Q1. What or who inspired you to work in investing?

Early on in my life there was nothing in particular that inspired me to work in investing besides just having dreams of doing something exciting  that would see me expand my boundaries outside my suburban town in Rhode Island. Initially I dreamt of being a broadcast journalist because I loved current affairs and politics then I moved my goal to international business or affairs. Finance only appeared to me as on option after university and it seemed like an industry that encapsulated all those interests. I found it an industry that is open to many types of backgrounds as long as you are willing to learn and expand your horizons.  

Q2. What do you think the future looks like for women in investing? What would you like to see?

We  need to continue to focus on encouraging young women to learn about investment.   While there have been great strides made to make women aware of the opportunities in investing careers,  more can be done to make this industry less opaque and more accessible for women . It’s pretty well known now that employee diversity makes for better decisions and outcomes.  We definitely need to find more ways to share how investment is important to issues that young people hold close to them like climate. 

Once they enter the investment workforce we need to continue to make it attractive to retain women over time especially mothers with younger children.  Personally I found that to be the bigger challenge and managed the process because of supportive bosses and colleagues.  So for me the key to any work environment to be able to retain good people is to be supportive of each individual’s life challenges.   Also to ensure equitable pay for comparable performance which continues to be a challenge. 

Q3. What is your attitude to investment risk?

Investment risk has to be calculated risk and needs to be aligned with objectives of each investor or fund. It has to be calculated in the sense that it needs to address the tolerance for volatility and loss. When investing I like to understand the various upside and downside scenarios and how much is tolerable. By nature, I am quite conservative and cautious which I think suits fixed income investing well. I like the stability of income through fixed coupons but also be able to increase risk through higher yields by digging deeper to determine the outlook for an investment that may be misunderstood or which hasn’t achieved its full potential.    

Q4. If you had a superpower, what would it be?

My super power would be able to look fear in the face and be able to stand up to it. Fear keeps us from achieving our full potential but once we realise that confronting it is the hardest part, we are able to do more than we believe. Taking on that fear does require a lot of mental strength and support! 

Q5. Tell us your motto or if you don’t live by one, why not?

I believe that our experiences and memories are important and define who we are but your dreams are what you want to be. As life gets hectic, dreams sometimes get lost or swept under the carpet. Reminding ourselves of our dreams helps us through.  Working each day towards my dreams is what has helped me achieve many of my professional and personal goals. Dreams and clear goals also help in overcoming some of those fears that can get in the way.