Carmen Mundt on Building Wealth from Zero

"I'm never going to be powerless like this again."

It was 2008, and 8-year-old Carmen Mundt was watching her family's stability collapse in the financial crisis. Some people might have let that define their story. Instead, it became her catalyst.

So how did a young girl who watched her family lose everything become one of finance's most refreshing voices? Let's rewind.

“We lost everything, and my life changed forever. That’s when my interest in learning about money was born. I decided to learn as much as possible to never be in this position again.”

Crisis as a Compass

Growing up in a traditional Spanish household, Carmen watched her father handle all financial decisions as the sole breadwinner.

For most of her childhood, financial stability seemed secure. But when the 2008 crisis hit, her father was forced to declare his company insolvent.

In order to pay all his debts, the family ended up losing everything, eventually plunging into bankruptcy.

As a child, she didn’t fully grasp the situation, but the anxiety of financial struggle became the backdrop of her formative years.

"For three long years, the same conversation echoed at our breakfast, lunch, and dinner tables: 'How are we going to escape this debt, and what future do we have as a family?'”

The ripples of that financial crisis shaped Carmen's future in unexpected ways.

While her older brothers received full financial support for their education, she watched the family's resources dwindle until there was nothing left for her own studies.

But Carmen drew motivation from an unexpected source: watching her brilliant mother navigate life without financial agency.

“I never wanted to be in my mother’s position, not having any control of my finances."

"Growing up, it was always clear to me how talented and skilled she was, and I think she could have been very successful if she had gotten the chance to prove herself. That’s one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about educating women today.”

Just when things seemed bleakest, hope came from an unexpected source: the discovery that she could study abroad with student loans, an option not available in Spain. It was the turning point that changed everything.

She made it to Business Management and Finance, complete with a crash course in juggling survival with studies.

"It was a really good course, but incredibly difficult because I was paying for everything myself," she recalls.

Between classes, she worked full-time hours split between a café and a retail shop, often pulling double shifts to make ends meet.

With no financial safety net, every decision was a calculated risk, from grocery choices to textbook purchases.

“Those years were the longest of my life, with no room for savings or future planning; I was simply focused on finishing my degree.”

After graduating, she sent out over 200 job applications before finally securing her first role in consultancy, and eventually investment management.

Her career flourished at a prestigious investment fund managing £32 billion in assets, where she was rapidly gaining expertise in portfolio management.

‍"I was very, very happy there," Carmen reflects. "I was learning so much, working with incredible minds in finance."

The Pivot Point

But as her career was taking off, life threw her another curveball.

The demanding hours and rigid structure of institutional finance were colliding with a changing personal life, as she spent more time in Monaco managing a long-distance relationship with her new partner's globe-trotting F1 career.

New opportunities were emerging that promised both professional growth and lifestyle flexibility, and she realized she could reimagine success on her own terms.

Could she create a life that made room for both love and ambition, without compromising her hard-won financial independence?

It wasn’t an easy choice.

“I was learning a lot and doing a very demanding job, with long hours, but I realized I can also apply that to independent work. And, in fact, give so much more to people.”

So in 2023, she made the move to Monaco, shifting from professional investment management to a new chapter: managing her own growing investment portfolio while building strategic brand partnerships.

For Carmen, this dual approach was a purposeful step to create a life which includes both financial independence and personal flexibility.

My father often reminded me, "The one thing no one can take away from you is your education," and he was right.

Breaking Barriers at Home

While high-profile households typically hand over their investments to male-dominated wealth management firms, Carmen is quietly breaking another barrier.

She brings her institutional expertise directly to her household's portfolio management, challenging long-held assumptions about who should control family wealth.

In a space where women are often sidelined from major financial decisions, Carmen's hands-on management of household investments signals a long-overdue shift in who controls private wealth.

Investing With Impact: Inside Carmen’s Strategy

What sets Carmen's investment approach apart isn't just her financial expertise, it's her deeply personal mission to make funding more accessible.

Today, Carmen describes her mission as making "impact investments in the future of women”, a beautiful reflection of how money can shape the future we want to see.

To her social media following of over 500,000, what sets her apart is her willingness to have real conversations about money and independence alongside the glossy lifestyle content.

“We’re still facing gender pay gaps, discrimination in the workplace, and challenges like the motherhood penalty. But here’s the good news: investing can be a way for us to level the playing field.”

Her investment strategy targets areas others may overlook: female founders navigating their first rounds of funding, Spanish entrepreneurs breaking into international markets, and startups tackling financial literacy.

As she recently told Forbes Portugal, "I'm giving them a voice to have the confidence to say, 'My business is worth it, my business is going to succeed. The reality is that it's different if I'm in the middle. Not because it's me, but because of my position at the moment. And I think this is a very powerful tool to give women that confidence."

Partnership with Purpose: Carmen × Female Invest

When we look for collaborators at Female Invest, we seek out experts who not only understand finance but share our mission of making wealth-building accessible to everyone.

Carmen was a natural choice: her track record in institutional finance, combined with her commitment to transparency and education, made her an ideal partner for our community.

As Female Invest co-founder Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen notes,

"Carmen has a fantastic career, but she is also the girlfriend of a famous athlete. People tend to dismiss the women partnered with professional athletes, but Carmen is in fact a certified financial advisor. She has worked professionally in the financial sector, investing large amounts for big clients. She is an expert in the field."

Carmen brought this journey to life in her Female Invest e-book, "Carmen Mundt: My Investing Journey and Learnings."

“My book was about giving people the mindset and motivation that comes from me…as someone who has gone through challenges, who has studied, who has paid for her own career.”

Drawing from her own journey from financial crisis to financial freedom, Carmen breaks down everything from investment fundamentals to advanced wealth-building strategies. The enthusiastic response from our community confirms just how hungry women are for honest, accessible financial guidance.

From Personal Pain to Public Power

Financial education isn't just a career for Carmen: it’s deeply personal.

Those childhood conversations about money weren't just about numbers - they were about survival, independence, and the power to choose.  

Her approach remains grounded in that early understanding. She knows firsthand what it’s like to feel locked out of financial opportunities, and she’s determined to make sure others don’t have to learn the hard way.

Through her openness about her own financial journey, she's showing that knowledge is the strongest form of security. In her own words,

“I wanted to show others, especially women, that we can take control of our financial future. Learning about money is one of the most empowering things women can do.”

In 2024, she reached a personal milestone: clearing the student debt that had funded her escape from financial uncertainty.

After watching her family's security vanish in childhood, paying off these loans represented more than just paying a debt. It was tangible proof that she had broken the cycle.

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Know another woman breaking barriers in finance? Share in the comments below who inspires you.