Talking To The Queen Of Wall Street
The Struggles And Wisdom Of A Pioneering Female Of Finance
Siebert Financial may not be a household name, but for women who want to make it in the financial world, you should pay attention. Mickie has marked a lot of "firsts:" the first woman to get a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, the first woman to own a national brokerage firm, and the first woman to become a billionaire off the Internet (though her value has since come down).
Through her discount brokerage firm, SiebertNet, she competes with Charles Schwab and E-Trade while her traditional brokerage business takes on the likes of Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
Gutsy? Yep. And she's known for it.
If you think you've got it tough, listen to what Siebert has been through. From her struggles in the late 1950's trying to earn the big bucks for bringing in big accounts to her continuing efforts in the '90s to get women top jobs on Wall Street, Siebert has truly helped pave the way. Here are some of her insights and tips for success in business and investing:
On women as investors and business leaders: "A lot of women are just starting to come out on their own. They're just starting to get the confidence to go into the marketplace. It's wonderful to see. For a long time, women just didn't have the confidence. Now, they're going into business and getting the backing of their husbands. When women are more competent with money, they are going to start using the power of money."
On starting out investing: "Write a check every month -- even if it's just $50 a month -- and buy a no-load, no transaction fee mutual fund. That's a start, and it will grow. This is what the Baby Boomers did. All you have to do is see how they got the confidence to do what they do today."
On how extended trading hours affect the investment business: "I hate to see retail customers get screwed. They're going to put in a market order, and it's going to be up or down two points. That's a big hit - and they're going to be shocked."
On what drove her to succeed: "I wanted to be paid equally. I got my first (investment) order by accident; I wasn't even registered (as a broker). I was an analyst at Shields & Company. A customer said, "We made money on a report you wrote, so we owe you an order." I was so naive that I went into the partner in charge of research and said, "Shall I wait until I register (to be a broker)?" And he practically kicked me out of his office. He said, "You go up there and you get the order, and we'll make it up to you at Christmastime." I left Shields because they were paying the men 100 to 150 percent more than me, and I was the one doing the research."
On how she sets her firm apart from others: "We try to put the customer first. Last year, when we were having trouble handling the business in a quality way because it was happening so fast, we kept the advertising down. I don't think it does anybody any good to bring accounts in and not handle them in a quality way. The mobile pager we introduced has been good, and our Web site is user-friendly."
On how it feels to be the first woman billionaire of an Internet company: "The day-traders giveth and the day-traders taketh away. (Now) it's only a half-billion, so it's a good thing I didn't spend it! I was shocked out of my head, because everyday you pick up the paper about these 25- to 30-year-olds, and they're hitting a billion dollars."
