Fashion met finance on the red carpet during the Schwab Vogue Affair at Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa, an exclusive event which celebrated women, the community, and the intersection of style and strategy while also raising awareness and support for the Hibiscus Children’s Center.
Glenn Smith, vice president and branch manager at Charles Schwab in Vero Beach, welcomed the invited guests and was joined by financial consultant Lola Danza, a former New Yorker who commented that while she started her career on Park Avenue, she found her true home in Vero Beach.
“It’s not just because of the setting,” Danza told the audience. “It’s because of the people. I get to bring people together for thoughtful conversation, community and shared experiences.”
Guests enjoyed cocktails, perused silent-auction items, and were treated to an elegant three-course dinner before Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab chief investment strategist, shared financial insights during a candid conversation.
Sonders, a familiar face on major financial news networks and annually named one of Barron’s ““100 Most Influential Women in Finance,” captivated the room with her take on the current economic landscape, which she dubbed the “temperamental era.” She also emphasized the critical importance of mastering emotional risk tolerance.
“We either let our winners run, or we chase them. We panic out of our losers; we get completely out of whack when the inevitable reversion to the mean happens,” Sonders explained.
She shared a cautionary anecdote about the dangers of reactive decision-making, recounting a heartbreaking experience with a woman who, during a moment of market volatility, confessed, “I can’t believe I did it, but I sold everything.”
Using the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle to explain investment discipline, Sonders said, “You can’t do the puzzle without the picture on the box. The picture on the box is your plan.”
The evening transitioned from strategy to style for a curated runway show featuring stunning looks from four local boutiques: Sara Campbell, Monkee’s of Vero Beach, Sigrid’s of Vero, and Cooper and Co.
The evening wove together the threads of charity and financial empowerment in a true convergence of high finance and fashion as models showcased a variety of fun and fashionable clothing.
Funds raised benefited the Hibiscus Children’s Center, which also operates the Hibiscus Children’s Village, a 40-bed residential campus in Vero Beach providing a safe, family-like environment for teens ages 12 to 17 who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment.
The Village focuses on long-term recovery and independence, through such programs as Career Pathways to Independence, which teaches marketable life-skills training, and arranges for internships in graphic design and culinary arts fields. The facility also provides trauma-informed mental health services and medical care to help these children heal so they can successfully transition into adulthood.
On Feb. 12, the Hibiscus Children’s Center will host its Wine and Dine Island Hop fundraiser at the Grand Harbor Club.
For more information, visit hibiscuschildrenscenter.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
