The CFA Society Serbia is proud to announce and highlight cooperation with the CWIM (Collaborative Women in Investment Management). Collaborative WIM leads the gender diversity work of the CFA Institute globally.
CFA Societies, FPA Chapters and industry groups around the world have joined efforts to drive the execution of inclusion and diversity in the global finance community.
The collaboration comprises more than 90 organizations across US, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East and Latin America, represented by over 300 volunteer society leaders globally – working together to further the advancement and development of female leaders of all backgrounds through programming, networking, and other career support.
CWIM is a women-founded and led 501(c)(3).
Therefore, we are more than happy and honored to present you today Collaborative WIM Board Secretary and Co-Chair of the CWIM Ambassadors program and one really special lady from the CFA community – Adrian Hughes, CFA.
Ms. Adrian Hughes is the current Secretary and past president of the CFA Society of Alabama. She has served in all of the officer roles over the years and has served as a Board member of the Society for over 10 years. She commenced a Women in Wealth initiative within the CFA Society of Alabama, creating programming and events in an effort to recruit more women not only into the CFA program, but also into the wealth management field.
She is working as a Portfolio Manager at Regions Bank, with a focus on short term fixed income strategies, with longstanding and rich experience in the asset management industry. She also currently serves on an Advisory Board for Samford University and as a Co-Chair of a DEI committee at Regions Bank.
All her accomplishments and devotion related to the DEI field are remarkable and have resulted in increased participation of women in investment management, and also make her a more than credible person to speak with about the position of women in the asset management industry, which she has been a part of for many years.
How would you briefly describe your career path and what were the main challenges?
I began my career working as an investment analyst for a regional bank’s investment portfolio. I briefly worked in the Asset Liability Management group before changing industries and worked as an investment analyst at an insurance company for ten years. During that time, I realized that I truly wanted to work with clients and assist them with their investments. Having still maintained connections from my first employer, I was able to return to my original place of employment and hired as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager about 13 years ago. I have definitely discovered my passion, as I love working directly with institutional clients. I am the only female Portfolio Manager on the taxable side, and I am one of a handful of women in our entire department. One of our previous managers was very “old school,” and he undeniably favored the male coworker’s perspectives over the women’s opinions. I later found out that I had been underpaid for years compared to a male colleague of mine who had the same level of education, CFA charter holder, and number of years of employment as me. I was partly my own worst enemy, commenting to a higher- level manager that if I was promoted to a manager role in my current group, I would be concerned that some of the men wouldn’t fully respect me. Our entire business culture has changed for the better over the years, and the salary differences between men and women have been reconciled!
How do you currently see the position of women in the asset management industry?
I feel like great strides have been made with women being promoted up the corporate ladder and women’s opinions being truly valued and solicited. Recent data has shown that women excel over their male counterparts in investment management due to their communication skills and their more empathetic nature. However, men continue to outnumber women in the investment industry, and very few women are currently members of the C-suite. Corporate cultures have shifted to accept a more diverse group of employees, but human resource departments are now tasked with trying to recruit more women for asset management jobs.
You are a Board member of CWIM, which is a global community consisting of women of different backgrounds, cultures and nationalities. What, in your opinion, is a common thing for all of them that makes them part of the exciting investment and finance world? On the other hand, what do you think is holding women back?
The amazing part of being in this community of a group of diverse women is realizing that we are all ambitious women who desire to succeed in the investment field. While we may reside in different countries and come from a variety of backgrounds, we all face similar issues with work-life balance and navigating a career in a mostly male dominated field. All of the women I have encountered through CWIM are very driven, goal-oriented champions who want to make a difference in the investment community.
As far as what is holding women back, I do feel like women are less likely to “put themselves out there,” so to speak. If we can’t click all of the boxes for requirements for a job prospect, then we are less likely to take a chance and apply for a position anyway. We, as women, need to have more faith in our own capabilities and be willing to take chances that we may have been hesitant to conquer before!
Did acquiring the CFA title help you in your career and if yes in which way?
Acquiring the CFA designation has truly helped me advance in my career. In general, when an employer sees the CFA designation on a prospective employee’s resume, the employer immediately knows that this person is dedicated and hard working just based on the rigorousness and commitment that obtaining the CFA designation takes. When I applied to work at an insurance company, the manager told me that having the CFA designation gave me an advantage over other prospects because she viewed me as more of an “expert” in the investment field. When I returned to the banking industry, my department required all employees to have their CFA designation. Having the CFA designation definitely gives you an edge against other prospective employees!