GWI Partners Host Inaugural SoCal Regional Summer Social in Los Angeles

“I have seen the amount of power that the control of capital has and its capacity to be used for positive impact on a massive scale, and I feel both excited and highly privileged to be entering this field. I know that I am emerging from this summer with a much clearer vision of how I want to contribute to investment management and to the world.” said Adwoa Afrifa, Girls Who Invest (GWI) 2022 summer intensive program (SIP) scholar and Summer Credit Research Analyst at PIMCO. “I’m learning so much, meeting so many people who are not only accomplished and learned but also deeply interesting, and I have felt wholly supported, both by GWI and by my managers and team, every step of the way.”

Afrifa addressed GWI scholars, alumni and friends during the inaugural GWI SoCal Regional Summer Social hosted by Bloomberg LP, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., and PIMCO in Los Angeles on August 4th, 2022. Through Bloomberg's Corporate Philanthropy partner, Inner-City Arts, GWI scholars and alumni participated in a LA Unified Service Project focused on supporting art in schools. The service project was followed by a reception at MOCA | The Museum of Contemporary Art to celebrate the GWI community and women in investment management.

Joyci Li, an Analyst at Oaktree in the Real Estate group and GWI Class of 2019, also gave remarks during the service event. “Oaktree and GWI have a strong connection, as the firm has sponsored GWI and hosted scholars each summer since its inception. Every year the program and Oaktree’s sponsorship has grown, and this summer, we have eight?GWI scholars who are interning across our investment teams,” said Li. “I believe the strength of this community, from the summer we join as scholars and into the future as we start our careers, is uniquely felt across all of us as scholars and alumni.”

Anniqa Karmali, Associate at Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., and GWI Class of 2018, and Yvonne Ho, Portfolio Analyst at PIMCO and GWI Class of 2019, as well as Katherine Jollon Colsher, Girls Who Invest’s President and Chief Executive Officer, gave remarks during the reception at MOCA hosted by Bloomberg.?

“I frequently get asked if we’re seeing movement in the industry towards our mission, and the answer is overwhelmingly yes - I point to our amazing scholars and alum and to the strength of our partnerships,” said Colsher. “Thank you to Bloomberg, Oaktree, and PIMCO for setting such a high bar of what it means to partner with GWI.”

“Events like these are particularly great opportunities to connect and stay in touch, especially across organizations and classes of scholars,” said Karmali in her remarks. “At the end of my summer intensive program, Seema told us all something that I continue to keep in mind. She said you are all going to go in different directions and learn and grow in so many ways. But, there is one condition as you leave this program, and that is you always have to take another Girls Who Invest scholar’s phone call, because you are now an active member of this community. In my opinion, this is how we can all pay it forward to this Girls Who Invest class and those to come. There is a lot of power in all of us being able to pick up the phone and call one another, both now and as we continue to grow in our careers.”

“The structure of GWI made it such a personable program,” said Ho. “While many people focus on the finance education and internship that the program provides, I think the memories I made have made GWI extremely important to me and that’s what will continue driving me to pay it forward with future generations of scholars.”