The third edition of the first and still only “Wellbeing Conference” in Turkey, organized by the “Wellbeing and Holistic Health Association,” was held on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at the Beşiktaş South Campus of Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, with the university serving as the venue sponsor.
The conference, attended by 350 people, featured six panels throughout the day, with a total of 23 distinguished experts from the worlds of business, medicine, finance, and academia serving as panelists.
The conference opened with the Financial Wellbeing panel.
The Financial Wellbeing Panel was moderated by financier and investor Emre K. Mimaroğlu and featured Mint Finance Chairman İlhami Koç, Doğuş Otomotiv Board Member & Foder Advisory Board Chairman & Monay App Founder Özlem Denizmen, and Foder Board Member and Osmanlı Yatırım Board Advisor Murat Sağman.
We have summarized the topics discussed in the panel for you.
You can also watch the entire panel here
Emre K. Mimaroğlu: “Financial Wellbeing is not the same as financial literacy.”
- Emre Mimaroğlu, the panel moderator, a financier and investor, emphasized that financial literacy and financial wellbeing are not the same thing, defining financial wellbeing as “managing one’s relationship with money in a calm manner.” He also explained that owning financial assets is not sufficient to enhance financial wellbeing, citing the Medici family in Florence as an example from history. He highlighted that investment decisions are generally not rational, quoting Daniel Kahneman: “People’s fear of loss is twice as strong as their desire to gain.”
- İlhami Koç: “The illusion of return leads people into investment traps”
İlhami Koç, Chairman of the Board of Mint Finance, began his speech by defining investment as “the evaluation of savings, excluding expenses, in financial instruments for the purpose of return.” He noted that investment, also described by the Turkish word “maya koymak,” should essentially be long-term, but in daily life, it is evaluated as very short-term. Koç emphasized that they encounter the question “Where should I invest my money?” everywhere and that with this question, people actually mean “How can I double my money in the short term with which investment instrument?” He said that high return claims, i.e., the illusion of return, lead people into investment traps. He stated that Ponzi schemes are the most important example of investment traps, noting that the human brain loves quick solutions and focuses on potential returns while ignoring risk, which is why Ponzi schemes are so popular. He also mentioned that the habit of short-termism creates opportunities for fraudsters.
- Özlem Denizmen: “Financial wellbeing is measurable and trackable.”
Özlem Denizmen, member of the Board of Directors at Doğuş Otomotiv, Chair of the FODER Advisory Board, and founder of Monay App, stated that she has been responsible for her own financial wellbeing since the age of 17 and that she has transferred the experience she gained from her professional career in finance to her startup, the Monay App. Contributing to the measurability of financial wellbeing with this application, Denizmen stated that while earning money is a feasible action, improving one’s financial wellbeing level is more important. Denizmen emphasized that the financial wellbeing levels of a person who can manage their money, create an emergency fund, save, and does not have impulsive consumption habits will naturally differ from those of a person with the opposite behaviors. He stated that this difference makes financial wellbeing measurable and trackable. He mentioned that individuals’ financial behavior tendencies and behavioral approaches are important in measuring financial wellbeing levels. He advised that investing in a way that does not increase a person’s stress level will raise their financial wellbeing level and that young people, in particular, should experience investing but, above all, diversify. He also stated that for financial wellbeing, it is necessary to have knowledge and skills and to take action, but that we have some behavioral blocks, and therefore investing is not a rational action. He emphasized that even childhood memories related to money affect individuals’ investment behaviors and that parents are the teachers of children’s financial wellbeing.
- Murat Sağman: “Financial wellbeing is more about managing money than earning it.”
Murat Sağman, member of the Foder Board of Directors and advisor to the Ottoman Investment Board of Directors, began his speech by giving examples of how the short-term and long-term perspectives of investors and financial professionals are quite different. He stated that financial wellbeing is more about managing money than earning it. He stated that each individual’s investment decision should be different, that investment decisions should be made according to the person’s financial and behavioral situation, and therefore it is not right to ask everyone for investment advice. Stating that investments that cause anxiety at night are not the right investments, Sağman emphasized that investment instruments have remained in the triangle of interest, foreign exchange, and the stock market for a long time, and that there is currently a wide range of financial investment instruments, which is an important factor in terms of financial peace of mind. However, Sağman noted that short-term investments and the desire for high returns undermine financial peace of mind, highlighting the importance of individual investment planning at this point. He also said that some people trust everyone too easily and are highly susceptible to fraud, while others do not invest at all for fear of being defrauded.