Female forces forge forward in the world of finance

Audur Capital is an independent Icelandic provider of financial services. The company aims to bring feminine values to the world of finance by using a responsible, sensible and long term approach to investments. Targeting a growing group of female investors as well as anyone wanting to invest by the Audua approach.

Due to the gender differences in investment behaviour, a new and different approach is needed to make women aware of and interested in financial services. Studies have shown that banks have not succeeded in converting female potential into actual profit. The reason is that they have not managed to appeal to women. It is therefore necessary to make financial products more female-oriented.

Audur Capital was founded in Iceland in 2007 and is an independent provider of financial services. The services aim at combining the potential of women as investors with socially responsible investments. Audur Capital has therefore adopted four values which set the company apart from other providers of financial services and make it a socially responsible company.

Independent advice
Firstly, Audur Capital is an independent provider of financial services. This means that the company only serves its customers' interests. No other venture capital fund in Iceland has an ownership structure as independent and broad as Audur Capital.

Secondly, the company is aware of risks and aims to help its customers to understand the risks they are taking and help build their confidence in the investment industry.

Thirdly, Audur Capital is a socially responsible company. This means that the company has a broad definition of 'yield'. To Audur, yield is not simply financial yield, but also the implementation of activities that benefit society as a whole.

Fourthly, the company focuses on a win-win-situation in which all stakeholders are taken into consideration. The company uses many different methods in an attempt to not only meet the specific financial requirements of women, but also to strengthen the position of women in the world of investment.

Investment in women
Audur Capital also manages Audur I, which is the company’s first private equity fund. Audur I focuses on social and demographic change. It is the first private equity fund in Iceland to focus mainly on investing in companies owned or run by women, and in products or services which appeal to women in particular.

A common interest, which reflects the founders’ values, and a similar business idea, was what brought the two entrepreneurs together. The contact was established through a network of female managers. Once the idea had been worked out, they spent seven months developing a business plan, and then ten months formulating the key factors that would set the company apart from other financial service providers.