge. Anca is passionate about sustainability and believes we can do well by doing good.

  • David Bialzak

    David is a retired former senior executive in the financial services industry with an extensive background in risk management and capital markets. In his 20-year career with Wells Fargo, he oversaw risk management, compliance and credit risk management in the Consumer Lending and Home Lending businesses. He received a BS from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Cornell University.

  • Shilpa Shah

    Shilpa was born and raised in Kenya and received her BS in England. She is a licensed CPA with over 20 years in the healthcare industry in roles ranging from financial and project management, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and risk management. Her diverse cultural background has made her aware of the importance of developing leadership skills in women. To give back to the community, she’s volunteered for Special Olympics, Tournament of Roses and Temple City School District.