Women who have taken career breaks to raise children is also a common theme to Malikzada’s work.
“For some of the women I’ve worked with, they have potentially stopped working to raise families. Their kids have now gone to university, so now they're free to back to work and think about themselves.
“This means they don't get the retirement planning that they deserve, which is quite annoying.”
Malikzada said she is passionate about educating women on finance, even within her friendship groups and family.
What more do you think can be done to help women with their finances?
Malikzada said she felt passionate about the topic even while working at a bank.
And she has seen first how the world of work is not set up for women who take time out to have children.
She said: “When I left the bank, I felt sort of restricted in terms of my options. I have always believed in working hard and growing with whatever organisation I was with, but I felt that having kids restricted me.
“So when I gave up my job and I had my second son, I would go out with friends for coffee or even to my hair salon lady and would often talk about money, it really clicked to me how little women are aware of finance.”
She said a common thing she would hear was that their husbands deal with the money.
“When I decided to set up my own business I made it my mission to help women with their finances. Generations ago, we've just left it to somebody else to deal with, and that's not served us well.”
She said having more women as financial advisers could encourage more women to seek advice.
Malikzada said she also does not turn down clients who do not have a lot to invest.
“It might not make business sense for me but I promised myself when I joined the industry, when I opened my practice, that I will never turn down a client just because they didn't have enough disposable income.”
And she said helping out these clients can even lead to winning other clients through referrals.
She added: “I've helped clients who had pretty much nothing to invest but when I've sat down with them and I've shown them how to improve their situation, they've referred me to their friends.”
She also said this approach can help shift the perception you have to be rich to access financial advice.
What would be your advice for someone thinking of setting up on their own?
Malikzada warned it would be a hard journey but taking it slowly will pay off.
“You need to think of the bigger picture when you're building a business, the first few years are tough,” she said.
“I've had days where I've just sat at my desk and I'm like, ‘oh my god, I'm bored, because I've got nothing to do’. I've just got to keep an eye on the end goal.”
