Marianne Voogt: “Investing is just like gardening”

Inside BUX

No failures, only lessons: that’s the motto of Marianne, 28, from the Netherlands. We spoke to this young Dutch investor who is taking risks with increasingly long-term objectives. Discover her vision on investment and her opinion on access to investment for women.

Hi Marianne! Can you introduce yourself and what initially sparked your interest in investment?

My name is Marianne Voogt, I’m 28 years old. I’m a Sales Engineer at Snowflake with a background in healthcare IT. As I’m working with data, I’ll let that speak for itself first: only 29% of women reported trading stocks and shares online, compared to 49% of men – isn’t that crazy?

I’ve thought about investing for a long time but really dived into it a year ago. At first, I was wondering: “Do I start with small sums of money every month? Do I start with building up my own portfolio? Do I want to go for individual shares of companies?” I was searching for the perfect method for quite a while.

This was a few months after I started my own vegetable garden. I was sitting in between the zucchini’s, strawberries and fennel bulbs. That started with a similar note: what kind of crops should I grow this year and how do I organize my m2 of land? There were a lot of theories on perfect combinations of crops to avoid diseases or plagues. But I decided to just start sowing, planting, watering and checking in regularly to see what worked and what didn’t.  

I switched my mindset for investment as well: to learn, I have to put myself into action. I did some research, jumped in, and bought my first set of shares. 

What are your goals in general when you think of investing?

My goals prioritize fulfillment and rewards from hard work, influenced by my dad’s advice. He has always told me “you have to remove the words ‘fun’ and ‘stress’ from your vocabulary when it comes to work and income”. This is what has guided me. 

Recently, that led me to think about diversifying my income beyond just salary from working. Exploring new paths like investments. Because if there is an opportunity to increase the reward from hard work, why wouldn’t I want to investigate that? Of course, investing itself requires time and dedication as well. No one said it would just be clicking an easy button. 

Do you also focus on regular investment, like ETFs?

One of my 2024 goals is to learn about a more slow and steady approach to win the race. I set up a monthly investment plan, rather than waiting until I have the money saved up in my bank account, researching various companies and then buying larger amounts. Rings a bell, doesn’t it? One of those famous sayings is “it’s not about timing the market, but time in the market.” I’m starting to get that now.

What’s your strategy when you invest in stocks and ETFs? Do you use any resources before investing?

Being in the tech industry gives me an advantage. It allows me to better understand emerging trends. I prefer understanding a business somewhat before I invest in it.

Before getting started with investing, I started listening to the Dutch podcast ‘Jong Beleggen’, where they really focus on ‘no question is too wrong to ask’ – I really appreciated that.  

Reflecting on the past year, do you believe you’ve encountered any setbacks, and if so, what valuable lessons have you learned from those experiences?

Every time you make a step, you learn from it and from the ups and downs. At the beginning, I was taking a lot of risks – but it was good learning. I don’t view them as mistakes, rather as opportunities to grow. 

And unexpected events are also part of the journey. Like rainy summers in my garden, facing changes in the stock market is inevitable. Just take it one step at a time. Adapt where necessary.

One lesson I’ve learned is the importance of balancing my portfolio, shifting from a 99% speculative approach – that I call “playground” – to a more stable one with a small portion allocated for experimentation. I’m thinking of focusing towards ETFs and building monthly investment plans. This is something that I can do on BUX, and I want to make more use of it. 

Why do you think most women are not investing yet?

I read on the fact that women prioritize open conversation on what is on their minds, while men engage more in (literature) research. To engage more women, we need to talk about this and create transparency. Allow for a safe space to ask questions. That is exactly the reason I wanted to do this interview, so that other women hear about experiences in investing.

Do you consider yourself a successful investor, especially considering your divergence from traditional female saving patterns? And how do you define success in investing, beyond monetary wealth?

For me, success is not having such a bad experience that would make me quit investing – haha. I don’t want to set expectations for the long term yet. I feel like I’ve just gotten started. And who knows, maybe one summer I’ll be sitting in the garden surrounded by home grown flowers and vegetables with a smile on my face, feeling proud about my investment journey.

How do you think your experience as a woman investor can inspire other women?

Often I think to myself that I am unique in my thoughts or struggles, because I don’t hear many other people talk about them. It just takes someone to open up about this topic and to let their voice be heard. So many others might feel the same way, but may not have the words to talk or write about it initially.

Being a women in tech, I am open about my thoughts and struggles in that domain too. More often than not, others have let me know that what I said has really resonated with them. They might feel strengthened when hearing that they are not alone with this. That’s what I want for women in investing too.

So come join me on this side, the grass is green here!