For Marc and Maria, growing up together did not mean suddenly becoming perfectly disciplined investors. They invest when they can. Sometimes monthly. Sometimes every couple of months. It isn’t the picture-perfect image of investing we’re usually sold, but it’s real and intentional. More importantly, it works.
Invest now. Invest now. Don’t think. We’re 30 and we started at 27. We both say we wish we did it at 20.
Can you tell us a bit about how you met?
Maria: We met in 2019 through common friends in Lebanon, and then in 2022 we both moved to Dubai. Marc was in DHA, I was in Beirut still. And, um, we got married in 2024, and that’s pretty much it. The journey with Sarwa was from 2022. We were a couple but not officially married yet, and we continued with Sarwa up until today.
How did you discover Sarwa?
Maria: So, I graduated from college in 2017 and then immediately I joined strategy consulting. So I was working at Arthur D. Little. Then in 2022, I did a career move to Aramex where I’m still currently working. And if you see if you look at my Sarwa profile, this is when I started investing because I quit consulting. I was like, okay, I need to do something about the savings that I have. And Sarwa was the best option. Why? Because we heard a lot about it from friends around us in Dubai, and they explained the product to us.
I liked it. I liked the concept. I was a bit, I don’t want to say lazy, but I didn’t want to choose what to invest in myself. A friend told me about the algorithm, how it works, and I was very comfortable with it. I also liked the risk profile test where you can choose what level of risk you can take and invest accordingly. We were still not married, me and Marc. So we kind of did it together separately, but both of us were using the same product. It wasn’t a monthly thing. It was like, whenever I felt like I have a bit on the side, and I don’t want it to be in the bank not doing anything, I put it in Sarwa. So that’s about myself. I don’t know Marc, if you want to add anything?
Marc: Yeah. So, I think my story is a bit different than Maria because, I mean the objective is the same, but you have two people on different sides completely. So Maria was like I want to do something, but I really don’t know much about finance, about stocks, what to do, what to buy, and on the other side [there’s] someone like me, who I mean because I like to invest, I study these things. I know the basics, know what to do. But, I just hadn’t found what was working for me. But then with Sarwa, it’s a lot easier for me, because I’m getting the returns that I want. Safe returns, good returns. But also with very minimal risk or effort on my side.
A lot of people say, “Why don’t you just go buy the stocks that they [Sarwa] are buying? It’s a lot easier.” But for me, I had all of these apps, IBKR and everything, but to go wait for the market, know when to buy, open a position, blah blah blah, all of these things are a lot.
With Sarwa, it’s a lot easier because I just transfer money there. That’s why I also went into [Sarwa] with a similar objective of a safety net for non-savings. We still use it frequently. We try to invest whenever we have a bit of cash on the side every month, every two months, whatever that is. Not very systematically. But we try to keep investing as much as we can.
it’s your first job, you’re just making money, and then you want to travel, you want to enjoy it and all of this. And then once you stabilise a bit you’re like, okay, there is something that I need to do. Because I had this awareness from friends, and also from Marc, that money sitting in the bank is not a good thing.
Maria, you mentioned that you weren’t investing before, but then you decided you wanted to do something with your savings. So what was that moment like? Why did you decide now is the time to start?
Maria: Sorry, I didn’t really catch that.
Interviewer: Oh, can you hear me?
Maria: Yeah. But I’m in Lebanon, so sometimes, you know (laughs) the internet.
(after repeating the question) I think it was a peer group thing and I think also I was a bit young before so I was just kind of making my —
Marc: It was me.
Maria: (laughs) It was Marc, it was all Marc. To be fair, yeah, Marc influenced me a lot because he was more aware than me when it comes to investing. But also it’s kind of like, it’s your first job, you’re just making money, and then you want to travel, you want to enjoy it and all of this. And then once you stabilise a bit you’re like, okay, there is something that I need to do. Because I had this awareness from friends, and also from Marc, that money sitting in the bank is not a good thing.
When it comes to your investing mindset, where did it come from, and who has influenced it, for example, YouTubers, influencers, family, friends?
Maria: Probably Marc is better at answering this question than me.
Marc: Yeah, I’ve taken quite a few YouTube classes. I’ve taken a few classes here and there, some courses. I’ve also asked friends for their advice. I used to read a lot about these things to try to understand them better, and just understand what I’m doing.
Marc: But in terms of investing mindset, I think it’s what every guy around my age tries to do. You hear a lot about people making so much money from investing, and you try to learn what investing is, and in the beginning, you always learn by [making] mistakes.
I guess I managed it by losing, that’s how I learned not to listen to influencers and these finance opinions.
How do you manage both peer pressure from hearing about others making quick money, and the constant overload of market information?
Marc: I guess I managed it by losing. As I said, I used to hear about a lot of people getting rich quickly and investing in random things and I used to do the same. I was the type of guy that would go in, buy whatever, make mistakes, lose money. And then, I think when I found Sarwa, it was a lot easier for me.
It was actually good because I was young and didn’t have a lot of money, so what I lost is nothing compared to what I invest now.
I still trade on the side, but it’s like peanuts compared to what I invest. The majority is with Sarwa, it’s safe, but the rest is for fun. But, as I said, it’s by losing, that’s how I learned not to listen to influencers and these finance opinions.
Marc: As for managing market headlines and that noise, usually I spend early mornings going over news from trusted channels like Financial Times or New York Times. I don’t follow investors on Instagram because they’re bad sources for information. I review in the morning to see if something major happened, but I don’t check stocks all day or look at minor news.
One of the things that we’ve gotten from clients is when you’re aligned with your partner on financial goals, it’s easier to invest. So how have those discussions been between you both?
Maria: We were aligned that part of our savings we wanted to invest in real estate because we needed a house in Dubai and we didn’t want to pay rent.
But also we wanted to maximise what we can achieve from our savings. So we were like okay, what are our options other than real estate? Because that’s something we’re going to do, but we’re not going to put all our cash into it.
So we aligned on Sarwa because it gives us minimum effort but similar kind of reward as other things we could do.
What advice would you have for somebody who hasn’t started investing yet, because they’re scared or hesitant?
Marc: Invest now. Invest now. Don’t think. We’re 30 and we started at 27. We both say we wish we did it at 20.
Maria: Even if it’s a minimum amount per month.
Marc: Whatever it is.
What stopped you from investing sooner?
Marc: Because I was scared. There is risk. But then I noticed that not doing it is a bigger risk than doing it. Especially something like Sarwa or ETFs is very low risk. If you don’t do it, you’re better off taking the risk rather than not doing it.
As a younger couple, how do you manage your spending? Especially in Dubai, where there’s a lot of wealth being displayed, how do you hold yourself back?
Marc: We know what we want to spend on. We’re not irrational spenders. If we want to splurge on one thing, we agree that this is our splurge. But we never forget we have to invest and make sure we’re working toward major things: buying a house, building our life. We travel, we do everything, but all within what we know we’re able to spend on rather than splurging and missing out on investing.
Maria: Especially in Dubai because it’s very easy to be dragged into the culture of spending a lot. It’s a very consumerist country. So we try our best to have fun, travel, go out, but always keep investing in the back of our minds.
I’m more comfortable having investments rather than just seeing my bank account increase.
When it comes to having those consumerist temptations, have either of you ever fallen for it? And what lessons did you learn?
Maria: I’m still learning. (laughing)
Marc: Maria has a lot to learn. (teasing, smiling)
Maria: I’m still learning. I mean, look, sometimes you do it. I think all of us are victims of this, but the learning I would say is to just balance it out with saving and investing on the side. As in, you allow yourself, as Marc was saying, for a while to do this, but then you say okay, enough.
For example, because we had Christmas in December, I’m like okay in January, or in Q1 at least, there’s no big purchase. We have to be a bit careful so you try to compensate and balance it.
What does being financially free mean to you?
Marc: For me it’s waking up and not worrying about going to work.
Maria: For me it’s living without thinking about what I’m paying for right now. You pay for things, you live your life, but without worrying.
Looking back, how has your relationship with money changed?
Maria: You become more responsible. In the beginning when you start making more money you don’t think about it much, but then you feel like you have responsibility toward spending, managing finances and expenses.
Marc: Now I know what I want to do with it. I’m fine with not seeing a big number in the bank, but rather in Sarwa or in a house or in assets. I’m more comfortable having investments rather than just seeing my bank account increase.
Final thoughts
For Maria, growing up meant realising that avoiding investing carries its own cost.
For Marc, it meant recognising that risk needs to be (better) calculated.
They’re still figuring it out and learning what consistency looks like for them.
Wealth’s New Look, in their case, is being comfortable seeing money in their portfolio instead of a bank balance.
Please note the views expressed above reflect the personal experiences of the individuals featured and are shared for illustrative purposes only. They do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to invest.