Precious Metals: Sprott emphasizes its focus on physical gold, silver, and platinum exposure via exchange-traded vehicles, highlighting secure storage and direct ownership benefits.
Physical Commodities: The trader details managing and executing strategies in commodities (including uranium and copper), explaining liquidity, volatility, and risk controls as core to performance.
Financial Institutions: TD Bank (TD), Scotiabank (BNS), and UBS (UBS) are discussed in depth, showcasing brand positioning, global reach, and client-centric strategies across retail, wealth, and investment banking.
Wealth Management: Scotia’s Global Family Office and broader wealth teams underscore a “total wealth” approach—planning, tax, trusts, and private banking—beyond traditional portfolio management.
Market Evolution: The trading role has shifted from manual processes to electronic tools and data-driven execution, improving best execution and freeing time for high-touch trades.
AI and Efficiency: TD’s marketing organization uses AI for modeling, visibility in LLMs, and workflow efficiencies, while noting human judgment remains essential.
Opportunities & Risks: Physical commodity exposure offers diversification but demands strict risk management; banks leverage data and global platforms to serve distinct client segments.
Investment Perspective: Long-term discipline, resilience through cycles, and aligning strategies with client needs are recurring themes across institutions.
Transcript
[music] [music] Hi everyone and welcome to our third annual International Women's Day conference. My name is Isabella and alongside my sister, we are so excited to have you here with us today. International Women's Day is a time to celebrate the achievements of women, reflect on the progress we've made, and have honest conversations about the work that still lies ahead. When we created this conference, our goal is simple, to bring together inspiring women in finance and business, and create a space where students, especially young women, can learn, ask questions, and see what's truly possible in their careers. Today, you'll hear from incredible leaders who have built impactful careers across the industry. We hope their stories, insights, and advice leave you feeling more confident, more informed, and more empowered to pursue your own path. Thank you to our sponsors, Spratu, Versify, and Blur Street Capital for your continuous support. And thank you so much for being here. Let's get started. [music] Hi, Heather. Thank you so much for joining us today. How are things in Toronto? >> Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here. Things are great. The weather is turning. We are looking forward to winter coming to an end. >> So am I. CPP Investments manages the assets of the Canadian Pension Plan on behalf of millions of Canadians. Can you give us a brief overview of the organization and what makes its investment approach unique compared to other large investment funds or pension plans? Wonderful. Thank you so much for allowing us to be here today. So, you're absolutely right. Uh CPP Investments manages the assets of the Canada Pension Plan and our mandate is very simple, but it's very powerful and I think it's what makes us really unique. And our mandate effectively is to earn strong returns without taking undue risk. So, the plan stays sustainable for over 22 million Canadians over the long term. We're here to build a generational organization and a generational portfolio and that means staying disciplined through market cycles. And Heather, you've held senior leadership roles at CPP Investments across strategy, operations, and investments. Can you tell us about your current role and what a typical day looks like for you? So I run our capital markets and factor investing department and that's a team of about a hundred people across Toronto and Hong Kong and London and our team invests and allocates to a number of public market strategies globally and we do that by running strategies internally specifically systematic or quantitative strategies that we run in-house in CPP investments and then we also allocate to a large global portfolio of external public market managers. across a number of different strategies. So my day is really uh about staying current in terms of what's happening in the market environment. It's decision-m with respect to our investment portfolio and our team and our strategy. And it's conversations really around leadership and ultimately making sure that our team stays aligned on the intent of what we're trying to achieve and really allowing them to do their best work. >> That's awesome. And you mentioned that you work across many geographies. I'm sure that makes things a bit more complicated dayto-day as well. >> A lot to stay connected on, especially today. >> Yes. And one of the things you mentioned is that CPP works with long-term investing. So, I'm curious about what you enjoy most about that specifically within a pension fund structure. >> Yeah, the long horizon really is a defining capability and advantage for us in terms of our duration of capital. It means that we're not building a portfolio for any one particular moment in markets. We're building a portfolio that can move through market cycles and not in reaction to them. And I think that's incredibly grounding. It really keeps you focused on the fundamentals, on portfolio resilience and decisions that will really stand the test of time. >> And across many of my interviews, one things remain consistent, and that's the importance of having a mentor. So, I'm curious if you've had a mentor throughout your career, and if so, what valuable lessons have you learned from them? >> Yeah, it really takes an ecosystem of people. I've learned a lot from mentors. Um, you know, especially the people who have been supportive to me over my career, but if I'm really being honest, it's the people who really challenged me, who pushed me into bigger roles, who gave me really honest feedback. Um, those have been the people that I find are going to put you on risk the most and that's where you're going to grow and you're going to get uncomfortable, but ultimately that's where you're going to become the most resilient and probably really stretch yourself beyond what you may have even thought you were capable of. I think some of the biggest lessons that I've learned, and I always come back to this, and I tell this to my team all the time, especially in the environment that we work in, is to really know how to cut through complexity in a in a way that really clearly articulates what your thinking is, what your thesis is, what the trade-offs around that, and what your beliefs are. And ultimately, that's, you know, a really important capability when when you're uh investing and you're you're trying to be clear on on the risks and the opportunities, but also bring other people along with you in your decision-m. >> I absolutely love that point and it ties into something I'm working on right now, which is just being curious and asking questions to clarify and as you mentioned, basically find the best solutions possible. So, I love that point. And I'm curious as to what skills or personal characteristics have been the most important to your success, especially as you've moved into senior leadership roles. Um, I think early on in your career, you know, you're really focused on being very competent in doing strong work around, you know, it's really important you have, especially, I think, in every industry, and that's very true for the investment industry as well, that you have a really good strong technical grounding and foundation. And early in your career, you're very focused on making sure that work is well executed, that it's, you know, you're reliable, that you're curious, that you're really trying to connect the synapses around all the ecosystem of everything that's going on around you. And ultimately being able to add more thought, leadership, and insight um as that work progresses and you go on in your career. And then as you become more senior, it's really about your judgment. And it's about bringing all that experience to the table that you have to think about how to set the intent for what you're trying to achieve with your program, your strategy, and your team. Making sure you can communicate that with a lot of clarity so people are very clear on that intent and are aligned with it. Um, and then ultimately about making room for people to be successful around you and building a leadership team um who can carry carry that work forward. So, I think the skill set kind of progresses a little bit uh from, you know, when you start early on in your career to depending on where you move over time. >> I love that point about kind of the building blocks and learning as you go. And it ties into my next question. I know CPP investments invest across public markets, private equity, infrastructure. You mentioned that there's a lot of technical skills involved. So for students maybe interested in institutional investing, what technical or analytical skills are becoming increasingly important? >> Yeah, I mean start with absolutely the core fundamentals. Building a strong foundation is really important. Understanding the core principles of finance, understanding accounting, understanding how markets work in in whatever avenue and root feels right to you in in the way that you want to learn that experience. um understanding you know the components of risk and how people take risk and then you know building fluency with data and tools because that's absolutely becoming table stakes um making sure you've got really good fluency and thinking about okay I have the foundational skills and the knowledge to think about how to uh put the components together um depending on the discipline that you're working in and now how do you how do you really amplify that with the tools and the skill set that you're working with to drive insights and drive value out of that information um And again, it comes back to being able to get to the core of what you're trying to understand and make sure that you can uh validate and evidence your thesis through like a number of different ways based on based on the tools that you have access to and ensuring that you can explain that in a clear and compelling way to your colleagues. Um ultimately the data is only going to take you so far, right? as you move on in your career and you get more accountability and responsibility for decision-m, you have to be able to um make sure that you can get people aligned around you to be able to put capital and put risk to work. >> And I love that point about communication because I think it's something that is incredibly important if you're working with people um and investments. There's definitely an emotional aspect to things. So I'm sure how understanding people and what motivates them to probably plays a pretty big role in your job. >> Yeah, absolutely. I think you know it's all everybody um you know everybody has a different set of motivations. I think especially if you're leading a team or building a team ultimately it's all about understanding what energizes people. Making sure that you really understand for each member of your team where do they feel the most engaged? How can they show up in a way that's going to allow them to do the best work? how can you put them in a position for them to succeed and making sure that you're giving people lots of opportunity um to take up that space and to be successful and that you're celebrating them along the way. >> I love that point and as mentioned there are many young women watching this conference. So for those interested in CPP investments, where can they find more information about internship or work opportunities? You can certainly find us on our website or you can find us on a number of social media uh platforms as well including LinkedIn and including Instagram. You can follow us. We are very active and you can learn more about the organization and all of the fantastic global opportunities that we have right here at CBP Investments. >> That's amazing. And as we wrap up, what final piece of advice would you offer to young women who aspire to build a career in finance or investment management? Never be afraid to go on risk on yourself. Find opportunities that are going to stretch you, that are going to make you grow, that are going to challenge you. Um, if you're going to, you know, put all of your energy and uh emphasis and insight into anything in your career and in your life, never be afraid to bet on yourself. and make sure that you know if you're if you're thinking about the next opportunity and it's starting to make you feel you know a little bit uncomfortable it's probably a really good sign that you're ready for the next step and absolutely take the leap even if it's outside a discipline that you uh may have thought of go on risk on yourself always it's uh it's the best investment you can make >> that's such a great point I love it I definitely can resonate with getting out of your comfort zone is the best place to learn so thank you for that this was such an amazing conversation, Heather. I loved learning more about your career journey and CPP investments. Thank you for joining us. >> Thank you for having me. Really appreciate it. Great to chat with you. [music] Hi Nikki, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm really looking forward to our conversation. It's great to be here, Sophia. Thanks for having me. >> Of course. And to start, you are one of the VPs of marketing at TD Bank. Could you explain what your role entails and what you're responsible for at a high level? >> Yeah, absolutely. Happy to. So, at the bank, we have a lot of different products we offer to help Canadians navigate their financial life. Some are for more everyday needs and others are for large life moments. So, I manage a team that markets all everyday products like checking accounts, savings accounts, another team that markets mortgages and lines of credit tied to a home. And then a third one that markets to newcomers and young adults that are both priority segments for us. >> So, what would a typical day or week look like for you in this role? Um, so I'm an early bird. Um, so I like to get into uh into work really early. Uh, this is when I do my best work and it's also it gives me a a chance to uh really ensure that I'm ready for the day uh as well. So I'm I'm in work early. Um, most of my days are filled with lots of meetings. Um, but these meetings um they're really important. They there's a lot of different topics that we we cover. So they normally include meetings to ensure our strategic plans are moving forward. Um there's also um meetings with uh with my team, also with business partners, also with marketing peers. Um but really to ensure that we're we're moving things forward and and uh staying to our plans. >> So you mentioned that you have meetings with your team. Is there also um a lot of cross team collaboration that happens as well? Uh yeah, there there is a lot of uh it's it's really really important to have cross team collaboration because this is how we're going to get um diversity of thought which is which is just a really really important way to be as strong as possible as a team. >> That makes sense. And then I'm curious about your career path. Have you always wanted to work in marketing or did your interest kind of evolve over time? Yeah, that's a great question. So, um, when I was in high school, I really loved math a lot. Um, and I actually first thought that I wanted to be an accountant. Um, but then I started uh doing some traveling and and getting curious about different countries and I also learned a little bit about marketing as well. And so when I went to university, um I actually took a double major in marketing and international business because those were two things that um I really had a passion for and was always really really interested in. And so um and so that's what helped me actually start start into getting into into marketing and um and and also international business a little bit as well. >> Yeah. I always think it's so interesting how people like find their way to their career paths because it's always so different and it's always nice to hear. Um, but how does working in marketing at a bank differ from working at an agency would you say? >> Um, so I mean if you're pursuing a career in marketing, uh, an agency is a really fantastic place to start. Um and so um for those of you who may not be as close to marketing, let me just explain what an agency does. So an agency is a company that helps uh other companies by creating marketing campaigns. So they they would help uh companies create like ads on YouTube or or Tik Tok or or television ads. Um and and so they're um predominantly these creative agencies. And so starting a career at a at an agency um is can be a really really great thing because you can learn all kinds of different marketing tactics and disciplines when you do that. Um you also learn how to contribute to different diverse companies as well. And so you learn about um what make different companies tick and and how you can drive marketing forward uh through those through those uh marketing tactics. On the client side, uh the difference there is that you actually oversee these campaigns and you create the marketing strategies that are used to then brief into the agency. So really, you have much more of an ownership there and you you own the results and you own the future of it. So you've got much more accountability to to that uh that strategy on the client side. >> Yeah. I feel like when people think of marketing, they think about more like the agency side and like that is what comes to mind. Um, but it's really interesting to see like both sides of it as well. Um, and in terms of marketing, especially in financial services, it has changed like significantly in recent years. What major trends are you seeing in the marketing space right now? Um, oh, I'm seeing uh a lot of different trends. I I mean, probably the the biggest one is is around uh is around AI and uh and really ensuring that we're using AI. I mean, we uh as a as marketers, we probably we use AI, I would say, in like three different larger places. So one is um for those marketers that use lists and customer lists, they often have to use models as well. And so for our models, we use AI. And so um with uh things things like uh chat GBT and Gen AI um we're we're looking at bringing Gen AI into our model. So that is one place. Um then another place from an AI standpoint would be ensuring that we are um showing up in in large language models. So when you are using um the different uh genai platforms that um that our products are showing up. Um and then the third one is around efficiencies. So, how are we using tools that have AI enabled in them to to drive efficiencies and allow us to go even faster and and allow the AI to do the things that are a little bit more mundane. >> That makes sense. And it's crazy to see how AI has evolved so quickly and just continues to be in our everyday life. Um, so it's cool to see how it's going to evolve, especially in like the banking services as well. And I know Well simple has been very successful in positioning itself as like an anti-bank and how it's it talks about how it's extremely simple for young Canadians. How do you how does TD position itself to stay competitive and what marketing strategies are using to maintain like a competitive edge? Um well particularly when it comes to the younger generation that you're talking about and uh with like well simple has done a a a good job there. Um we we do lots to um to really understand our customer segments um and young adults are are one of them. They're they're no different, right? And so we really ensure that we're understanding um what problems uh they have, what needs they have, and how can we solve those and and how can we solve those in a way that's really uh really simple for them and really simple to go through. Um but then also in our marketing we want to make sure that the way we market to them um they feel emotion from it and and they are engaged by it as well. And so so we're constantly um doing doing research to understand how we can do that and how we can make sure that we're showing up where they are. So, for example, for young adults, um you know, ensure that we're showing up on Tik Tok, on Insta, um at the campuses that they're on in a meaningful and authentic way. >> Yeah. Well, I've definitely seen like the the TD Tik Toks and I think they're really good personally. [laughter] Um and in terms of like TD's brand, so it is one of Canada's most established brands. How do you keep the brand feeling modern and relevant without losing the trust that you've built over like decades as well? >> Yeah, that's a really really great uh question and and yeah, so we're we're really proud to be um we are actually the number one brand right now in Canada, which is uh really wonderful. Um, but we do have to constantly keep keep fresh and we we do have to constantly make sure that we are um listening to our customers and listening to Canadians and and what they want. And so what's so important for a brand um is uh what I call promise made, promise kept. So from a from a marketing standpoint, we come out and we talk about prom like what promises that we're going to be giving to our customers and and what commitments we we have and through our products and our solutions. Um but what is even more important is that we keep those and so we work very very closely with our partners, our business partners, our channel partners across the branches and across uh the digital channels to ensure that what we are going out with in the market that we can keep those promises and and we can keep that experience amazing for our customers. Yeah, I feel like that's definitely important like customer loyalty and making sure that the customers are like the number one part of like focus I guess. Um, and in terms of I know you've talked about how you acquire like the younger generations through like meeting them where they're at like on social media and stuff. How would you um engage and acquire other um customers at different ages like for example like the older generation? >> Um we really do that through understanding what um what marketing vehicles they uh they engage with. And so we have a lot of ways to segment our customers. Um be it through the data that we have um at at our at our fingertips um you know transactional data and that sort of thing to um to other data that we can we can overlay and really understand um what uh paid media they are consuming. So depending on like whether they're on uh they're on TV um what TV spots are they on um are they watching sports are they so etc. And so we have a lot of demographic information that tells us that so that we can target our our media to the right segment. >> That makes sense. And then when it turn when it comes to hiring what would you say matters most? Would it be like more technical skills like data and AI literacy or would it be creativity and storytelling? >> Um well that's a really really good good question. Um I think they're both they're both really really important. So um experience is is really um is obviously important and tied to to the role that you're you're actually going for, right? And so, um, that's always going to be table stakes and you're going to be you're going to want to to, um, ensure that you that you have that. Um, but the the creativity, that's kind of this more the soft skills side of it, right? And >> um and so really ensuring that you can demonstrate like that you've got critical thinking skills um and and can get creative about um what you are bringing to the table. That's that's what's going to be really important and that's what's going to allow you to um to really stand taller than your your competition. And then in terms of marketing, what would you say is the most common misconception people have um especially within a large organization? >> Um I would say that from a marketing standpoint, the largest misconception that people people have is around what kind of value marketing can bring to an organization. And so um often uh people who have not been working with marketing departments are not not as familiar as what that what they can bring. And so um so sometimes they they don't think it can be as strong as it can be. And so that is that is actually a marketer's role to ensure that it is very clear on what value um your team is bringing to the full organization and connecting with finance and talking the same language as the businesses talk is really really important. So I've seen situations where um where groups have not thought that marketing was that valuable and then they have cut marketing's budget and then suddenly they've been quite surprised that their results have also been reduced significantly. And so um marketers have a role to play there though right to tell the story and to really ensure that the value of what they are doing is is bringing real concrete business value to the enterprise. So I would think that's probably the biggest u misnomer that I' that I've seen. >> And then on a more personal note, what do you enjoy most about working in marketing? Um yeah that's a that's a great question. Um I really personally I really love to solve problems right so I love to I love to understand like what kind of um needs and problems uh customers and prospects have and how can we solve them but solve them uh in a in a simple creative way that is compelling to them. And so and so bringing that to to market and first of all having an influence with the business on how they solve it, but then also bringing it to market in a very compelling way that drives emotion. Um I think to me is uh is really uh drives a lot of energy from my standpoint to to really um uh stay in the marketing discipline because it's it it's so exciting. There's there's so much happening. And then Nikki, as we wrap up, what advice would you give to young women who are interested in exploring your career in marketing? >> Um, yeah. So, I think there's there's three there's three pieces of advice I would I would give to to uh to young women. So, um firstly, marketing um has really become such a large and diverse discipline. So um there are there are so many different places you can play in marketing and so um uh just understanding that it's it's it's something that is changing all the time and so I would encourage people to um to take a look at the Canadian Marketing Association which runs a lot of conferences, runs a lot of courses. Um, so if if you're if you're new and don't know a lot about marketing, that's a great place to go. Um, and then uh it really doesn't matter what discipline you're you're interested in. So some people think oh I'm not really sure like what part of marketing I would be interested in whether whether uh you know it's agency side or client side whether it's like more um on the paid media side or or something else. It doesn't matter where you start. Just jump in somewhere that you that you have an interest in and then you'll be able to learn from that and and move around in your career as you as you see fit. Um and then the last one is um marketing is just a major major growth area for all companies. It is it is something that's changing all the time. It's a very very dynamic place and so um as a result of that it's just a really fun place to pursue a career and and so if you are considering it um I I think it's just a wonderful a wonderful place to be because it it just has so many facets to it and it's a lot of fun as well. >> Well, those are really good tips. Thank you so much and thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Hey, I've learned so much and I'm sure um our viewers will as well. >> You're very welcome and thanks so much for having me, Sophia. [music] >> Hi Rachel, how are things in Toronto? >> Good. How are you? Nice to see you. >> Rachel, you work in the global family office group at Scotia. Tell us more about your current role and why you chose to pursue wealth. Yes, I am currently a senior manager on the global family office group at Scotia Bank and what our team does is service ultra high net worth clients and family offices across Scotia Bank's footprint. So that includes Canada but also Latin America, Bahamas and Cayman. And specifically what I'm working on right now is a program for our clients next generations. We're calling it the rising gen program and it's all about educating people on how to be good stewards of wealth. So that's extremely exciting. Why I got into wealth management to answer your second question is simply because I wanted to learn more about my own wealth management and it's not something unfortunately you learn in depth at school. So learning about my own finances, but also been able to hopefully help friends and family members and then clients in the future is what initially motivated me to get into the space. That's awesome. It sounds like you cover a lot of people, but also I guess wear a lot of different hats. Um, I wanted to talk to you a bit more about Corporate Connects, which you founded in 2022. Can you share a bit more about what the organization is and what inspired you to start it while in school? >> Yes. So I started corporates connects in May 2022 as you said which coincided with me interning on the go family office group which also coincides with me moving from Vancouver to Toronto. So when I moved to Toronto I felt like I didn't know how to meet other young professionals in the city. So Corpus connects actually started with the vice chair of our team Caroline Bell Richie connecting me with her friend's children and saying you guys should go for drinks. So I ended up organizing a very small event which then led to people saying when's the next one and when's the next one and when's the next one and then I ended up having an email chain of interns across the city and I would tell everyone basically where to go on whatever day. So I ended up having probably around 150 people at my last event that summer. Took it back to London, Ontario, as you said when I was at school. started ticketing events and building out more of a brand and actually a company around what I was doing. So that's how corporates connect started and it's grown into a peer-to-peer networking company for young professionals in their 20s to 30s. So far beyond just interns now and we have speakers come in from finance consulting all the way to entrepreneurships. We actually had a Forbes 30 under 30 speaker come to my last big event in Toronto. So, it's it's grown substantially, but it started here when I was an intern and then continued when I was at school and now postgrad. >> That's amazing. I love to hear how it's grown and it's one of the things I love about it is that you really found a need as someone who's I mean started university postco. I know for myself I really was looking to make connections just off of a screen and so that's so amazing that you started that. >> Thank you so much. It's been fun. And I know you've balanced a lot between this organization, being a varsity athlete, recruiting, and now working and volunteering. So, how have you managed all of this? And what advice would you give early career professionals trying to balance that work aspect, social life, health, and personal development? >> Yes, that I mean, that's a great question, and sometimes when I on paper, when you look at what you've done, it feels more overwhelming than when you're actually doing it. And I think my big advice piece of advice around why I was able to play sports and um also manage getting into IV academics and extra volunteer extracurriculars at school was to know my why. Like I didn't have to play varsity sports. I didn't have to go into Ivy. Like I could have done intramurals and I could have done a different program, but I knew that I was going to Western for those two reasons. And I was am super passionate about sports, but I loved field hockey. Didn't want to stop playing, but I knew I went to a Canadian school instead of an American because I wanted to focus on academics and I really wanted to get into Ivy because of the case-based method, the the name brand of the school to make that network. So, I just like knew why I was doing those things. I actually got advice to not play varsity sports to get into Ivy. And I was told by people, okay, so once you get in now, you can stop playing your sport because you did it to get in, right? And I was like, "No, I just love playing field hockey and I'm just doing it for myself." So, if you love something and you are confident and also know why you want to do both, it's a lot it's a lot easier. And I think I've taken that attitude into postgrad when I've taken on extra roles like 100 women in finance I'm part of as well as my role at Scotia Bank as well as different volunteering as well as um organizing and running corporates connects events. but it's because I want to be and I know why I'm involved in those different um areas of my life. So, as long as you're not doing it for some sort of external validation and just purely because you want to, I think it's a lot >> easier. Yeah. And I I totally resonate with that. It reminds me of the expression people talk about all the time where work doesn't feel like work if it's something you're passionate about. And I'm sure that kind of feels like it when all of the things you're doing in your life kind of aligned with what you want to do. >> Exactly. >> And looking back, especially for those interested in wealth, I'm curious about what helped you secure your first role in wealth management because that is a very unique path to go into wealth management as a new grad. >> Yes. Um, this is a great question and I mean part of the reason why I also love continuing doing corporates connects because everyone you learn has a really different path and it might not just be through applying on an online portal. So to make a long kind of story short, I was connected through a case competition in second year to a recruiter at Scotia Bank. She was only a year older than me and we did this case competition. She wasn't even on my team. I didn't know her, but I watched her final case presentation and I thought she was an amazing person. I was like, "Wow, this girl really knows what she's talking about. Um, let's reach out to her and, you know, say congrats and then connect that way." She ended up coincidentally getting a job at Scotia Bank as a recruiter. We stayed connected. She was a bit of a mentor for me and then she told me about this competition called Next 50, which they chose 50 students across Canada to get early placements and jobs. So, she was also a varsity athlete and I remember so vividly she was like, "I'm putting you on the field and you have to score." Like, "I'm putting you in this group coffee chat and you have to get recognized." And that was like the perfect way to explain it for me as a varsity athlete at the time. I was like, "Oh, I I'll I get that. I get what you're saying now. Like, I'm going to go in and make sure I get a job." So, that's how I ended up getting in front of like the right person and in front of my hiring manager. Why wealth management? It's a lot of trial and error. So I did an internship in consulting. I liked that it was case or sorry not case based client facing. Um but I also liked finance the most at IV was my favorite course. So I thought what kind of blends the client facing nature. I like talking to people but also my passion for finance and loving that the most at school and wealth management made sense. I also wanted to learn about my own wealth management. So, I was like, if I can get a job doing this and be able to learn myself and teach myself and help my friends and my family understand how to manage their money, it's like a win-win. So, that's a how I got into my job through this recruiter, which I think emphasizes the importance in networking and reaching out to people and building relationships because you never know what will come from it. And then trial and error. Think about your favorite subject, try different internships, and then decide, okay, what's like the perfect match out of all the things I like. >> Yeah. And what I love about your story is that you never know who you're going to meet. And I always think back to this even in our classrooms, right? Like it feels like classmates right now, like we're all students having fun, but later on, this is our network and you never know how these people can help you. So that's such an awesome >> that's a really smart way to think about it. like you already being ahead of the game and thinking like this is this is my network and that is your network. Even your high school friends like totally anyone that you've met along the way is your network. So it's a totally >> and many new grads struggle with imposttor syndrome when entering the workforce. So I'm curious as to what helped you build confidence early on and what advice would you give to someone just starting out? Okay, I kind of have a funny answer for this, but I think it is a good mindset shift. If you're in the room, you deserve to be in the room. Or if you're in a role, you deserve to be in that role. So, it's kind of spinning it on its head where it's you shouldn't, you're not an imposter, like you're there for a reason. And my funny take on that is if you are an imposttor and you faked your way into this room, like that's even more impressive. like you should be even more proud of yourself for being in that position, that role. Like that's even better. Like you're going to learn so much more because you're starting at a lower kind of knowledge level and you can grow so much faster. So instead of thinking how to tackle imposttor syndrome, I would just like get those words out of your mind and just think I'm here now. Like how can I learn as much as I can? It's kind of you're an underdog. If you're like a junior person or an intern or a rookie on a team, you actually don't have much expectations from others. So, take advantage of that and ask all the questions that you can while you can, not when you're like 3 years down the line and you should have known these things, but you're too scared to ask. Um, yeah, you deserve to be there. And if you don't, again, like congratulations. I don't know how you did that, but good for you. And that's impressive in a different way. So yeah, that's my advice. Like I think people shouldn't be so hard on themselves and just try as hard as they can when with whatever they have, whatever position they've gotten. Just pat yourself on the back and think you deserve it and just try your best. >> Yeah. No, that's such great advice. And it actually makes me think I went to a conference recently and one of the senior execs said, "Fake it till you make it." Because none of us knew what we were doing going into this role. But the difference is we said yes. And I feel like that very well connects to your point about just you're you probably deserve to be there. Just ask many questions as you can and be confident. >> Yes. >> And then for students young or young professionals interested in getting involved with corporates connects, where can they learn more or connect with you? >> First of all, thank you for asking that question because that's like a nice opportunity for me to promo. But follow corporates connects on across social media. So that we have a LinkedIn page, but also Instagram's like an easy way for people to follow us. I'm also going to launch a newsletter semi soon. So if you follow any of the social media platforms, that will be announced and that will be a potentially easier way to get monthly updates on different events and opportunities that we'll be hosting. So stay involved that way. Like just following the social media platforms is how I typically communicate. Now, I no longer have an email chain of interns cuz as you know, once you're done your internship, that email is no longer with you. So, social media is for now. >> Thank you so much for joining us today, Rachel. This was such a great conversation. >> Thank you so much for having me. Happy International Women's Day. I'm very proud of you and your sister for organizing something like this. It's so awesome and I'm happy I could be a part of it. Thank you. Thank you so much, Maddie, for taking the time to meet with me today. I'm so looking forward to our conversation. >> Awesome. Thank you so much for having me, Sophia. I'm really excited to be here. >> So, Maddie, you didn't originally study business. Can you walk us through what you studied and what sparked your interest in moving into wealth management? >> For sure. So I actually started my um well I guess not career but in university I studied kinesiology. Um so very different route from the typical route that people go through going into business. Um and to be quite honest I kind of stumbled into wealth management. Um my first job out of university was at MD Financial which is a subsidiary of Scotia that does wealth management for physicians in Canada. Um, and when I was looking for a job, I kind of I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. And I and I think that's okay. That's a a great message for new grads is that like it's okay to try a couple of things and and figure out what works for you. Um, but based on my experience in undergrad, more so, my I think my extracurriculars um are what got me interested in the business world and and wealth management. Um in undergrad I was a part of various like finance clubs and and ended up running a charity for a couple of years. Um and through that experience I really learned that I enjoyed like management um and also finance and wanted to learn a bit more about that. Um and that's kind of what led me into to MD financial and then eventually Scotia. Um, so yeah, definitely not a linear path, but um, and that's okay. And that's what brings different perspectives to the working world. So definitely my message to new grads would be don't feel like pressured to go exactly into what you're going to be stuck in for the rest of your career. Like it's okay to try a couple things and um, figure out what works for you. I feel like that's also so reassuring to hear because I feel like in high school and university, we do have this pressure to kind of know what we want to do with their careers in the future, but in reality, we're all just trying to figure out like what kind of sparks sparks their interests. >> And for students who may be in a sim similar position, what advice would you give them and what transferable skills should they really be emphasizing? >> Totally. I think the biggest thing for students is just to try and figure out that passion. Um there's so many transferable skills that you can take into wealth management. I think one of the biggest ones obviously as many people would know would be like relationship management um and and project management. So, I kind of developed and honed in on those skills through my extracurriculars. And I think that's a really great way um to develop those skills through like clubs um and clubs where you're like partnering with with different groups around the community um and the university. So, that's kind of one way that you can practice those skills. Um I think another thing that I kind of or transferable skill that I took from my degree was that like analytical thinking piece. Um so coming from a STEM background obviously I had to learn how to problem solve. Um and like obviously it's a very different skill set and a very different type of problem solving. But that's a huge part of wealth management, right? like >> you find a client and you try and figure out what their financial needs are and how you can um make their life easier from not only a financial perspective but like a a total wealth perspective. Um so I think that's a really good skill that I I brought in. Um but honestly it's it's such a people business and um just developing your like communication skills too and your um yeah relationship skills I think is is number one for this industry >> and again it's really reassuring to know that kind of the ability to change your mind and make it work out and your skills can transfer and that there's ways to connect your past experiences to new opportunities. >> Um I think that's really reassuring to hear as well. and the start of your career can feel intimidating. What specifically helped you build confidence in those first few months? >> Yeah, I think um one of the biggest things is to really try and build like your knowledge base um and your technical understanding when you're going into those like meetings or interviews. And that doesn't necessarily mean like mastering those very specific like math technical problems in interviews, but more so just making sure that you're going into any sort of setting like that fully prepared um for what is going to not what's going to happen, but fully prepared with all the information that you need to show up in like a confident way. Whether if it's an interview, whether that be um doing all your background research on who's interviewing you, um if it's a client meeting, doing all of the research you need on the product that you're pitching so that you can show up um and confidently explain uh why you have that like superior product or um I can't remember the word, but you have that like that benefit that other people don't have. Um, I think the other thing too is that it's really easy, especially for students and new grads to look around at all of your peers and feel like behind. Like you look at LinkedIn and everyone's like posting like exams that they're doing and clubs that they're like going to and everything. Um, but I think it's really important to take a step back and and do an inventory of everything that you've achieved and try and just you just have to like make sure that you're recognizing your accomplishments. Um, because it is so easy to get like caught up in what everyone else is doing. Um, and that kind of level sets you and and allows you to bring that confidence into whatever you're you're doing. Um, yeah, hopefully that answers the question. Yeah, I love that advice because I feel like looking out I feel like the corporate world can feel really daunting at first. Totally. >> So I feel like that perspective is really helpful to hear to even just looking inwards and what you've accomplished and be happy for what you have accomplished and realizing what makes you like stand out for those important moments. >> For sure. >> And I feel like a lot of people either have an idea of what wealth management is or know nothing about it. Zoe, what has been the biggest misconception you had about wealth management before entering the field? >> For sure. That's a great question. Um, I think when people think about wealth management, a lot of the time they think or like wealth manage managers specifically, they think stock brokers. Um, but and it used to be like that, but it's become so much more with this shift towards total wealth. and and what that means is that now we're not just focused on our clients investment portfolios. Um granted that's a big part of it, but we're really focused on a holistic perspective of how to help our clients. So whether that be um helping them with advanced planning needs, so tax efficiency, um helping them with trusts that they're setting up, um helping them with loans that they're taking out in our private banking business. Um so I think and and also just um it's just so much more than yeah that investment management piece. like it's all about like building that complex relationship with your client and supporting them in so many areas of their life. Um, and that's kind of something that I've really enjoyed about wealth management is that it's not just that technical side. There's like a really big human piece to it. Um, and I think a lot of people I guess that the what the understanding that of what wealth used to be was that very like technical side of things. So, so moving into that total wealth um has been a really great shift um culturally and and society. >> Yeah, I think that's definitely going to surprise a lot of people and I think it also makes the industry for feel more accessible that um it's kind of like relationship based um as well%. >> Um >> and wealth management isn't always the most traditional entry point for new grads. So, what advice would you give students interested in breaking into the career into the fields early in their career? >> Yeah, for sure. I think the biggest thing for me is just making sure you're talking to as many people as you can. So, going to things like this this conference that you guys are putting on. Um, hearing different perspectives, uh, reaching out to to people that you might know um or have heard speak about their experience. Um, just trying to gain as much information as you can. like you really just want to be a sponge in your early um career and your your the days that you're applying to jobs um because you want to really enjoy what you're doing. So you want to make sure that you're getting that perspective from people who are actually in the industry. Um and then back to the point that I was discussing before, it's okay to change your mind. So, it's okay to try something for a couple years, decide it's not for you, go back to school, do a career change. Like, I think people get really stuck in that and siloed into what they're doing. Um, but it's so important to remember that you have um the freedom to to change careers. Um, so just don't put so much pressure on yourself, I think, to have it all figured out when you're 22 or however you old old you are when you're graduating. Um, I think, yeah, we just have to put less pressure on ourselves and and really focus on trying to find what really drives us. Um, and if that's wealth management, then that's awesome. It's such an amazing career path. Um, and there's so many, um, positives to it. So, yeah, I love it. But, um, you have to find what what you love and go for that. >> I love that. And I feel like even with the importance of like internships and whatnot, it's kind of like trial and error and seeing what >> like fits your skills best and what kind of >> draws you in. So I think that's a really good point. >> Yeah. Yes. >> And Maddie, to end it off, if you could give one piece of advice to your new grad self, what would it be? >> Yeah, that's such a good question. I think um I mean I guess I I've said this a bunch, but just don't put as much pressure on yourself. Like really focus on enjoying what you're doing. Um and yeah, just have as much fun as you can in in your early days. um and focus on on developing the skills um that that you really want to develop and that you like intrinsically value. Um so for me right now, for example, I'm going through my securities exams. Um and it's been such a valuable learning for me. Um and I'm really enjoying it. Um but you have to balance that with like the rest of of um your career and and what you want to do in life. So yeah. Well, good luck with your exams. I love that advice as well. I also I honestly think that's going to mean a lot to people who are about to graduate and figure things out. It definitely resonate resonates and I just want to thank you again for taking the time to chat with me today. I've genuinely learned so much from this conversation. I know our viewers will too. So, I really appreciate it. >> Awesome. Well, thank you so much for having me. It was great to meet you and and so excited to uh listen to the whole conference. >> [music] [music] >> Hi Jean, thank you so much for joining us today. How are things in Toronto? >> Amazing. How are you? >> I'm very well. Um, SPRAT is widely recognized for its focus on precious metals and real assets. So for viewers who may be a little less familiar, can you share a brief overview of the firm and what differentiates brought in the investment management landscape? >> Yeah, for sure. I think uh you know one of the things that really differentiates us uh are focus on uh physical commodities and our physical trust. Um you know we manage exchangeraded uh securities that invest in gold, silver, platinum, platium, uranium and copper. Um and with our expertise, we're you know really able to buy these physical commodities and take physical delivery of them and store them. Um which, you know, gives our clients an alternative investment vehicle really for those who want to have exposure to these assets uh without the inconveniences that are typical of uh and associated with physical ownership. >> That's awesome. And I was actually so looking forward to this conversation because we've never interviewed a trader before. Go. Yeah. So, I guess we could start a >> lot of pressure here. >> Um, I guess we could start off by just talking a little bit about your role specifically and what your responsibilities are as a trader and maybe even what a typical day would look like for you. >> Yeah. Well, I mean, I think one thing I can say for sure is that uh, you know, in in 20 plus years of experience in trading, I can guarantee you that no day is typical or you know, repetitive. So, um, you know, there's that. Uh, but you know, they do all kind of start off the same. you know, their their early starts to the morning. Obviously, you know, you you have a bit of a routine when you look at uh what happened overseas, what has happened in Europe. Um you obviously are reading a ton of news stories. Um you're looking at economic data that might be coming out that day that might impact um you know, uh you know, markets during the day. Uh and then obviously for me, I really look at the commodities and you know, I can see early on how the commodities might be reacting. if they're particularly strong. Um that might mean that my job uh as a trader and trade execution uh will be really busy and will dominate my day. And then on the other hand, if the commodities look, you know, particularly weak, uh I'm be I I can kind of pivot and focus my attention on other elements of my job, uh such as, you know, working with compliance related issues, uh operational projects, on new product launches or existing, you know, funds that we have. um I can you know further develop my relationships both you know internally and externally. Um you know I I work on developing new processes and improving you know our risk uh parameters. I work with the portfolio management team um you know and uh I do some liquidity analysis obviously and you know help with corporate strategy just to kind of name a few things. I guess >> it sounds like you're very busy. So that's so awesome. I guess I'm curious too, you your career has really spanned many years in the markets. So maybe you could walk us through your the path that led you to your current position and maybe why you got into trading in the first place. >> Yeah, you know, I I really think that there's no prescribed set of, you know, steps necessarily to get into finance. Um and for me it really was a focus on um at a young age knowing that I wanted to you know end up in finance which kind of really helped me stay on my path and stay focused um so I could explore you know opportunities when they presented themselves I you know uh really took all those opportunities quite seriously um you know and I've always really appreciated the fact that you know I've been incredibly lucky to have had a job at Thrott uh and for as long as I have had a job at Throat. Um and you know from there it was really hard work. Um you know loyalty uh and you know keeping a positive attitude and you know those are you know three things I I you know still do to this day and and uh and I'm still appreciative about. So >> that's awesome. And you absolutely do have a positive attitude. It was so fun working with you. Um well so trading of course requires operating in a very fastm moving and obviously very volatile environment. We saw that even last year with liberation day for example. So how has your approach to risk management and decision-m evolved over the course of your career? >> Yeah, it's a great question. Um, you know, and I really think that it ultimately comes down to experience. You know, there's really no better teacher than experience. Uh, and throughout my career, I've seen, you know, a lot of things. You know, you have seen markets evolve, uh, technology change. Um, you've experienced volatility like you mentioned, uh, areas of liquidity, um, you know, all of which highlight how important risk management and mitigation is, uh, to the role of trading and, uh, that role within the organization to be perfectly honest. Um, you know, I've developed and implemented a lot of pre-trading checks and balances and strategies to prevent risk. Um, you know, I always say that the trading desk is the last line of defense before a trade gets executed. So, it's, you know, your last opportunity to kind of stop something. Um, so if you think something feels wrong or or, you know, you you question it. Um, you know, you triple check it, you go back to the portfolio management team, you double check um before that gets executed. Um you know and I think experience has also taught me a lot of confidence you know and with that confidence you're able to stay calm um and make quick decisions when you know something inevitably um happens unexpected which you know in market almost guaranteed [laughter] >> absolutely and you've done this for quite a while so I'm curious as to what you enjoy most about working in trading and capital markets. >> Well you know I really do love the fast-paced nature of trading. You know, I love how dynamic it is and how it's always changing. Um, but I think what would surprise people maybe the most is really uh I have such a bird's eye view of the entire organization. you know, I really uh interact with all facets of the firm, you know, from compliance to finance to operations to sales uh the sales team uh to our clients to portfolio managers obviously. Um but I also attract people, you know, both internally and externally and you know, really are building and fostering those relationships. Um you know, and I I think, you know, that variety just, you know, really brings me a lot of joy and and uh you know, I really I really I really do love it. So I'm incredibly lucky. That's awesome because I think when you think of trading a lot of it is technical as you me mentioned but there is this very human uh component of it of relationship building and getting to know people within the organization and of course outside of it. So that's awesome. >> Looking back over your career, what advice would you give your 20-year-old self? 20 years has been a long time in in the business and I think you know what I really would say to myself is um you know don't get down on yourself and and persevere. Um you know there's been three times in my career where I put my hand up or put my hat in the ring so to speak uh for the head trading role um and two times before I didn't get it. And you know although today I can very easily and clearly look back on that and recognize that I was not experienced enough you know I hadn't had you know enough um you know maturity uh to take on that level of responsibility that comes with um the role of head of trading. Um but I was incredibly let down you know even even and disappointed and you know perhaps even a little deflated at uh at uh having lost those opportunities. Um but you know I kept showing up you know working harder you you know kept learning new skills um and developing you know my expertise um which obviously you know and ultimately prepared me for being the right person um in the role when um you know it presented itself the third time. Um and so I would just say you know stay positive and uh keep moving forward. That's so awesome because I think that advice is something that spans any industry, the importance of resilience and just trying again and being confident. So, thank you for sharing that. And uh markets of course have changed significantly with the rise of electronic trading and datadriven strategies. So, I guess how has the role of trader evolved in recent years and maybe how do you see it evolving in the next few years? Well, you know, it's interesting. You know, back when I started, we had a lot of um paper tickets. You know, everything was very manual. You know, we had to check pre-trade compliance. Um we, you know, we had to do manual account um allocations. Uh and and there was things that were obviously quite um timeconuming and errorprone to be perfectly honest. So I think you know technology has really freed up the traders um time to um time and has reduced errors obviously I I think we can spend more time on you know hightouch trades um we can use trade cost analysis to you know really analyze best execution uh we could implement execution strategies but take you know liquidity constraints into consideration. Uh ultimately all these advances in technology have really allowed the traders to focus more on um data absorption um and our tools really to improve execution >> and that's awesome that you say that because I think there's a lot of conversation across industries about how AI is really going to change careers and as you mentioned I think it's more of a piece of this is going to help us become more efficient in our roles. So that's awesome to hear. And of course, you cannot replace the human element um needed in pretty much any facet of business. So that's great. >> Exactly. >> And as we conclude, what final piece of advice would you offer to young women aspiring to build a long-term career in trading? >> You know, find people who champion for you, who fight for you. Surround yourself with great mentors both personally and um professionally. uh master your skills, practice and repetition. Um work hard obviously, you know, outwork everyone if you can. Uh and don't be scared to take risks. Just really keep at it, you know, and be nice to people. And after 20 20 years, uh you know, good things will happen. >> That was awesome. Thank you so much for all of your advice, Sham. It was so great to speak with you. >> You too, Isabella. It was great seeing you. >> [music] >> Hi Lisa, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm so so looking forward to this conversation. >> Hi Sophia, it's a pleasure to meet. I'm so glad we were able to do this. see and could you please start off by telling me about um your role as a managing director and country head at UBS and maybe kind of discuss your main responsibilities as well. >> Of course, it sounds like an all-encompassing role. Um the best way that I can explain this to you as a best visual is I am responsible for driving the strategy for the country for UBS. So you're aware that UBS is a global bank has um offices all over the world. So the visual for you is that in terms of Canada, if you think of Canada, I'm responsible for driving the strategy of the IB that we have asset management and wealth management on ground in Canada. >> Oh, that's cool. And then in terms of I know in Canada we have the main couple banks and I think that's what a lot of people think of um when banking in Canada. How does UB UVS differentiate itself and remain competitive in this environment? >> Yeah, so that's a good question, Sophia, because we get that all the time, right? Especially being foreign bank in a very highly dominated Canadian bank environment, right? We know the usual players at this point. Um, UBS is very distinctive because we are a global bank. We don't attempt to be only a Canadian bank. We are global. So, we will full service you on Canadian investments, etc., and then ultimately move across the world. So we have kind as I said we have offices all over the world. We have investment platforms all over the world. So we're truly we're designed to provide the globe to the Canadian client base. And so when you think of the purview and not we don't necessarily try to compete with the Canadian banks because we don't go headtohead on Canadian marketplace but we look at the sleeve of that very sophisticated client base that is expanding in Canada that actually moves more towards the global bias. And that's what EBS attempts to deliver. >> Okay, that's really interesting. >> Do do you have awareness of EDS in Canada yourself? >> Um I have like heard about it. I'm not super familiar with it. Uh I feel like when I think about making it um with the traditional banks, >> but like you mentioned, it's more like a globalized. So that's really interesting to >> It's very much part of the construct of Wall Street, right? The community of Wall Street. It's quite robust and you know the usual players. So we look at ourselves contextually across the universe of the bulge brackets. Um >> but yes in Canada specifically we are in that like kind of niche environment and marketplace. >> And then what would you say is the most challenging part about your little >> Oh god. You know I I I never see it as a challenge. I think if you were to ask me why I why I got into this industry which maybe we'll have a conversation on. It's because like there's a natural curiosity to the day-to-day. The day is consistently fluid. So the job is always a fluid job. The markets can sell off. Something can happen internally. There could be a natural disaster. And so managing for the country in that capacity does require a sense of fluidity. You can't be rigid. It does allow to have some stress points to that basically because you just don't know. Sometimes you have to think fact and and think fast and act fast. But I would say really the stresses of the job are if you're thinking ahead, you have to think future forward first of all. You have to think of how you're going to generate business in which capacity the clients will resonate with you and you have to think of how again UBS has impact in Canada. It's it's a very high level assessment of this. It's not as specific as saying I wake up every morning, I'm stressed out because um I have a deadline. Those things will matter to me and like we have day deadlines, but the day-to-day is literally you're a student of the market. So you always have to kind of buckle up your seat belt and be prepared for the roller coaster in addition to your administrative roles basically. >> Okay, that makes sense. And then on a more positive note, what would you say is you find more enjoyable about the job? Oh, well, the same things I say my stresses are 100% of what I'd say my my enjoyment of the job is. It's like it's like asking me the question back to you as a student, right? Is what do you what do you stress about your being? What do you stress about and what do you love about it? >> I would probably say your answer is my same thing. Right. Right. >> Yeah, that is true. So I will say that the natural curiosity is exactly what brings me back on a very regular basis and I love it especially working for a global bank like UBS because um our like I said our purview is not specific to Canada it's what's happening in India what happened to Australia like it's global >> and then Lisa I know a lot of students who are watching um are not too sure where they want to go in the future not not sure what jobs are out there. So, I'm curious about your career path. Have you always wanted to work in finance or did your interests kind of evolve over time? >> So, no. In fact, that's a really good question. I get that question a lot. Um, you and I were talking just before the interview that um I've been in the industry for I almost want to say 30 years now, probably over 30 years. And so when I was in school, it wasn't as institutionalized of an organ like it wasn't an institutionalized job, right? It wasn't like people came in is I want to be a trader or an investment banker or a wealth management adviser. It was more, you know, I'll be a teacher, doctor, whatever. So um I had I never had an intention to I started the industry as a trader. I never had the intention to become a trader. I fell into the job. I actually have a political econ bias. I have a masters in political economy. Um, and so was it's not as prescriptive as saying you need to have a math degree or a business degree. It really lend to this broad thinking that I'm referencing along the way. But in terms of what did I set out to become this? No. Did I fall into it? Yes. Did it suit my personality and my skill set? Absolutely. I think I think for students and particularly women who are considering this industry, it's not as linear as what people like it to be. I think I think you guys have a lot more awareness now as to what an investment bank love management they're give very um I almost want to say sexy labels like they're really interesting to say I'm an investment banker but there is so much to this industry and so many facets asset management wealth management like I said that it really does fit everyone's type of personality and skill set so I really get disappointed when I hear people negate themselves out of the financial industry. >> Yeah, it's always interesting to hear like what people how they people found their way into the industry and it kind of gives like hope to people who have yet to kind of find something that they're interested in. So, it's always nice to see and I feel like especially with limited job experience at RHS student center, we have the ability to have internships as well now, which is great. But I think even still um >> Yeah. >> to it out. >> Yeah. And so to your friends, and this is completely anecdotal. I'm 90% sure. I'm going to fact check this is true, but I'm just telling you this anecdotally. Um, most hedge fund I was told this on Wall Street a while a long time ago. Most hedge fund managers have philosophy degrees and a lot of traders were actually failed do doctors like doctors that wanted to get students that wanted to get to medicine didn't get the MTA or the degree that they wanted. So again like what you just said is your path is not lost if you have haven't done business and done like going into business and getting into finance etc etc there there is room for all types of expressive thought >> and and disciplines in this industry. My kind observation Sophia truthfully to a lot of students that come and ask us for like or want jobs is they they go after the job title but there's so much about your personality and your skill set that you underell yourself. So when sometimes even people say I'm leaving the industry or I don't like the industry, it's also potentially not true that they don't like it. it's that they just chase the role but they it this is um this is an industry where it does match your personality right so if you I don't know don't like volatility if you like stability like maybe you don't want to be a trader maybe you want to be a wealth measurizer but like you have to know yourself and I think a lot of people more look at the role as and trying to make themselves fit the role as opposed to having the role fit them and this industry is very specific towards that my >> Well, I love that. >> Yeah, I really like that. >> Oh, well, good. I mean, that's why for you as you like extend into your career or any of your friends or whoever is listening to this at this point, it's a really important knowledge because we do get a lot of questions to be like, I I think I want to be a trader. I think I want to be an asset management. And it's like >> you don't know the job until you're in it. So, don't pace the role, but like >> know yourself like first. So, and then whoever interviews you al has a very keen eye to know what what the qualities they want in that basically. >> That makes sense. >> Yeah. >> I think it's interesting for like to think about it that way. Um because one of my questions was uh like what skills and qualities do you find most important when hiring? Um but would that just differentiate based on the job that you're applying for? >> I'm 100% I'm going to keep saying this over and over again. I said this multiple interviews all the time. >> This industry is for the naturally curious. If you are not a naturally curious person, then there this probably isn't the best industry for you. So I can only say it's not about what degree you had if that's what you're asking me. It's really more about again your personality. Are you naturally curious? Are you a broad thinker? Are you willing to like are you team oriented? because again there's like everything is contingent on something else. So those those are the the intangible qualities I would say. It's hard for me to say to you, you need a degree in >> I don't physics, you know what I mean, to get this right. >> What kind of led you to UBS? >> The global platform period. So when I did my master's degree, I did a master's degree a lifetime ago and it was um it was on a global it was a glo it was a global thesis. Um, and so I always had a natural bias to think globally. That's why I said my my experience has been on Wall Street. I've not worked for a Canadian bank, but I always had this natural interest in terms of the world is bigger than what currently is happening in Canada and the investment industry is currently big bigger than what was happening in Canada. Um, and UBS to me, uh, working across the street for the last many years, as I've said, is truly a global bank. So it satisfies that natural curiosity. If I wake up and say I don't know what's happening today in Hong Kong and what like if I'm looking at the news reels right now like what happened to Bitcoin like it UBS has a platform for everything and so it is to me it is the foremost global bank in the world. >> I know we talked about like the uncertainty of the markets and everything. So how do you handle the uncertainty and like the rapid changes in the markets? >> [clears throat] >> I think through experience first of all this I've been through so many business cycles. Um I remember when I first started the industry uh it was a gold boom and bust and I literally thought the world was end I was like oh this this can't get any worse like you can't and then the market bounced back and you know it rallied and then the hit highs and then we had the tech bubble and then we had you know the list is long um then 2008 you get the idea. Um, I think the resiliency and realizing that none of this is ultimately personal first of all to you and the dayto-day that you live, but ultimately the awareness that the market does continue to move ahead is this. People forget that the market isn't supposed to go one way. You're going to have bull markets. You're going to have bare markets. You're going to have business cycles. Everything that you learn in school is actually true. It's that you forget when you're in the moment and you see the markets up consistently 20% on a year-over-year basis that you're like that must be the way this is. So when it hits or what sells off automatically people forget that these are all part of normal processes. And if you [clears throat] forget that, you're forgetting the fascination or the learning lesson where every time there's been um something that caught me by surprise. I'm like, "Oh, learning lesson like I didn't see that one coming like I got to look at the credit markets better." Um there's always there's always something in the market, but there's a resiliency to the market. So, you just learn that they are business cycles and you have to power through them. They will the markets will come back. They're great audience. They are but they are fascinating times Sophia. >> They are fascinating times right now. So the last thing you want in this industry is like a market that goes like this >> like a straight line. That's death to anybody because nothing's going up. Nothing's the the volatility is is that's very painful. You want them. >> Yeah. And it kind of I I personally I kind of like the idea of like the unknown and like the uncertainty of everything as well. I guess I feel like it just gives like a lot of opportunity as well. Um so I think that's kind of interesting. >> That's very insightful. That's 100% a very very insightful approach you just took because that's the approach that in the market I think drives people for success is what you just said. So like remember your words. Those were amazing. >> And um within the finance industry, I feel like a lot has changed especially maybe since you started off in your career. >> Yes. >> So especially for women, I would say like a lot has like improved in that sense. So what would you say has changed since you first started off? >> Uh from a woman lens, um >> let me answer that two ways because I don't want to make this specifically about women. So yeah, I think a lot has changed from a woman lens. Um >> I don't want to really over elaborate it because I do think that that um I think women have a very strong place in this industry. Um when I started it was not at all like the environment it currently was. It was um a little more wild westy. I don't think I would I I was one of no other women traders for a period of time at certain points in my career. Then I was with other women. Um so there is a natural evolution to it. But it there's definitely much more and of an awareness um and an appreciation and a community for women in this industry that I had not seen previously. So I think that is just a natural awareness is probably the most important thing. Um and I think that that continues to evolve. uh for women's place in this industry. Um the second thing I would say though when you talk about the evolution being from what the industry was to where it is now I mean I you're right I did start in the industry where it was paper blotters like you wrote your trade on a piece of paper and the floor was open and etc etc. Now it's digitization AI you know automation efficiencies etc etc. So there is a much more of an efficient market. It's much more of a 247 global approach to trading. So that the market has moved rapidly but the two coming together I think is the point is there's a consistent fluidity and maturity to the industry um and as that maturity expands right it's either technologically advanced or people advanced but it is coming together to create much more of a better confluence and synergy for like for women in this industry but also technology in the industry. though it is a forward it's forward motion um it's not perfect especially for women I there's possibly unconscious bias still like but I would suggest that's in any industries >> um but specific to the finance industry yeah it's it's changed quite a bit I'm such a huge community around me and my dayto-day um I it's night and day from when I started >> and then like you mentioned for technology has become like the norm now and so is AI becoming like the new norm. So how like what excites you about the future of the industry if it's with the technology advancements or not? >> I mean can I ask you that question because you're the future so like do you find that technology is exciting for you or this industry in this approach like how do you see technology when you go? that I feel like in some areas it does help a lot and it makes things more efficient but I feel like that human connection as well is so important and I don't think that will be able to like I don't think AI and technology will be able to replace the human connection and like human advice or um like the personal goals and stuff but I do think it is like a tool that can help us in many ways so I feel like It'll be interesting to see um various ways that I know the banks will take into consideration how to like use AI and whatnot into their like how to help them as well. But yeah, I don't think like the personal aspects will be affected by it. I hope not at least. >> That is a masterclass answer. I'm not even going to over elaborate on that. It was really well said. So yes and yes and amen and yes. Yes. Well, thank you. And Lisa, like I mentioned before, you've worked in industry for over 20 years. What's kept you motivated and excited to grow? >> Um, the markets. I keep repeating the same thing. Um, it it's again, if you're not naturally curious, your headlines, I'm sorry, I keep turning this way because my my news feeds are over here. Um, I've been in history for over 30 years now. I I uh it's I feel like I'm a student every day I come to school. So like I I love that I'm talking to students about this because it's still that feeling of going back to school and learning something new. And so every single day it's a new headline on something. And that to me is fascinating. That's what keeps me highly engaged. Working for a global bank keeps me highly engaged. Seeing the sophistication of the client base evolve uh keeps me highly engaged. Seeing technological advancements keep me highly engaged. Like it is an industry much like others but very specific to the markets because we're based off of instant gratification. How the the how the markets trade on any given day is um it is an industry that's really fluid and you that's what That's why you'll stay for a very long time, right? Um [clears throat] I'm sure you have peers and family, friends and whatever and they've been in the industry for a long time and >> it it it's just um it's like going to school every single day. >> I love that. And then um finally, what would you say is one piece of the advice you would give to someone who's starting off their career in finance? Oh god. You know, I get that question a lot and I still don't have the perfect answer for that because there's so many little when you asked me what were my moments where I had my aha moment. It's the same thing like I was like a learning lesson. Um I would say first of all and this is probably projection on myself is be patient because I think you come into the industry and you're like you you're what are you talking about? about I'm books and barred and I'm smart and I did really well in school and how come no one's noticing me and pay attention to me and um you have to have some patience to this industry first and foremost that's probably my first lesson. My second learning lesson is not everything holds equal equal importance. So you have to learn sometimes to step away from responding to a con like a reply. Not everything is personal to you. I think I'm giving you more than what you want. So I would just stop at those like number one it's just I think you have to learn patience because your it's a career it's not a job it's a career >> and that is I remember saying to somebody once like can you imagine being in this industry for 10 years and here I am 30 years later right doing this doing is still in the industry and loving it still um so it is it is a very long journey >> you just have to love that and I'm sure it I'll take that into your mind and I know our viewers will as well. Um, so I just want to >> Well, Sophia, but my 22, 23 year old self would not have answered it [laughter] like I'm out of here. So, u I'm coming from like an old lady lens of like 30 years later. [laughter] >> Well, that's helpful. It is helpful. >> Hope it's she's like this is the point. Yeah. you foil that you do you feel that you see the industry as a career path or do you feel that most people see it as a job? >> Um I feel like I get I guess it depends on who you're talking to. Um, and like you said, if they um you really it seems like you like love your your career and your job and um I feel like it depends on if I know we talked about it before like you know some people who like left the industry because they hated it, but it's mostly because they just didn't enjoy like it didn't align with their like personality and their skills. So maybe it's that. Um, so I guess it depends on who you're talking to and if they like found what really interests them and like fulfills them in their career. So >> yeah, it's a it's a like I've only been in this industry so I can't speak to any other industries but it is one that you do need to come with a very strong sense of awareness of yourself because it does it can get demanding. it is the epitome of you know capitalist infrastructure working on the markets and things like that. So um it's very specific but there if on international women's day specifically I I really want to advocate as well that there is a place for women in this industry and it breaks my heart that women negate themselves if they seek they think they see the future path and it doesn't suit them and there is a place for women to have kids and whatever they want whatever they want there is the place for you to have it in this industry. >> Well, I love that. Thank you so much. >> My pleasure. Happy International Women's Day. >> [music]
Women in Finance #IWD 2026 | March 8 at 10am ET
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[music] [music] Hi everyone and welcome to our third annual International Women's Day conference. My name is Isabella and alongside my sister, we are so excited to have you here with us today. International Women's Day is a time to celebrate the achievements of women, reflect on the progress we've made, and have honest conversations about the work that still lies ahead. When we created this conference, our goal is simple, to bring together inspiring women in finance and business, and create a space where students, especially young women, can learn, ask questions, and see what's truly possible in their careers. Today, you'll hear from incredible leaders who have built impactful careers across the industry. We hope their stories, insights, and advice leave you feeling more confident, more informed, and more empowered to pursue your own path. Thank you to our sponsors, Spratu, Versify, and Blur Street Capital for your continuous support. And thank you so much for being here. Let's get started. [music] Hi, Heather. Thank you so much for joining us today. How are things in Toronto? >> Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here. Things are great. The weather is turning. We are looking forward to winter coming to an end. >> So am I. CPP Investments manages the assets of the Canadian Pension Plan on behalf of millions of Canadians. Can you give us a brief overview of the organization and what makes its investment approach unique compared to other large investment funds or pension plans? Wonderful. Thank you so much for allowing us to be here today. So, you're absolutely right. Uh CPP Investments manages the assets of the Canada Pension Plan and our mandate is very simple, but it's very powerful and I think it's what makes us really unique. And our mandate effectively is to earn strong returns without taking undue risk. So, the plan stays sustainable for over 22 million Canadians over the long term. We're here to build a generational organization and a generational portfolio and that means staying disciplined through market cycles. And Heather, you've held senior leadership roles at CPP Investments across strategy, operations, and investments. Can you tell us about your current role and what a typical day looks like for you? So I run our capital markets and factor investing department and that's a team of about a hundred people across Toronto and Hong Kong and London and our team invests and allocates to a number of public market strategies globally and we do that by running strategies internally specifically systematic or quantitative strategies that we run in-house in CPP investments and then we also allocate to a large global portfolio of external public market managers. across a number of different strategies. So my day is really uh about staying current in terms of what's happening in the market environment. It's decision-m with respect to our investment portfolio and our team and our strategy. And it's conversations really around leadership and ultimately making sure that our team stays aligned on the intent of what we're trying to achieve and really allowing them to do their best work. >> That's awesome. And you mentioned that you work across many geographies. I'm sure that makes things a bit more complicated dayto-day as well. >> A lot to stay connected on, especially today. >> Yes. And one of the things you mentioned is that CPP works with long-term investing. So, I'm curious about what you enjoy most about that specifically within a pension fund structure. >> Yeah, the long horizon really is a defining capability and advantage for us in terms of our duration of capital. It means that we're not building a portfolio for any one particular moment in markets. We're building a portfolio that can move through market cycles and not in reaction to them. And I think that's incredibly grounding. It really keeps you focused on the fundamentals, on portfolio resilience and decisions that will really stand the test of time. >> And across many of my interviews, one things remain consistent, and that's the importance of having a mentor. So, I'm curious if you've had a mentor throughout your career, and if so, what valuable lessons have you learned from them? >> Yeah, it really takes an ecosystem of people. I've learned a lot from mentors. Um, you know, especially the people who have been supportive to me over my career, but if I'm really being honest, it's the people who really challenged me, who pushed me into bigger roles, who gave me really honest feedback. Um, those have been the people that I find are going to put you on risk the most and that's where you're going to grow and you're going to get uncomfortable, but ultimately that's where you're going to become the most resilient and probably really stretch yourself beyond what you may have even thought you were capable of. I think some of the biggest lessons that I've learned, and I always come back to this, and I tell this to my team all the time, especially in the environment that we work in, is to really know how to cut through complexity in a in a way that really clearly articulates what your thinking is, what your thesis is, what the trade-offs around that, and what your beliefs are. And ultimately, that's, you know, a really important capability when when you're uh investing and you're you're trying to be clear on on the risks and the opportunities, but also bring other people along with you in your decision-m. >> I absolutely love that point and it ties into something I'm working on right now, which is just being curious and asking questions to clarify and as you mentioned, basically find the best solutions possible. So, I love that point. And I'm curious as to what skills or personal characteristics have been the most important to your success, especially as you've moved into senior leadership roles. Um, I think early on in your career, you know, you're really focused on being very competent in doing strong work around, you know, it's really important you have, especially, I think, in every industry, and that's very true for the investment industry as well, that you have a really good strong technical grounding and foundation. And early in your career, you're very focused on making sure that work is well executed, that it's, you know, you're reliable, that you're curious, that you're really trying to connect the synapses around all the ecosystem of everything that's going on around you. And ultimately being able to add more thought, leadership, and insight um as that work progresses and you go on in your career. And then as you become more senior, it's really about your judgment. And it's about bringing all that experience to the table that you have to think about how to set the intent for what you're trying to achieve with your program, your strategy, and your team. Making sure you can communicate that with a lot of clarity so people are very clear on that intent and are aligned with it. Um, and then ultimately about making room for people to be successful around you and building a leadership team um who can carry carry that work forward. So, I think the skill set kind of progresses a little bit uh from, you know, when you start early on in your career to depending on where you move over time. >> I love that point about kind of the building blocks and learning as you go. And it ties into my next question. I know CPP investments invest across public markets, private equity, infrastructure. You mentioned that there's a lot of technical skills involved. So for students maybe interested in institutional investing, what technical or analytical skills are becoming increasingly important? >> Yeah, I mean start with absolutely the core fundamentals. Building a strong foundation is really important. Understanding the core principles of finance, understanding accounting, understanding how markets work in in whatever avenue and root feels right to you in in the way that you want to learn that experience. um understanding you know the components of risk and how people take risk and then you know building fluency with data and tools because that's absolutely becoming table stakes um making sure you've got really good fluency and thinking about okay I have the foundational skills and the knowledge to think about how to uh put the components together um depending on the discipline that you're working in and now how do you how do you really amplify that with the tools and the skill set that you're working with to drive insights and drive value out of that information um And again, it comes back to being able to get to the core of what you're trying to understand and make sure that you can uh validate and evidence your thesis through like a number of different ways based on based on the tools that you have access to and ensuring that you can explain that in a clear and compelling way to your colleagues. Um ultimately the data is only going to take you so far, right? as you move on in your career and you get more accountability and responsibility for decision-m, you have to be able to um make sure that you can get people aligned around you to be able to put capital and put risk to work. >> And I love that point about communication because I think it's something that is incredibly important if you're working with people um and investments. There's definitely an emotional aspect to things. So I'm sure how understanding people and what motivates them to probably plays a pretty big role in your job. >> Yeah, absolutely. I think you know it's all everybody um you know everybody has a different set of motivations. I think especially if you're leading a team or building a team ultimately it's all about understanding what energizes people. Making sure that you really understand for each member of your team where do they feel the most engaged? How can they show up in a way that's going to allow them to do the best work? how can you put them in a position for them to succeed and making sure that you're giving people lots of opportunity um to take up that space and to be successful and that you're celebrating them along the way. >> I love that point and as mentioned there are many young women watching this conference. So for those interested in CPP investments, where can they find more information about internship or work opportunities? You can certainly find us on our website or you can find us on a number of social media uh platforms as well including LinkedIn and including Instagram. You can follow us. We are very active and you can learn more about the organization and all of the fantastic global opportunities that we have right here at CBP Investments. >> That's amazing. And as we wrap up, what final piece of advice would you offer to young women who aspire to build a career in finance or investment management? Never be afraid to go on risk on yourself. Find opportunities that are going to stretch you, that are going to make you grow, that are going to challenge you. Um, if you're going to, you know, put all of your energy and uh emphasis and insight into anything in your career and in your life, never be afraid to bet on yourself. and make sure that you know if you're if you're thinking about the next opportunity and it's starting to make you feel you know a little bit uncomfortable it's probably a really good sign that you're ready for the next step and absolutely take the leap even if it's outside a discipline that you uh may have thought of go on risk on yourself always it's uh it's the best investment you can make >> that's such a great point I love it I definitely can resonate with getting out of your comfort zone is the best place to learn so thank you for that this was such an amazing conversation, Heather. I loved learning more about your career journey and CPP investments. Thank you for joining us. >> Thank you for having me. Really appreciate it. Great to chat with you. [music] Hi Nikki, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm really looking forward to our conversation. It's great to be here, Sophia. Thanks for having me. >> Of course. And to start, you are one of the VPs of marketing at TD Bank. Could you explain what your role entails and what you're responsible for at a high level? >> Yeah, absolutely. Happy to. So, at the bank, we have a lot of different products we offer to help Canadians navigate their financial life. Some are for more everyday needs and others are for large life moments. So, I manage a team that markets all everyday products like checking accounts, savings accounts, another team that markets mortgages and lines of credit tied to a home. And then a third one that markets to newcomers and young adults that are both priority segments for us. >> So, what would a typical day or week look like for you in this role? Um, so I'm an early bird. Um, so I like to get into uh into work really early. Uh, this is when I do my best work and it's also it gives me a a chance to uh really ensure that I'm ready for the day uh as well. So I'm I'm in work early. Um, most of my days are filled with lots of meetings. Um, but these meetings um they're really important. They there's a lot of different topics that we we cover. So they normally include meetings to ensure our strategic plans are moving forward. Um there's also um meetings with uh with my team, also with business partners, also with marketing peers. Um but really to ensure that we're we're moving things forward and and uh staying to our plans. >> So you mentioned that you have meetings with your team. Is there also um a lot of cross team collaboration that happens as well? Uh yeah, there there is a lot of uh it's it's really really important to have cross team collaboration because this is how we're going to get um diversity of thought which is which is just a really really important way to be as strong as possible as a team. >> That makes sense. And then I'm curious about your career path. Have you always wanted to work in marketing or did your interest kind of evolve over time? Yeah, that's a great question. So, um, when I was in high school, I really loved math a lot. Um, and I actually first thought that I wanted to be an accountant. Um, but then I started uh doing some traveling and and getting curious about different countries and I also learned a little bit about marketing as well. And so when I went to university, um I actually took a double major in marketing and international business because those were two things that um I really had a passion for and was always really really interested in. And so um and so that's what helped me actually start start into getting into into marketing and um and and also international business a little bit as well. >> Yeah. I always think it's so interesting how people like find their way to their career paths because it's always so different and it's always nice to hear. Um, but how does working in marketing at a bank differ from working at an agency would you say? >> Um, so I mean if you're pursuing a career in marketing, uh, an agency is a really fantastic place to start. Um and so um for those of you who may not be as close to marketing, let me just explain what an agency does. So an agency is a company that helps uh other companies by creating marketing campaigns. So they they would help uh companies create like ads on YouTube or or Tik Tok or or television ads. Um and and so they're um predominantly these creative agencies. And so starting a career at a at an agency um is can be a really really great thing because you can learn all kinds of different marketing tactics and disciplines when you do that. Um you also learn how to contribute to different diverse companies as well. And so you learn about um what make different companies tick and and how you can drive marketing forward uh through those through those uh marketing tactics. On the client side, uh the difference there is that you actually oversee these campaigns and you create the marketing strategies that are used to then brief into the agency. So really, you have much more of an ownership there and you you own the results and you own the future of it. So you've got much more accountability to to that uh that strategy on the client side. >> Yeah. I feel like when people think of marketing, they think about more like the agency side and like that is what comes to mind. Um, but it's really interesting to see like both sides of it as well. Um, and in terms of marketing, especially in financial services, it has changed like significantly in recent years. What major trends are you seeing in the marketing space right now? Um, oh, I'm seeing uh a lot of different trends. I I mean, probably the the biggest one is is around uh is around AI and uh and really ensuring that we're using AI. I mean, we uh as a as marketers, we probably we use AI, I would say, in like three different larger places. So one is um for those marketers that use lists and customer lists, they often have to use models as well. And so for our models, we use AI. And so um with uh things things like uh chat GBT and Gen AI um we're we're looking at bringing Gen AI into our model. So that is one place. Um then another place from an AI standpoint would be ensuring that we are um showing up in in large language models. So when you are using um the different uh genai platforms that um that our products are showing up. Um and then the third one is around efficiencies. So, how are we using tools that have AI enabled in them to to drive efficiencies and allow us to go even faster and and allow the AI to do the things that are a little bit more mundane. >> That makes sense. And it's crazy to see how AI has evolved so quickly and just continues to be in our everyday life. Um, so it's cool to see how it's going to evolve, especially in like the banking services as well. And I know Well simple has been very successful in positioning itself as like an anti-bank and how it's it talks about how it's extremely simple for young Canadians. How do you how does TD position itself to stay competitive and what marketing strategies are using to maintain like a competitive edge? Um well particularly when it comes to the younger generation that you're talking about and uh with like well simple has done a a a good job there. Um we we do lots to um to really understand our customer segments um and young adults are are one of them. They're they're no different, right? And so we really ensure that we're understanding um what problems uh they have, what needs they have, and how can we solve those and and how can we solve those in a way that's really uh really simple for them and really simple to go through. Um but then also in our marketing we want to make sure that the way we market to them um they feel emotion from it and and they are engaged by it as well. And so so we're constantly um doing doing research to understand how we can do that and how we can make sure that we're showing up where they are. So, for example, for young adults, um you know, ensure that we're showing up on Tik Tok, on Insta, um at the campuses that they're on in a meaningful and authentic way. >> Yeah. Well, I've definitely seen like the the TD Tik Toks and I think they're really good personally. [laughter] Um and in terms of like TD's brand, so it is one of Canada's most established brands. How do you keep the brand feeling modern and relevant without losing the trust that you've built over like decades as well? >> Yeah, that's a really really great uh question and and yeah, so we're we're really proud to be um we are actually the number one brand right now in Canada, which is uh really wonderful. Um, but we do have to constantly keep keep fresh and we we do have to constantly make sure that we are um listening to our customers and listening to Canadians and and what they want. And so what's so important for a brand um is uh what I call promise made, promise kept. So from a from a marketing standpoint, we come out and we talk about prom like what promises that we're going to be giving to our customers and and what commitments we we have and through our products and our solutions. Um but what is even more important is that we keep those and so we work very very closely with our partners, our business partners, our channel partners across the branches and across uh the digital channels to ensure that what we are going out with in the market that we can keep those promises and and we can keep that experience amazing for our customers. Yeah, I feel like that's definitely important like customer loyalty and making sure that the customers are like the number one part of like focus I guess. Um, and in terms of I know you've talked about how you acquire like the younger generations through like meeting them where they're at like on social media and stuff. How would you um engage and acquire other um customers at different ages like for example like the older generation? >> Um we really do that through understanding what um what marketing vehicles they uh they engage with. And so we have a lot of ways to segment our customers. Um be it through the data that we have um at at our at our fingertips um you know transactional data and that sort of thing to um to other data that we can we can overlay and really understand um what uh paid media they are consuming. So depending on like whether they're on uh they're on TV um what TV spots are they on um are they watching sports are they so etc. And so we have a lot of demographic information that tells us that so that we can target our our media to the right segment. >> That makes sense. And then when it turn when it comes to hiring what would you say matters most? Would it be like more technical skills like data and AI literacy or would it be creativity and storytelling? >> Um well that's a really really good good question. Um I think they're both they're both really really important. So um experience is is really um is obviously important and tied to to the role that you're you're actually going for, right? And so, um, that's always going to be table stakes and you're going to be you're going to want to to, um, ensure that you that you have that. Um, but the the creativity, that's kind of this more the soft skills side of it, right? And >> um and so really ensuring that you can demonstrate like that you've got critical thinking skills um and and can get creative about um what you are bringing to the table. That's that's what's going to be really important and that's what's going to allow you to um to really stand taller than your your competition. And then in terms of marketing, what would you say is the most common misconception people have um especially within a large organization? >> Um I would say that from a marketing standpoint, the largest misconception that people people have is around what kind of value marketing can bring to an organization. And so um often uh people who have not been working with marketing departments are not not as familiar as what that what they can bring. And so um so sometimes they they don't think it can be as strong as it can be. And so that is that is actually a marketer's role to ensure that it is very clear on what value um your team is bringing to the full organization and connecting with finance and talking the same language as the businesses talk is really really important. So I've seen situations where um where groups have not thought that marketing was that valuable and then they have cut marketing's budget and then suddenly they've been quite surprised that their results have also been reduced significantly. And so um marketers have a role to play there though right to tell the story and to really ensure that the value of what they are doing is is bringing real concrete business value to the enterprise. So I would think that's probably the biggest u misnomer that I' that I've seen. >> And then on a more personal note, what do you enjoy most about working in marketing? Um yeah that's a that's a great question. Um I really personally I really love to solve problems right so I love to I love to understand like what kind of um needs and problems uh customers and prospects have and how can we solve them but solve them uh in a in a simple creative way that is compelling to them. And so and so bringing that to to market and first of all having an influence with the business on how they solve it, but then also bringing it to market in a very compelling way that drives emotion. Um I think to me is uh is really uh drives a lot of energy from my standpoint to to really um uh stay in the marketing discipline because it's it it's so exciting. There's there's so much happening. And then Nikki, as we wrap up, what advice would you give to young women who are interested in exploring your career in marketing? >> Um, yeah. So, I think there's there's three there's three pieces of advice I would I would give to to uh to young women. So, um firstly, marketing um has really become such a large and diverse discipline. So um there are there are so many different places you can play in marketing and so um uh just understanding that it's it's it's something that is changing all the time and so I would encourage people to um to take a look at the Canadian Marketing Association which runs a lot of conferences, runs a lot of courses. Um, so if if you're if you're new and don't know a lot about marketing, that's a great place to go. Um, and then uh it really doesn't matter what discipline you're you're interested in. So some people think oh I'm not really sure like what part of marketing I would be interested in whether whether uh you know it's agency side or client side whether it's like more um on the paid media side or or something else. It doesn't matter where you start. Just jump in somewhere that you that you have an interest in and then you'll be able to learn from that and and move around in your career as you as you see fit. Um and then the last one is um marketing is just a major major growth area for all companies. It is it is something that's changing all the time. It's a very very dynamic place and so um as a result of that it's just a really fun place to pursue a career and and so if you are considering it um I I think it's just a wonderful a wonderful place to be because it it just has so many facets to it and it's a lot of fun as well. >> Well, those are really good tips. Thank you so much and thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Hey, I've learned so much and I'm sure um our viewers will as well. >> You're very welcome and thanks so much for having me, Sophia. [music] >> Hi Rachel, how are things in Toronto? >> Good. How are you? Nice to see you. >> Rachel, you work in the global family office group at Scotia. Tell us more about your current role and why you chose to pursue wealth. Yes, I am currently a senior manager on the global family office group at Scotia Bank and what our team does is service ultra high net worth clients and family offices across Scotia Bank's footprint. So that includes Canada but also Latin America, Bahamas and Cayman. And specifically what I'm working on right now is a program for our clients next generations. We're calling it the rising gen program and it's all about educating people on how to be good stewards of wealth. So that's extremely exciting. Why I got into wealth management to answer your second question is simply because I wanted to learn more about my own wealth management and it's not something unfortunately you learn in depth at school. So learning about my own finances, but also been able to hopefully help friends and family members and then clients in the future is what initially motivated me to get into the space. That's awesome. It sounds like you cover a lot of people, but also I guess wear a lot of different hats. Um, I wanted to talk to you a bit more about Corporate Connects, which you founded in 2022. Can you share a bit more about what the organization is and what inspired you to start it while in school? >> Yes. So I started corporates connects in May 2022 as you said which coincided with me interning on the go family office group which also coincides with me moving from Vancouver to Toronto. So when I moved to Toronto I felt like I didn't know how to meet other young professionals in the city. So Corpus connects actually started with the vice chair of our team Caroline Bell Richie connecting me with her friend's children and saying you guys should go for drinks. So I ended up organizing a very small event which then led to people saying when's the next one and when's the next one and when's the next one and then I ended up having an email chain of interns across the city and I would tell everyone basically where to go on whatever day. So I ended up having probably around 150 people at my last event that summer. Took it back to London, Ontario, as you said when I was at school. started ticketing events and building out more of a brand and actually a company around what I was doing. So that's how corporates connect started and it's grown into a peer-to-peer networking company for young professionals in their 20s to 30s. So far beyond just interns now and we have speakers come in from finance consulting all the way to entrepreneurships. We actually had a Forbes 30 under 30 speaker come to my last big event in Toronto. So, it's it's grown substantially, but it started here when I was an intern and then continued when I was at school and now postgrad. >> That's amazing. I love to hear how it's grown and it's one of the things I love about it is that you really found a need as someone who's I mean started university postco. I know for myself I really was looking to make connections just off of a screen and so that's so amazing that you started that. >> Thank you so much. It's been fun. And I know you've balanced a lot between this organization, being a varsity athlete, recruiting, and now working and volunteering. So, how have you managed all of this? And what advice would you give early career professionals trying to balance that work aspect, social life, health, and personal development? >> Yes, that I mean, that's a great question, and sometimes when I on paper, when you look at what you've done, it feels more overwhelming than when you're actually doing it. And I think my big advice piece of advice around why I was able to play sports and um also manage getting into IV academics and extra volunteer extracurriculars at school was to know my why. Like I didn't have to play varsity sports. I didn't have to go into Ivy. Like I could have done intramurals and I could have done a different program, but I knew that I was going to Western for those two reasons. And I was am super passionate about sports, but I loved field hockey. Didn't want to stop playing, but I knew I went to a Canadian school instead of an American because I wanted to focus on academics and I really wanted to get into Ivy because of the case-based method, the the name brand of the school to make that network. So, I just like knew why I was doing those things. I actually got advice to not play varsity sports to get into Ivy. And I was told by people, okay, so once you get in now, you can stop playing your sport because you did it to get in, right? And I was like, "No, I just love playing field hockey and I'm just doing it for myself." So, if you love something and you are confident and also know why you want to do both, it's a lot it's a lot easier. And I think I've taken that attitude into postgrad when I've taken on extra roles like 100 women in finance I'm part of as well as my role at Scotia Bank as well as different volunteering as well as um organizing and running corporates connects events. but it's because I want to be and I know why I'm involved in those different um areas of my life. So, as long as you're not doing it for some sort of external validation and just purely because you want to, I think it's a lot >> easier. Yeah. And I I totally resonate with that. It reminds me of the expression people talk about all the time where work doesn't feel like work if it's something you're passionate about. And I'm sure that kind of feels like it when all of the things you're doing in your life kind of aligned with what you want to do. >> Exactly. >> And looking back, especially for those interested in wealth, I'm curious about what helped you secure your first role in wealth management because that is a very unique path to go into wealth management as a new grad. >> Yes. Um, this is a great question and I mean part of the reason why I also love continuing doing corporates connects because everyone you learn has a really different path and it might not just be through applying on an online portal. So to make a long kind of story short, I was connected through a case competition in second year to a recruiter at Scotia Bank. She was only a year older than me and we did this case competition. She wasn't even on my team. I didn't know her, but I watched her final case presentation and I thought she was an amazing person. I was like, "Wow, this girl really knows what she's talking about. Um, let's reach out to her and, you know, say congrats and then connect that way." She ended up coincidentally getting a job at Scotia Bank as a recruiter. We stayed connected. She was a bit of a mentor for me and then she told me about this competition called Next 50, which they chose 50 students across Canada to get early placements and jobs. So, she was also a varsity athlete and I remember so vividly she was like, "I'm putting you on the field and you have to score." Like, "I'm putting you in this group coffee chat and you have to get recognized." And that was like the perfect way to explain it for me as a varsity athlete at the time. I was like, "Oh, I I'll I get that. I get what you're saying now. Like, I'm going to go in and make sure I get a job." So, that's how I ended up getting in front of like the right person and in front of my hiring manager. Why wealth management? It's a lot of trial and error. So I did an internship in consulting. I liked that it was case or sorry not case based client facing. Um but I also liked finance the most at IV was my favorite course. So I thought what kind of blends the client facing nature. I like talking to people but also my passion for finance and loving that the most at school and wealth management made sense. I also wanted to learn about my own wealth management. So, I was like, if I can get a job doing this and be able to learn myself and teach myself and help my friends and my family understand how to manage their money, it's like a win-win. So, that's a how I got into my job through this recruiter, which I think emphasizes the importance in networking and reaching out to people and building relationships because you never know what will come from it. And then trial and error. Think about your favorite subject, try different internships, and then decide, okay, what's like the perfect match out of all the things I like. >> Yeah. And what I love about your story is that you never know who you're going to meet. And I always think back to this even in our classrooms, right? Like it feels like classmates right now, like we're all students having fun, but later on, this is our network and you never know how these people can help you. So that's such an awesome >> that's a really smart way to think about it. like you already being ahead of the game and thinking like this is this is my network and that is your network. Even your high school friends like totally anyone that you've met along the way is your network. So it's a totally >> and many new grads struggle with imposttor syndrome when entering the workforce. So I'm curious as to what helped you build confidence early on and what advice would you give to someone just starting out? Okay, I kind of have a funny answer for this, but I think it is a good mindset shift. If you're in the room, you deserve to be in the room. Or if you're in a role, you deserve to be in that role. So, it's kind of spinning it on its head where it's you shouldn't, you're not an imposter, like you're there for a reason. And my funny take on that is if you are an imposttor and you faked your way into this room, like that's even more impressive. like you should be even more proud of yourself for being in that position, that role. Like that's even better. Like you're going to learn so much more because you're starting at a lower kind of knowledge level and you can grow so much faster. So instead of thinking how to tackle imposttor syndrome, I would just like get those words out of your mind and just think I'm here now. Like how can I learn as much as I can? It's kind of you're an underdog. If you're like a junior person or an intern or a rookie on a team, you actually don't have much expectations from others. So, take advantage of that and ask all the questions that you can while you can, not when you're like 3 years down the line and you should have known these things, but you're too scared to ask. Um, yeah, you deserve to be there. And if you don't, again, like congratulations. I don't know how you did that, but good for you. And that's impressive in a different way. So yeah, that's my advice. Like I think people shouldn't be so hard on themselves and just try as hard as they can when with whatever they have, whatever position they've gotten. Just pat yourself on the back and think you deserve it and just try your best. >> Yeah. No, that's such great advice. And it actually makes me think I went to a conference recently and one of the senior execs said, "Fake it till you make it." Because none of us knew what we were doing going into this role. But the difference is we said yes. And I feel like that very well connects to your point about just you're you probably deserve to be there. Just ask many questions as you can and be confident. >> Yes. >> And then for students young or young professionals interested in getting involved with corporates connects, where can they learn more or connect with you? >> First of all, thank you for asking that question because that's like a nice opportunity for me to promo. But follow corporates connects on across social media. So that we have a LinkedIn page, but also Instagram's like an easy way for people to follow us. I'm also going to launch a newsletter semi soon. So if you follow any of the social media platforms, that will be announced and that will be a potentially easier way to get monthly updates on different events and opportunities that we'll be hosting. So stay involved that way. Like just following the social media platforms is how I typically communicate. Now, I no longer have an email chain of interns cuz as you know, once you're done your internship, that email is no longer with you. So, social media is for now. >> Thank you so much for joining us today, Rachel. This was such a great conversation. >> Thank you so much for having me. Happy International Women's Day. I'm very proud of you and your sister for organizing something like this. It's so awesome and I'm happy I could be a part of it. Thank you. Thank you so much, Maddie, for taking the time to meet with me today. I'm so looking forward to our conversation. >> Awesome. Thank you so much for having me, Sophia. I'm really excited to be here. >> So, Maddie, you didn't originally study business. Can you walk us through what you studied and what sparked your interest in moving into wealth management? >> For sure. So I actually started my um well I guess not career but in university I studied kinesiology. Um so very different route from the typical route that people go through going into business. Um and to be quite honest I kind of stumbled into wealth management. Um my first job out of university was at MD Financial which is a subsidiary of Scotia that does wealth management for physicians in Canada. Um, and when I was looking for a job, I kind of I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. And I and I think that's okay. That's a a great message for new grads is that like it's okay to try a couple of things and and figure out what works for you. Um, but based on my experience in undergrad, more so, my I think my extracurriculars um are what got me interested in the business world and and wealth management. Um in undergrad I was a part of various like finance clubs and and ended up running a charity for a couple of years. Um and through that experience I really learned that I enjoyed like management um and also finance and wanted to learn a bit more about that. Um and that's kind of what led me into to MD financial and then eventually Scotia. Um, so yeah, definitely not a linear path, but um, and that's okay. And that's what brings different perspectives to the working world. So definitely my message to new grads would be don't feel like pressured to go exactly into what you're going to be stuck in for the rest of your career. Like it's okay to try a couple things and um, figure out what works for you. I feel like that's also so reassuring to hear because I feel like in high school and university, we do have this pressure to kind of know what we want to do with their careers in the future, but in reality, we're all just trying to figure out like what kind of sparks sparks their interests. >> And for students who may be in a sim similar position, what advice would you give them and what transferable skills should they really be emphasizing? >> Totally. I think the biggest thing for students is just to try and figure out that passion. Um there's so many transferable skills that you can take into wealth management. I think one of the biggest ones obviously as many people would know would be like relationship management um and and project management. So, I kind of developed and honed in on those skills through my extracurriculars. And I think that's a really great way um to develop those skills through like clubs um and clubs where you're like partnering with with different groups around the community um and the university. So, that's kind of one way that you can practice those skills. Um I think another thing that I kind of or transferable skill that I took from my degree was that like analytical thinking piece. Um so coming from a STEM background obviously I had to learn how to problem solve. Um and like obviously it's a very different skill set and a very different type of problem solving. But that's a huge part of wealth management, right? like >> you find a client and you try and figure out what their financial needs are and how you can um make their life easier from not only a financial perspective but like a a total wealth perspective. Um so I think that's a really good skill that I I brought in. Um but honestly it's it's such a people business and um just developing your like communication skills too and your um yeah relationship skills I think is is number one for this industry >> and again it's really reassuring to know that kind of the ability to change your mind and make it work out and your skills can transfer and that there's ways to connect your past experiences to new opportunities. >> Um I think that's really reassuring to hear as well. and the start of your career can feel intimidating. What specifically helped you build confidence in those first few months? >> Yeah, I think um one of the biggest things is to really try and build like your knowledge base um and your technical understanding when you're going into those like meetings or interviews. And that doesn't necessarily mean like mastering those very specific like math technical problems in interviews, but more so just making sure that you're going into any sort of setting like that fully prepared um for what is going to not what's going to happen, but fully prepared with all the information that you need to show up in like a confident way. Whether if it's an interview, whether that be um doing all your background research on who's interviewing you, um if it's a client meeting, doing all of the research you need on the product that you're pitching so that you can show up um and confidently explain uh why you have that like superior product or um I can't remember the word, but you have that like that benefit that other people don't have. Um, I think the other thing too is that it's really easy, especially for students and new grads to look around at all of your peers and feel like behind. Like you look at LinkedIn and everyone's like posting like exams that they're doing and clubs that they're like going to and everything. Um, but I think it's really important to take a step back and and do an inventory of everything that you've achieved and try and just you just have to like make sure that you're recognizing your accomplishments. Um, because it is so easy to get like caught up in what everyone else is doing. Um, and that kind of level sets you and and allows you to bring that confidence into whatever you're you're doing. Um, yeah, hopefully that answers the question. Yeah, I love that advice because I feel like looking out I feel like the corporate world can feel really daunting at first. Totally. >> So I feel like that perspective is really helpful to hear to even just looking inwards and what you've accomplished and be happy for what you have accomplished and realizing what makes you like stand out for those important moments. >> For sure. >> And I feel like a lot of people either have an idea of what wealth management is or know nothing about it. Zoe, what has been the biggest misconception you had about wealth management before entering the field? >> For sure. That's a great question. Um, I think when people think about wealth management, a lot of the time they think or like wealth manage managers specifically, they think stock brokers. Um, but and it used to be like that, but it's become so much more with this shift towards total wealth. and and what that means is that now we're not just focused on our clients investment portfolios. Um granted that's a big part of it, but we're really focused on a holistic perspective of how to help our clients. So whether that be um helping them with advanced planning needs, so tax efficiency, um helping them with trusts that they're setting up, um helping them with loans that they're taking out in our private banking business. Um so I think and and also just um it's just so much more than yeah that investment management piece. like it's all about like building that complex relationship with your client and supporting them in so many areas of their life. Um, and that's kind of something that I've really enjoyed about wealth management is that it's not just that technical side. There's like a really big human piece to it. Um, and I think a lot of people I guess that the what the understanding that of what wealth used to be was that very like technical side of things. So, so moving into that total wealth um has been a really great shift um culturally and and society. >> Yeah, I think that's definitely going to surprise a lot of people and I think it also makes the industry for feel more accessible that um it's kind of like relationship based um as well%. >> Um >> and wealth management isn't always the most traditional entry point for new grads. So, what advice would you give students interested in breaking into the career into the fields early in their career? >> Yeah, for sure. I think the biggest thing for me is just making sure you're talking to as many people as you can. So, going to things like this this conference that you guys are putting on. Um, hearing different perspectives, uh, reaching out to to people that you might know um or have heard speak about their experience. Um, just trying to gain as much information as you can. like you really just want to be a sponge in your early um career and your your the days that you're applying to jobs um because you want to really enjoy what you're doing. So you want to make sure that you're getting that perspective from people who are actually in the industry. Um and then back to the point that I was discussing before, it's okay to change your mind. So, it's okay to try something for a couple years, decide it's not for you, go back to school, do a career change. Like, I think people get really stuck in that and siloed into what they're doing. Um, but it's so important to remember that you have um the freedom to to change careers. Um, so just don't put so much pressure on yourself, I think, to have it all figured out when you're 22 or however you old old you are when you're graduating. Um, I think, yeah, we just have to put less pressure on ourselves and and really focus on trying to find what really drives us. Um, and if that's wealth management, then that's awesome. It's such an amazing career path. Um, and there's so many, um, positives to it. So, yeah, I love it. But, um, you have to find what what you love and go for that. >> I love that. And I feel like even with the importance of like internships and whatnot, it's kind of like trial and error and seeing what >> like fits your skills best and what kind of >> draws you in. So I think that's a really good point. >> Yeah. Yes. >> And Maddie, to end it off, if you could give one piece of advice to your new grad self, what would it be? >> Yeah, that's such a good question. I think um I mean I guess I I've said this a bunch, but just don't put as much pressure on yourself. Like really focus on enjoying what you're doing. Um and yeah, just have as much fun as you can in in your early days. um and focus on on developing the skills um that that you really want to develop and that you like intrinsically value. Um so for me right now, for example, I'm going through my securities exams. Um and it's been such a valuable learning for me. Um and I'm really enjoying it. Um but you have to balance that with like the rest of of um your career and and what you want to do in life. So yeah. Well, good luck with your exams. I love that advice as well. I also I honestly think that's going to mean a lot to people who are about to graduate and figure things out. It definitely resonate resonates and I just want to thank you again for taking the time to chat with me today. I've genuinely learned so much from this conversation. I know our viewers will too. So, I really appreciate it. >> Awesome. Well, thank you so much for having me. It was great to meet you and and so excited to uh listen to the whole conference. >> [music] [music] >> Hi Jean, thank you so much for joining us today. How are things in Toronto? >> Amazing. How are you? >> I'm very well. Um, SPRAT is widely recognized for its focus on precious metals and real assets. So for viewers who may be a little less familiar, can you share a brief overview of the firm and what differentiates brought in the investment management landscape? >> Yeah, for sure. I think uh you know one of the things that really differentiates us uh are focus on uh physical commodities and our physical trust. Um you know we manage exchangeraded uh securities that invest in gold, silver, platinum, platium, uranium and copper. Um and with our expertise, we're you know really able to buy these physical commodities and take physical delivery of them and store them. Um which, you know, gives our clients an alternative investment vehicle really for those who want to have exposure to these assets uh without the inconveniences that are typical of uh and associated with physical ownership. >> That's awesome. And I was actually so looking forward to this conversation because we've never interviewed a trader before. Go. Yeah. So, I guess we could start a >> lot of pressure here. >> Um, I guess we could start off by just talking a little bit about your role specifically and what your responsibilities are as a trader and maybe even what a typical day would look like for you. >> Yeah. Well, I mean, I think one thing I can say for sure is that uh, you know, in in 20 plus years of experience in trading, I can guarantee you that no day is typical or you know, repetitive. So, um, you know, there's that. Uh, but you know, they do all kind of start off the same. you know, their their early starts to the morning. Obviously, you know, you you have a bit of a routine when you look at uh what happened overseas, what has happened in Europe. Um you obviously are reading a ton of news stories. Um you're looking at economic data that might be coming out that day that might impact um you know, uh you know, markets during the day. Uh and then obviously for me, I really look at the commodities and you know, I can see early on how the commodities might be reacting. if they're particularly strong. Um that might mean that my job uh as a trader and trade execution uh will be really busy and will dominate my day. And then on the other hand, if the commodities look, you know, particularly weak, uh I'm be I I can kind of pivot and focus my attention on other elements of my job, uh such as, you know, working with compliance related issues, uh operational projects, on new product launches or existing, you know, funds that we have. um I can you know further develop my relationships both you know internally and externally. Um you know I I work on developing new processes and improving you know our risk uh parameters. I work with the portfolio management team um you know and uh I do some liquidity analysis obviously and you know help with corporate strategy just to kind of name a few things. I guess >> it sounds like you're very busy. So that's so awesome. I guess I'm curious too, you your career has really spanned many years in the markets. So maybe you could walk us through your the path that led you to your current position and maybe why you got into trading in the first place. >> Yeah, you know, I I really think that there's no prescribed set of, you know, steps necessarily to get into finance. Um and for me it really was a focus on um at a young age knowing that I wanted to you know end up in finance which kind of really helped me stay on my path and stay focused um so I could explore you know opportunities when they presented themselves I you know uh really took all those opportunities quite seriously um you know and I've always really appreciated the fact that you know I've been incredibly lucky to have had a job at Thrott uh and for as long as I have had a job at Throat. Um and you know from there it was really hard work. Um you know loyalty uh and you know keeping a positive attitude and you know those are you know three things I I you know still do to this day and and uh and I'm still appreciative about. So >> that's awesome. And you absolutely do have a positive attitude. It was so fun working with you. Um well so trading of course requires operating in a very fastm moving and obviously very volatile environment. We saw that even last year with liberation day for example. So how has your approach to risk management and decision-m evolved over the course of your career? >> Yeah, it's a great question. Um, you know, and I really think that it ultimately comes down to experience. You know, there's really no better teacher than experience. Uh, and throughout my career, I've seen, you know, a lot of things. You know, you have seen markets evolve, uh, technology change. Um, you've experienced volatility like you mentioned, uh, areas of liquidity, um, you know, all of which highlight how important risk management and mitigation is, uh, to the role of trading and, uh, that role within the organization to be perfectly honest. Um, you know, I've developed and implemented a lot of pre-trading checks and balances and strategies to prevent risk. Um, you know, I always say that the trading desk is the last line of defense before a trade gets executed. So, it's, you know, your last opportunity to kind of stop something. Um, so if you think something feels wrong or or, you know, you you question it. Um, you know, you triple check it, you go back to the portfolio management team, you double check um before that gets executed. Um you know and I think experience has also taught me a lot of confidence you know and with that confidence you're able to stay calm um and make quick decisions when you know something inevitably um happens unexpected which you know in market almost guaranteed [laughter] >> absolutely and you've done this for quite a while so I'm curious as to what you enjoy most about working in trading and capital markets. >> Well you know I really do love the fast-paced nature of trading. You know, I love how dynamic it is and how it's always changing. Um, but I think what would surprise people maybe the most is really uh I have such a bird's eye view of the entire organization. you know, I really uh interact with all facets of the firm, you know, from compliance to finance to operations to sales uh the sales team uh to our clients to portfolio managers obviously. Um but I also attract people, you know, both internally and externally and you know, really are building and fostering those relationships. Um you know, and I I think, you know, that variety just, you know, really brings me a lot of joy and and uh you know, I really I really I really do love it. So I'm incredibly lucky. That's awesome because I think when you think of trading a lot of it is technical as you me mentioned but there is this very human uh component of it of relationship building and getting to know people within the organization and of course outside of it. So that's awesome. >> Looking back over your career, what advice would you give your 20-year-old self? 20 years has been a long time in in the business and I think you know what I really would say to myself is um you know don't get down on yourself and and persevere. Um you know there's been three times in my career where I put my hand up or put my hat in the ring so to speak uh for the head trading role um and two times before I didn't get it. And you know although today I can very easily and clearly look back on that and recognize that I was not experienced enough you know I hadn't had you know enough um you know maturity uh to take on that level of responsibility that comes with um the role of head of trading. Um but I was incredibly let down you know even even and disappointed and you know perhaps even a little deflated at uh at uh having lost those opportunities. Um but you know I kept showing up you know working harder you you know kept learning new skills um and developing you know my expertise um which obviously you know and ultimately prepared me for being the right person um in the role when um you know it presented itself the third time. Um and so I would just say you know stay positive and uh keep moving forward. That's so awesome because I think that advice is something that spans any industry, the importance of resilience and just trying again and being confident. So, thank you for sharing that. And uh markets of course have changed significantly with the rise of electronic trading and datadriven strategies. So, I guess how has the role of trader evolved in recent years and maybe how do you see it evolving in the next few years? Well, you know, it's interesting. You know, back when I started, we had a lot of um paper tickets. You know, everything was very manual. You know, we had to check pre-trade compliance. Um we, you know, we had to do manual account um allocations. Uh and and there was things that were obviously quite um timeconuming and errorprone to be perfectly honest. So I think you know technology has really freed up the traders um time to um time and has reduced errors obviously I I think we can spend more time on you know hightouch trades um we can use trade cost analysis to you know really analyze best execution uh we could implement execution strategies but take you know liquidity constraints into consideration. Uh ultimately all these advances in technology have really allowed the traders to focus more on um data absorption um and our tools really to improve execution >> and that's awesome that you say that because I think there's a lot of conversation across industries about how AI is really going to change careers and as you mentioned I think it's more of a piece of this is going to help us become more efficient in our roles. So that's awesome to hear. And of course, you cannot replace the human element um needed in pretty much any facet of business. So that's great. >> Exactly. >> And as we conclude, what final piece of advice would you offer to young women aspiring to build a long-term career in trading? >> You know, find people who champion for you, who fight for you. Surround yourself with great mentors both personally and um professionally. uh master your skills, practice and repetition. Um work hard obviously, you know, outwork everyone if you can. Uh and don't be scared to take risks. Just really keep at it, you know, and be nice to people. And after 20 20 years, uh you know, good things will happen. >> That was awesome. Thank you so much for all of your advice, Sham. It was so great to speak with you. >> You too, Isabella. It was great seeing you. >> [music] >> Hi Lisa, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm so so looking forward to this conversation. >> Hi Sophia, it's a pleasure to meet. I'm so glad we were able to do this. see and could you please start off by telling me about um your role as a managing director and country head at UBS and maybe kind of discuss your main responsibilities as well. >> Of course, it sounds like an all-encompassing role. Um the best way that I can explain this to you as a best visual is I am responsible for driving the strategy for the country for UBS. So you're aware that UBS is a global bank has um offices all over the world. So the visual for you is that in terms of Canada, if you think of Canada, I'm responsible for driving the strategy of the IB that we have asset management and wealth management on ground in Canada. >> Oh, that's cool. And then in terms of I know in Canada we have the main couple banks and I think that's what a lot of people think of um when banking in Canada. How does UB UVS differentiate itself and remain competitive in this environment? >> Yeah, so that's a good question, Sophia, because we get that all the time, right? Especially being foreign bank in a very highly dominated Canadian bank environment, right? We know the usual players at this point. Um, UBS is very distinctive because we are a global bank. We don't attempt to be only a Canadian bank. We are global. So, we will full service you on Canadian investments, etc., and then ultimately move across the world. So we have kind as I said we have offices all over the world. We have investment platforms all over the world. So we're truly we're designed to provide the globe to the Canadian client base. And so when you think of the purview and not we don't necessarily try to compete with the Canadian banks because we don't go headtohead on Canadian marketplace but we look at the sleeve of that very sophisticated client base that is expanding in Canada that actually moves more towards the global bias. And that's what EBS attempts to deliver. >> Okay, that's really interesting. >> Do do you have awareness of EDS in Canada yourself? >> Um I have like heard about it. I'm not super familiar with it. Uh I feel like when I think about making it um with the traditional banks, >> but like you mentioned, it's more like a globalized. So that's really interesting to >> It's very much part of the construct of Wall Street, right? The community of Wall Street. It's quite robust and you know the usual players. So we look at ourselves contextually across the universe of the bulge brackets. Um >> but yes in Canada specifically we are in that like kind of niche environment and marketplace. >> And then what would you say is the most challenging part about your little >> Oh god. You know I I I never see it as a challenge. I think if you were to ask me why I why I got into this industry which maybe we'll have a conversation on. It's because like there's a natural curiosity to the day-to-day. The day is consistently fluid. So the job is always a fluid job. The markets can sell off. Something can happen internally. There could be a natural disaster. And so managing for the country in that capacity does require a sense of fluidity. You can't be rigid. It does allow to have some stress points to that basically because you just don't know. Sometimes you have to think fact and and think fast and act fast. But I would say really the stresses of the job are if you're thinking ahead, you have to think future forward first of all. You have to think of how you're going to generate business in which capacity the clients will resonate with you and you have to think of how again UBS has impact in Canada. It's it's a very high level assessment of this. It's not as specific as saying I wake up every morning, I'm stressed out because um I have a deadline. Those things will matter to me and like we have day deadlines, but the day-to-day is literally you're a student of the market. So you always have to kind of buckle up your seat belt and be prepared for the roller coaster in addition to your administrative roles basically. >> Okay, that makes sense. And then on a more positive note, what would you say is you find more enjoyable about the job? Oh, well, the same things I say my stresses are 100% of what I'd say my my enjoyment of the job is. It's like it's like asking me the question back to you as a student, right? Is what do you what do you stress about your being? What do you stress about and what do you love about it? >> I would probably say your answer is my same thing. Right. Right. >> Yeah, that is true. So I will say that the natural curiosity is exactly what brings me back on a very regular basis and I love it especially working for a global bank like UBS because um our like I said our purview is not specific to Canada it's what's happening in India what happened to Australia like it's global >> and then Lisa I know a lot of students who are watching um are not too sure where they want to go in the future not not sure what jobs are out there. So, I'm curious about your career path. Have you always wanted to work in finance or did your interests kind of evolve over time? >> So, no. In fact, that's a really good question. I get that question a lot. Um, you and I were talking just before the interview that um I've been in the industry for I almost want to say 30 years now, probably over 30 years. And so when I was in school, it wasn't as institutionalized of an organ like it wasn't an institutionalized job, right? It wasn't like people came in is I want to be a trader or an investment banker or a wealth management adviser. It was more, you know, I'll be a teacher, doctor, whatever. So um I had I never had an intention to I started the industry as a trader. I never had the intention to become a trader. I fell into the job. I actually have a political econ bias. I have a masters in political economy. Um, and so was it's not as prescriptive as saying you need to have a math degree or a business degree. It really lend to this broad thinking that I'm referencing along the way. But in terms of what did I set out to become this? No. Did I fall into it? Yes. Did it suit my personality and my skill set? Absolutely. I think I think for students and particularly women who are considering this industry, it's not as linear as what people like it to be. I think I think you guys have a lot more awareness now as to what an investment bank love management they're give very um I almost want to say sexy labels like they're really interesting to say I'm an investment banker but there is so much to this industry and so many facets asset management wealth management like I said that it really does fit everyone's type of personality and skill set so I really get disappointed when I hear people negate themselves out of the financial industry. >> Yeah, it's always interesting to hear like what people how they people found their way into the industry and it kind of gives like hope to people who have yet to kind of find something that they're interested in. So, it's always nice to see and I feel like especially with limited job experience at RHS student center, we have the ability to have internships as well now, which is great. But I think even still um >> Yeah. >> to it out. >> Yeah. And so to your friends, and this is completely anecdotal. I'm 90% sure. I'm going to fact check this is true, but I'm just telling you this anecdotally. Um, most hedge fund I was told this on Wall Street a while a long time ago. Most hedge fund managers have philosophy degrees and a lot of traders were actually failed do doctors like doctors that wanted to get students that wanted to get to medicine didn't get the MTA or the degree that they wanted. So again like what you just said is your path is not lost if you have haven't done business and done like going into business and getting into finance etc etc there there is room for all types of expressive thought >> and and disciplines in this industry. My kind observation Sophia truthfully to a lot of students that come and ask us for like or want jobs is they they go after the job title but there's so much about your personality and your skill set that you underell yourself. So when sometimes even people say I'm leaving the industry or I don't like the industry, it's also potentially not true that they don't like it. it's that they just chase the role but they it this is um this is an industry where it does match your personality right so if you I don't know don't like volatility if you like stability like maybe you don't want to be a trader maybe you want to be a wealth measurizer but like you have to know yourself and I think a lot of people more look at the role as and trying to make themselves fit the role as opposed to having the role fit them and this industry is very specific towards that my >> Well, I love that. >> Yeah, I really like that. >> Oh, well, good. I mean, that's why for you as you like extend into your career or any of your friends or whoever is listening to this at this point, it's a really important knowledge because we do get a lot of questions to be like, I I think I want to be a trader. I think I want to be an asset management. And it's like >> you don't know the job until you're in it. So, don't pace the role, but like >> know yourself like first. So, and then whoever interviews you al has a very keen eye to know what what the qualities they want in that basically. >> That makes sense. >> Yeah. >> I think it's interesting for like to think about it that way. Um because one of my questions was uh like what skills and qualities do you find most important when hiring? Um but would that just differentiate based on the job that you're applying for? >> I'm 100% I'm going to keep saying this over and over again. I said this multiple interviews all the time. >> This industry is for the naturally curious. If you are not a naturally curious person, then there this probably isn't the best industry for you. So I can only say it's not about what degree you had if that's what you're asking me. It's really more about again your personality. Are you naturally curious? Are you a broad thinker? Are you willing to like are you team oriented? because again there's like everything is contingent on something else. So those those are the the intangible qualities I would say. It's hard for me to say to you, you need a degree in >> I don't physics, you know what I mean, to get this right. >> What kind of led you to UBS? >> The global platform period. So when I did my master's degree, I did a master's degree a lifetime ago and it was um it was on a global it was a glo it was a global thesis. Um, and so I always had a natural bias to think globally. That's why I said my my experience has been on Wall Street. I've not worked for a Canadian bank, but I always had this natural interest in terms of the world is bigger than what currently is happening in Canada and the investment industry is currently big bigger than what was happening in Canada. Um, and UBS to me, uh, working across the street for the last many years, as I've said, is truly a global bank. So it satisfies that natural curiosity. If I wake up and say I don't know what's happening today in Hong Kong and what like if I'm looking at the news reels right now like what happened to Bitcoin like it UBS has a platform for everything and so it is to me it is the foremost global bank in the world. >> I know we talked about like the uncertainty of the markets and everything. So how do you handle the uncertainty and like the rapid changes in the markets? >> [clears throat] >> I think through experience first of all this I've been through so many business cycles. Um I remember when I first started the industry uh it was a gold boom and bust and I literally thought the world was end I was like oh this this can't get any worse like you can't and then the market bounced back and you know it rallied and then the hit highs and then we had the tech bubble and then we had you know the list is long um then 2008 you get the idea. Um, I think the resiliency and realizing that none of this is ultimately personal first of all to you and the dayto-day that you live, but ultimately the awareness that the market does continue to move ahead is this. People forget that the market isn't supposed to go one way. You're going to have bull markets. You're going to have bare markets. You're going to have business cycles. Everything that you learn in school is actually true. It's that you forget when you're in the moment and you see the markets up consistently 20% on a year-over-year basis that you're like that must be the way this is. So when it hits or what sells off automatically people forget that these are all part of normal processes. And if you [clears throat] forget that, you're forgetting the fascination or the learning lesson where every time there's been um something that caught me by surprise. I'm like, "Oh, learning lesson like I didn't see that one coming like I got to look at the credit markets better." Um there's always there's always something in the market, but there's a resiliency to the market. So, you just learn that they are business cycles and you have to power through them. They will the markets will come back. They're great audience. They are but they are fascinating times Sophia. >> They are fascinating times right now. So the last thing you want in this industry is like a market that goes like this >> like a straight line. That's death to anybody because nothing's going up. Nothing's the the volatility is is that's very painful. You want them. >> Yeah. And it kind of I I personally I kind of like the idea of like the unknown and like the uncertainty of everything as well. I guess I feel like it just gives like a lot of opportunity as well. Um so I think that's kind of interesting. >> That's very insightful. That's 100% a very very insightful approach you just took because that's the approach that in the market I think drives people for success is what you just said. So like remember your words. Those were amazing. >> And um within the finance industry, I feel like a lot has changed especially maybe since you started off in your career. >> Yes. >> So especially for women, I would say like a lot has like improved in that sense. So what would you say has changed since you first started off? >> Uh from a woman lens, um >> let me answer that two ways because I don't want to make this specifically about women. So yeah, I think a lot has changed from a woman lens. Um >> I don't want to really over elaborate it because I do think that that um I think women have a very strong place in this industry. Um when I started it was not at all like the environment it currently was. It was um a little more wild westy. I don't think I would I I was one of no other women traders for a period of time at certain points in my career. Then I was with other women. Um so there is a natural evolution to it. But it there's definitely much more and of an awareness um and an appreciation and a community for women in this industry that I had not seen previously. So I think that is just a natural awareness is probably the most important thing. Um and I think that that continues to evolve. uh for women's place in this industry. Um the second thing I would say though when you talk about the evolution being from what the industry was to where it is now I mean I you're right I did start in the industry where it was paper blotters like you wrote your trade on a piece of paper and the floor was open and etc etc. Now it's digitization AI you know automation efficiencies etc etc. So there is a much more of an efficient market. It's much more of a 247 global approach to trading. So that the market has moved rapidly but the two coming together I think is the point is there's a consistent fluidity and maturity to the industry um and as that maturity expands right it's either technologically advanced or people advanced but it is coming together to create much more of a better confluence and synergy for like for women in this industry but also technology in the industry. though it is a forward it's forward motion um it's not perfect especially for women I there's possibly unconscious bias still like but I would suggest that's in any industries >> um but specific to the finance industry yeah it's it's changed quite a bit I'm such a huge community around me and my dayto-day um I it's night and day from when I started >> and then like you mentioned for technology has become like the norm now and so is AI becoming like the new norm. So how like what excites you about the future of the industry if it's with the technology advancements or not? >> I mean can I ask you that question because you're the future so like do you find that technology is exciting for you or this industry in this approach like how do you see technology when you go? that I feel like in some areas it does help a lot and it makes things more efficient but I feel like that human connection as well is so important and I don't think that will be able to like I don't think AI and technology will be able to replace the human connection and like human advice or um like the personal goals and stuff but I do think it is like a tool that can help us in many ways so I feel like It'll be interesting to see um various ways that I know the banks will take into consideration how to like use AI and whatnot into their like how to help them as well. But yeah, I don't think like the personal aspects will be affected by it. I hope not at least. >> That is a masterclass answer. I'm not even going to over elaborate on that. It was really well said. So yes and yes and amen and yes. Yes. Well, thank you. And Lisa, like I mentioned before, you've worked in industry for over 20 years. What's kept you motivated and excited to grow? >> Um, the markets. I keep repeating the same thing. Um, it it's again, if you're not naturally curious, your headlines, I'm sorry, I keep turning this way because my my news feeds are over here. Um, I've been in history for over 30 years now. I I uh it's I feel like I'm a student every day I come to school. So like I I love that I'm talking to students about this because it's still that feeling of going back to school and learning something new. And so every single day it's a new headline on something. And that to me is fascinating. That's what keeps me highly engaged. Working for a global bank keeps me highly engaged. Seeing the sophistication of the client base evolve uh keeps me highly engaged. Seeing technological advancements keep me highly engaged. Like it is an industry much like others but very specific to the markets because we're based off of instant gratification. How the the how the markets trade on any given day is um it is an industry that's really fluid and you that's what That's why you'll stay for a very long time, right? Um [clears throat] I'm sure you have peers and family, friends and whatever and they've been in the industry for a long time and >> it it it's just um it's like going to school every single day. >> I love that. And then um finally, what would you say is one piece of the advice you would give to someone who's starting off their career in finance? Oh god. You know, I get that question a lot and I still don't have the perfect answer for that because there's so many little when you asked me what were my moments where I had my aha moment. It's the same thing like I was like a learning lesson. Um I would say first of all and this is probably projection on myself is be patient because I think you come into the industry and you're like you you're what are you talking about? about I'm books and barred and I'm smart and I did really well in school and how come no one's noticing me and pay attention to me and um you have to have some patience to this industry first and foremost that's probably my first lesson. My second learning lesson is not everything holds equal equal importance. So you have to learn sometimes to step away from responding to a con like a reply. Not everything is personal to you. I think I'm giving you more than what you want. So I would just stop at those like number one it's just I think you have to learn patience because your it's a career it's not a job it's a career >> and that is I remember saying to somebody once like can you imagine being in this industry for 10 years and here I am 30 years later right doing this doing is still in the industry and loving it still um so it is it is a very long journey >> you just have to love that and I'm sure it I'll take that into your mind and I know our viewers will as well. Um, so I just want to >> Well, Sophia, but my 22, 23 year old self would not have answered it [laughter] like I'm out of here. So, u I'm coming from like an old lady lens of like 30 years later. [laughter] >> Well, that's helpful. It is helpful. >> Hope it's she's like this is the point. Yeah. you foil that you do you feel that you see the industry as a career path or do you feel that most people see it as a job? >> Um I feel like I get I guess it depends on who you're talking to. Um, and like you said, if they um you really it seems like you like love your your career and your job and um I feel like it depends on if I know we talked about it before like you know some people who like left the industry because they hated it, but it's mostly because they just didn't enjoy like it didn't align with their like personality and their skills. So maybe it's that. Um, so I guess it depends on who you're talking to and if they like found what really interests them and like fulfills them in their career. So >> yeah, it's a it's a like I've only been in this industry so I can't speak to any other industries but it is one that you do need to come with a very strong sense of awareness of yourself because it does it can get demanding. it is the epitome of you know capitalist infrastructure working on the markets and things like that. So um it's very specific but there if on international women's day specifically I I really want to advocate as well that there is a place for women in this industry and it breaks my heart that women negate themselves if they seek they think they see the future path and it doesn't suit them and there is a place for women to have kids and whatever they want whatever they want there is the place for you to have it in this industry. >> Well, I love that. Thank you so much. >> My pleasure. Happy International Women's Day. >> [music]