Iceland, Women, Feminine Values and Audur Capital

Last week I hosted a lunch for two amazing women from Iceland that I met at the Deauville Global Women's Forum. They were in the US to talk about their business, Audur Capital, a money management firm they founded based on feminine values. I was going to write all about it but the Guardian did it for me. I was thrilled when this story popped up in my inbox today thanks to Naked Capitalism. I have included an excerpt below but be sure to read the full article. This two women are amazing, absolutely amazing. They are not only imagining what is possible for a financial services firm, but doing it. ( see an excerpt below)

"..Prominent among them are Halla Tómasdóttir and Kristin Petursdóttir, the founders of Audur Capital, who have teamed up with the singer Björk to set up an investment fund to boost the ravaged economy by investing in green technology. Petursdóttir, a former senior banking executive, and Tómasdóttir, the former managing director of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce, decided just before the crunch to set up a firm bringing female values into the mainly male spheres of private equity, wealth management and corporate advice.

Tómasdóttir says: "Our Björk fund is to focus on sustainable growth. Iceland was the first in the world into the crisis, but we could be the first out, and women have a big role to play in that. It goes back to our Viking women. While the men were out there raping and pillaging, the women were running the show at home.

"We have five core feminine values. First, risk awareness: we will not invest in things we don't understand. Second, profit with principles - we like a wider definition so it is not just economic profit, but a positive social and environmental impact. Third, emotional capital. When we invest, we do an emotional due diligence - or check on the company - we look at the people, at whether the corporate culture is an asset or a liability. Fourth, straight talking. We believe the language of finance should be accessible, and not part of the alienating nature of banking culture. Fifth, independence. We would like to see women increasingly financially independent, because with that comes the greatest freedom to be who you want to be, but also unbiased advice."