the investment future is female

Women bring a critical lens and varied thinking to the investment management space

At HESTA, we’re a gutsy advocate for changes that can help our members, and especially women. As part of this pledge, we support the Future IM/Pact initiative, which aims to promote careers in investment management to a more diverse range of candidates.   

Ahead of upcoming events held at a range of Australian universities, we spoke to HESTA Senior Investment Analyst Josephine Toral about the importance of having women in the investment space.

“Diversity in investment management, like in other industries, brings varied ideas and less group thinking. This is particularly important for managing investments as we need to consider our decisions critically and ensure we get the best returns for our members,” says Josephine.

“At HESTA, our membership base is over 80% women, which means having gender diversity at the investment decision making level is really important.”

Josephine studied a double degree in Science and Commerce at the University of Melbourne and has worked in wealth management and investment management in both Australia and London. For the past few years she has been leading the impact investment strategy for HESTA. The strategy has invested our members’ super in a range of areas including social and affordable housing, homelessness reduction strategies and aged care.

“A career in investment management enables you to think much more holistically about investment opportunities, where you can direct capital to areas which have a positive social or environmental impact while driving appropriate investment returns.

“Thinking about our members’ retirement outcomes is part of every investment decision that we make, so we believe a deep understanding of responsible investment for people and the planet enriches our investment decision making,” says Josephine.

Josephine believes the ability to question and think critically about decisions are key attributes for investment managers. “It’s these qualitative skills which drive a career in the industry. As well as that, it’s important to ensure that your values are aligned with those of the organisation.”