Nadia Grant

Head of US Equities, EMEA

US equities currently enjoy a robust backdrop. GDP growth is set to accelerate in 2018 supported by a fully-employed consumer getting a tax cut, a pick-up in investment, and government spending. From a market viewpoint, earnings are set to grow in the teens supported domestically by a sound economic backdrop that is further aided by tax reform; and internationally by the synchronous global growth. Finally, valuations are reasonable with S&P500 forward price/earnings within 1 standard deviation of its historic average.

What do you like about working in fund management and what advice would you give to a young woman considering a career in the industry?
Being a portfolio manager is incredibly stimulating intellectually, as we interact with company management teams, buy and sell-side analysts, strategists and economists. The role is both broad and deep. I also love the objectivity of the PM role; we are all measured in the same fashion, performance is factual. In my opinion it is very fair, transparent and humbling.

In terms of having a career, I would first encourage women to join the industry. I would also advise having a mentor from another department who can help navigate an organisation and help them to think strategically about a career path. Lastly, I believe the role of portfolio manager is very compatible with family life.

In celebrating International Women's Day 2018, which women have inspired you?
A lot of women have, and continue to inspire me greatly. Growing up in Paris, Simone Veil had a great impact on me for her courage, determination and compassion when advocating for and advancing women's rights in France in the 1970s. Marie Curie is another extraordinary woman: the first woman Nobel Prize winner, first woman professor at the University of Paris, and the first woman at the Pantheon in Paris. She embodied intelligence, thrust for knowledge and her path shows women in the world that we are as bright and can make a difference in any field we choose.

Finally, earlier on in my career as a fund manager, I had role models that inspired me: Mary Erdoes, CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management, is one of them showing that a talented woman with young children

Tammie Tang

Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income

Our current position towards the credit market is that we are guarded against a growing list of things that will challenge the status quo. For so long bond markets have been supported by strong net demand. This trend will most likely inflect as key buyers retreat, among other reasons. Global central banks, cash-flush corporates and institutional buyers have begun to show signs they have less reason to support the bond market.

We are also at a point in the cycle where corporate balance sheets have significantly increased the quantum of debt, particularly to give back to shareholders or for aggressive M&A. The market has so far shown limited concern, and may only pay attention upon an earnings or confidence shock. Both of those factors could be hard to time. The point is, it may not take much to stress debt serviceability.

While recent US tax reform is a positive tailwind, it has not incentivised corporates to deleverage in any meaningful way.

What do you like about working in fund management and what advice would you give to a young woman considering a career in the industry?
I really like being a part of the asset management industry. We help clients, whether institutions or pension savers, manage their wealth. As a portfolio manager I like how we engage with others - with our clients and teams - and with the markets, which we follow closely and watch for the changes that can influence our future. I like how we aim to be ahead of the curve. Overall it really is a dynamic and challenging role.

As for advice, I would say go for it. If you're aiming for a portfolio manager role, have some appreciation that you need to be comfortable with taking risks, as well as having the skills to take good risks, whereby the upside is much better than the downside (a portfolio manager can have a very high number of risk positions under their control and is ultimately responsible for them). Other attributes that will help are sharp analytical skills, a strong interest in the markets and a good capacity to work in a team.

In celebrating International Women's Day 2018, which women have inspired you?
I gain a lot of inspiration from the women I know well. These are the women in my family, my friends and my colleagues. They all show traits I respect and admire: generosity, selflessness and fearlessness are some that stand out. These women shape who I stand for and what I value. I am grateful to learn from their experiences, particularly when they share their own stories and their own set of circumstances.

Maya Bhandari

Portfolio Manager, Multi Asset

The global economic outlook over the next 12 months appears sound, with greater breadth of good economic indicators than we have seen for over a decade - 70% of the world economy is growing above trend, for example. And much of the last 12 months' equity returns have been about this good news finding its way into corporate earnings, in stark contrast to the previous five years when changes in valuation were driving the lion's share of returns.

When it comes to judging where we are in the cycle, there are four chief risks I am focused on: an emerging outline of synchronised monetary policy tightening after a decade of intense easing; tight labour markets and rising real wages which, absent productivity gains, eat straight into corporate margins; over-exuberance, notably in government bond valuations but also in some equity markets; and geopolitical risk.

All in, we are taking risk in portfolios, but selectively, in equity markets like Japan, Asian emerging markets and Europe where we see the positive reflationary global macro setting as being under-discounted. We favour commodities (the quintessential reflation asset) and own UK commercial property for its diversification and income characteristics. Core government bonds by contrast have particularly poor risk/reward characteristics and our funds run with commensurately light duration risk.

In celebrating International Women's Day 2018, which women have inspired you?
My mum is and always has been my greatest inspiration. I owe much of who I am today to her and her values.

Sonal Sagar

Deputy Portfolio Manager/Senior Analyst, UK Equities

Even though the FTSE 100 is trading at close to all-time highs, the UK equity market remains out of favour with investors. Global funds are continuing to allocate away from the region and UK equities is ranked as one of the least liked asset classes globally. The uncertainty of the protracted Brexit negotiations, recent strong sterling and lacklustre domestic growth, not helped by the tough backdrop in the retail space, is clearly impacting sentiment. As a result, there is a growing valuation discount for the UK market verses other developed economies.

What is clearly being ignored is that 76% of the revenues of the FTSE 100 are generated outside the UK and 34% of the index is classified as defensive. This mismatch won't be ignored forever, and in the short term is creating some extremely interesting opportunities for active investors. Furthermore, and unsurprisingly we are seeing high M&A activity in the UK market at present with names such as Fidessa, Laird, GKN, Aveva and UBM all involved in takeover approaches. The UK market is also seeing a shift - in both dialogue and action, towards greater sustainability and responsible business practices. As a fund manager on the Threadneedle Ethical UK strategy, this is extremely encouraging and will become a growing focus going forward.

What do you like about working in fund management and what advice would you give to a young woman considering a career in the industry?
I love the strong team dynamic and continuous discussions around exploring macro themes, sectors and specific companies when making portfolio decisions. This is a key part of the investment process and ultimately drives performance.

The industry is changing, with diversity considered a positive, especially when working in a team. As far as advice goes, you need a thick skin, resilience and strong values to succeed. Having conviction is important, but make sure you've done your work to back it up - attention to detail is key and will get rewarded.

In celebrating International Women's Day 2018, which women have inspired you?
I am lucky enough to meet senior company management on a regular basis. What has been quite heartening to see is a growing number of female executives coming through the doors over the last few years.

I would highlight Carolyn McCall as an inspirational leader. She recently finished seven years as CEO of Easyjet, where she has been lauded for achieving excellent operational performance, and is now starting as CEO of ITV. I would also mention Moya Greene, CEO of Royal Mail, who has been instrumental in the turnaround there. Hopefully, I can add to this list in years to come!

Lisa Lim

Portfolio Manager, Asia Pacific ex-Japan Equities

Asian equities look attractive in terms of valuation. The long-term fundamentals of the region remain robust, supported by consumption growth in the expanding middle-class population, particularly in China and India.

In China, supply-side reforms continue to encourage consolidation of the old economies and deleveraging of previously highly-geared companies. Meanwhile, as business fundamentals improve, companies are adopting capital discipline, returning excess capital to shareholders - a very positive move and one which will be rewarded by the market.

In addition, ESG is moving up the agenda of policymakers and corporates, and this will be one of the drivers for further improvement of returns in the region in the longer term. This will be a key source of alpha for stock pickers like us.

What do you like about working in fund management and what advice would you give to a young woman considering a career in the industry?
I like the combination of intellectual challenge and the accountability of the decisions that I make. As a mother of two young children, the fund management industry has provided me with the ability to balance my work life and the demands of my job.

In celebrating International Women's Day 2018, which women have inspired you?
Marie Curie, who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first ever person to receive two of them. Despite the challenges and inequality of opportunities in education for women in her time, Marie Curie managed to work against all the odds and break the glass ceiling in the male-dominated world of science - as someone with a science background and a PhD in engineering I find this particularly inspirational. Perhaps the most inspiring thing of all is that she achieved all she did with a huge amount of passion and contributed so much to the world, changing all our lives today.

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