I’ve worked in an industry I didn’t think was for people like me for over 30 years.
I was brought up on a run-down council estate in Scotland. When I was 14, my dad was on invalidity benefit – having suffered a massive brain haemorrhage at the age of 40. That haemorrhage should have killed him outright, but he survived albeit with severe epilepsy and a much-altered personality. My job at school was to go home at lunchtime to make sure he was okay, while my mum worked at whatever job she could get to keep our heads just above water financially. We never knew when my dad would end up in hospital as his epilepsy wasn’t just one seizure – it was six in a row. His death when I was 16 was bewildering and devastating in a way that I wouldn’t feel until many years later. My job after his death was to look after my mum, who seemed to lose her mind for a time, while also studying hard for my exams – I was told that, although my dad’s death was horrible, I couldn’t let it define the rest of my life and I had to do well in my exams. So I did!
If you’d told me in my dark, bewildering teen days that I would forge a successful career in asset management, I wouldn’t have believed you. What even was asset management? If you’d told me that I would become a senior manager in London – it would have blown my little mind!
After school, I started work as an office junior in a bank. From there, I fell into asset management when I moved to Standard Life, who were taking on school leavers. I stood out because I was already working in the mortgage department of a bank so was assigned to Investment Admin – in the valuations team. From valuations, I moved to client reporting and client servicing and finally found my niche in RFP/proposals.
I’m lucky because when I started in my industry, it was with others who had a similar background to me. It has been interesting, though, to see how we have all faired over the last 30 years. For instance, I’ve noticed that, despite early ambitions, none have become portfolio managers and many have not even stayed in the industry. You can’t aspire to be what you cannot see – and if portfolio managers and analysts are only recruited from top universities, then it is easy to think that those jobs are not for the likes of you.
Cognitive diversity is really important and I am passionate about letting young people, particularly young women, know that they do have a place in our industry, if they want it. There are many roles within the asset management industry and none should be barred to anyone with the brains, talent, and resilience to go for them.