In July 2012, Queen to Queen, Inc. sat down with President and Founder of Born to Save, Keva Sturdevant, to discuss the financial steps every student and adult should make beyond a savings account. Get an idea of what she had to say below or read the full article here.
Earning money and making money are two different things. Both of which, Keva Sturdevant knows all too well.
For 18 years, the financial guru, educator, and entrepreneur has honed her skills in the financial industry by managing money for individuals, non-profits and corporations. She’s guided her clients from living paycheck-to-paycheck to financial stability and, in many cases, from middle class status to self-made millionaire.
Sturdevant is the president and founder of Born to Save, a non-profit organization that provides financial literacy classes to children of all ages. She grants actual shares of stock to her students in companies like McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Target, and Nike.
She travels the nation educating students from grade school to college on how to handle money, spend it wisely, save it with a purpose, and invest it with realistic expectations. In 2008, the same year she founded Born to Save, Sturdevant partnered with the Society for Financial Education and
Professional Development to teach all things “money” at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and has taught over 18,000 students.
In addition to teaching, Sturdevant has a financial planning practice for her adult client base, Sturdevant Investment Consulting.
On July 15, Sturdevant took a break from her busy schedule to talk to Queen to Queen about improving the financial outlook for African-American women and taking steps to build generational wealth.
Queen to Queen (Q to Q): African-Americans had a large portion of their wealth tied up in real estate with the purchase of their first, or new, homes. The economic downturn has hit the housing market and African-Americans disproportionately hard. As a financial advisor, what steps can homeowners take to rebuild their financial portfolios?
Keva Sturdevant (KS): We did take a hit because, especially in the African-American community, that’s where we build our retirement nest egg. As every advisor recommends, we’ve got to diversify our portfolios and not just focus on one set of asset class. Begin to look at really diversifying your portfolio such as your 401K. That means owning stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in various sectors of the market.
Q to Q: What are some of the common mistakes you notice African-American women making? How can they be avoided in the future?
KS: We live longer than our husbands or partners so we have to be clear of what’s happening in the house when it comes to money. That means we need to know where all the financial documents are located.
If you are a single head of household, have that Personal Financial Board of Directors in place. It’s simply a must.
I advocate being a part of an investment club as well. It can be the first step on a quest for financial knowledge in the investment world. I work with quite a number of investment clubs locally, some started 20 years ago. You can start an investment club yourself with a small group of friends.
Queen to Queen, Inc. 