Women face triple challenges when it comes to savings and investing, according to a leading Bermuda financial analyst.

Antoinette Bolden, managing director of Emerald Financial Group, said that women more than men need to plan their futures to ensure a stable life in years to come.

She said: "Firstly women live longer, so they need to have a longer period to life off their money. Then, on average, women earn less than men. And thirdly, most women work less years than men, taking time out to raise children or for other reasons."

So now her company, Emerald Financial, is offering free seminars to help women plan their financial lives, present and future.

The series of free seminars, called "Smart investment strategies for women" will take place every Wednesday through the rest of March and April.

Mrs. Bolden and Bianca Wypior, an investment analyst at Emerald, will also be holding free investment seminars on "Women and Investing" on the second Tuesday of each month at the Chamber of Commerce from 12.30 to 2pm throughout 2002.

And Mrs. Bolden said that no matter what your income and expenditure, everyone should find a savings and investment plan that will give them stability for the future.

"There was a woman in the United States who all her life earned less than $30,000 a year, and she lived frugally. When she died, she left five or six million dollars to a charity. So you can save on any kind of income," said Mrs. Bolden.

And she said that financially challenged single mothers had to find a savings plan more urgently than others because they have to think of their family and their future.

"Single moms most of all have to invest. Someone with two kids definitely needs to engage in a steady plan. You do not need a lot of money to save, but it can make a huge difference in the future."

And she said the reason she organised the seminars was to help women take control of their futures and their finances, no matter how much or little they have to invest.

And she said that despite the downturn in the stock markets, now is the best time to invest.

"The important thing to remember in investing is the length of time invested, not when but how long, particularly for women who will need more money during the latter part of their lives

"We must keep an eye on our long-term goals that we would have set and ride out the peaks and valleys that will occur as we journey toward our goal. At Emerald we focus on the long-term goals of out client and continually monitor their portfolio for their long-term goals."

For further information, log on to www.emerald.bm.