The CFA community is made up of a lot of high-level professionals around the globe and within them, there are a bunch of exceptional women, who contribute to the development of the investment profession in a sustainable and long-standing manner. One of them is for sure Regina Gaysina.
Ms. Regina Gaysina is a Past Board Director of CFA Society New Mexico (where she also served as a member of the Programs Committee, Scholarship and Advocacy Committee, and Chair Women's Advisory Committee) and Co-Founder of CWIM (Collaborative Women in Investment Management). Within CWIM, she is also a CWIM Ambassadors Co-Chair. It’s always good to remind our readers of the CWIM work. In a nutshell – CWIM is a grassroots campaign to empower female professionals across all facets of the finance industry, to support the advancement and development of female leaders, to establish a broad-based community and to create demand for diversity.
As we have already stressed in various occasions, CFA Society Serbia is proud of and highly valued cooperation with CWIM, which we found as very important and impactable.
Ms. Regina Gaysina is a seasoned finance professional with a distinguished career spanning over 12 years in municipal finance, investment analysis, and financial consulting. She has held progressively senior roles at RBC Capital Markets, where she developed her expertise in municipal finance.
With a strong mix of leadership experience, financial acumen, and a passion for public service, Regina continues to make a significant impact in her community and beyond.
Today, she shared with us a piece of her experience regarding her career path and CFA journey, as well as her valuable thoughts and views about women’s financial and investment inclusion and its benefits.
What is your biggest achievement so far and how has it influenced your career path?
Professionally, I believe my biggest achievement was to become the first FA Muni Banker in New Mexico and to be the only female investment banker in the state for a number of years. I think that achievement was a testament to the fact that if something has not been done yet doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I was told many times early in my career that I wasn’t qualified for roles because I was a female or didn’t have the “right” education/skillset. I had a goal to be in fixed income. I was very fortunate that through hard work and good leaders on my team I was able to build a successful career in investment banking. My personal experience really taught me a big lesson when looking for talent for my team is to look not where people come from but to really dig deep into how far they have “traveled” to get where they are because that is the ultimate proof of one’s resilience.
How important do you think women’s financial inclusion is for the further development of the financial industry and the ultimate benefit for society?
Enhancing women’s financial inclusion is not only a matter of fairness but also a strategic imperative for economic growth and societal well-being.
From economic standpoint, when women have access to financial services, they can invest in their education, health, and businesses, driving economic growth. Research shows that increasing women’s participation in the economy can substantially boost GDP, creating a ripple effect that benefits entire communities.
Moreover, financially empowered women tend to allocate resources toward their families and communities, leading to improved living standards and reduced poverty. Their investments in education and health yield long-term societal benefits, contributing to a healthier, more educated population.
Diversity in financial decision-making is another critical aspect. Including women brings different perspectives and ideas, fostering innovation and resilience within the financial industry. This diversity can lead to better products and services that cater to a broader audience. This creates a ripple of effect and empowers future generations to feel qualified and empowered to pursue career in finance.
Overall, promoting women’s financial inclusion aligns with global sustainability goals. It helps reduce inequalities and supports gender equity, essential for a just and thriving society.
What, in your opinion, could be the main incentives for greater inclusion of women in the investment industry?
Many firms in the industry already know about importance of including women on the teams and in the boardrooms and they have those objectives as a part of their corporate responsibility. Women control a significant portion of global wealth and increasingly influence consumer spending. By including women in the investment process, firms can better understand and serve this demographic, ultimately enhancing their market reach and profitability.
Research continues to indicate that organizations with diverse leadership often outperform their peers. Gender-diverse investment teams can drive superior returns, making a compelling case for inclusion from a business standpoint.
One of really important aspects is establishing mentorship and networking programs for women. That can empower them to advance in the investment industry, creating a pipeline of future leaders and fostering a culture of support. This really was one of the driving forces behind establishing CWIM and continues to be one of our core focus areas.
What do you love the most about the CWIM community?
CWIM community really feels like a place where all borders and cultural differences seize to exist. This is a place where we can find support in our professional journeys, in which many of us had to walk alone for a long time. We have built friendships with colleagues and like-minded individuals across the world. This helps us to increase the ever so growing mobility of the workforce. It also continues to show the power of the individual stories and how they continue to inspire us to work together towards our shared mission of a more inclusive industry.
What is your most impressive memory relating to your CFA journey?
I won’t say that one particular memory stands out here. I think that journey in itself has been built with lots of small moments of successes and failures along the way. What I am most thankful for is the community I was able to find first when I joined CFA Society New Mexico as a member and later on as a Board member leading Women’s Initiative. Building a community that empowered local professionals to increase awareness and bring more women into the field through mentorship and organizing local chapter events, and later on expanding that community to becoming truly global with our work at CWIM. What is truly impressive is what can be accomplished when we put our minds and hearts to the task. CWIM story really speaks to the power of community. I believe that being a part of a story that is not just your own provides meaning to our own experience.