How can diverse candidates in financial services blaze their own trails?

In short: Diverse experience will bring a fresh perspective to your chosen field and the world at large. Put it to good use.?

I treasure a photo of my grandmother, Sardar Begum, taken when she graduated from medical school. A lifelong physician, she was not trained at Harvard, Johns Hopkins or NYU. Looking closely at her diploma, which hangs in my office, I can see that the letter “s” was added before “he” to create the word “she” -- because she was among the first women to graduate from medical school in India and therefore didn’t fit the existing template.

My grandmother has always loomed large in my life because -- among many other reasons -- she enjoyed tremendous success without attending a “target school” for her profession.

In the last decade, I’ve strived to be a member of that club myself – and to advocate for the value of diversity, especially educational diversity, for my industry’s future. Indeed, I became chief investment officer of a top-20 global asset manager without following the traditional route at all. I share the story of my career journey in the hope it offers lessons for others embarking on similar paths – and encourages experienced financial services professionals to support the progress of those just starting out.??

My advice for people aspiring to join our industry . . .?

Invest in yourself.

I was raised in Stockton, California by Pakistani immigrants. Other than my mother, few supported my decision to seek a career in investing. To do that,?I would have?to invest in myself. I learned about stock-picking and then earned my series 7 and 63 licenses while still a college student.?This allowed me to get an early start on pursuing my passion by creating my own stock recommendations newsletter.

With an economics degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo, I learned the hard way what it meant not to have attended a “target school.” After graduation, I applied to roughly 20 Wall Street firms -- and was turned down by every single one. So I doubled down on my career choice and earned a master’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.?

Find others who will invest in you.

As important as it is to invest in yourself, it’s still not enough. You also have to find people who accept you on your merits and see your potential, regardless of personal or educational background.

At my first firm, JP Morgan Asset Management, I was fortunate to work with people who lit a path for me to follow. They were able and willing to see my promise, not just my past.

No matter how much or how quickly our industry changes, new entrants will always benefit from finding people who take the time to welcome and support them.

Embrace not “fitting in.”

Just because you get your ID badge on your first workday doesn’t mean you’re in “the club.” Early in my career I realized that when I entered a room, I often didn’t quite “fit in.” Embracing this lesson has enabled me to bring something different and valuable to the table, and to do so -- with confidence –?a quality I developed with the help of those who invested in me.

The value of an alternative perspective has been a consistent theme in my career.?In fact, going against the grain is key to my investment approach.?Over time, many of the best investments I’ve made have been opportunities that others have missed. I’ve learned that when a majority disagrees with your recommendation and you still have the conviction to move forward, that’s typically when you have the potential to achieve the best investment return.?

My “ask” of people already in our industry . . .?

Invest in others.

It is no secret that traditional perceptions of careers in finance have tended to emphasize certain types of individuals or academic backgrounds. For the sake of the financial services industry’s future success, we need to start investing in people with diverse educational backgrounds and life experiences -- especially young women and people of color – by creating pipelines to bring talent from traditionally underrepresented communities into our ecosystem.

This means Wall Street must broaden its recruiting programs to include more schools and consider candidates they likely wouldn’t have been drawn to before. At your firm, communicate on social media your openness to candidates of all backgrounds. Commit publicly to a percentage of applicants sought from non-target schools. Attend career days at those schools to show students a way into our industry.

Teams can only benefit from including more people with nontraditional academic paths, varied perspectives and different opinions. Let’s encourage diverse talent early on – and help young people understand the positive impact they can have on those around them when they choose finance as a career.

Be a mentor.

Never underestimate the power of believing in someone. Confident people change the world. We can give new people in our business the confidence they need through mentorship.

It’s more than grabbing a cup of coffee with someone a few times a year. Mentorship takes time and attention, and sometimes tough love. It means helping talented young people understand how to move forward in their career, through appropriate professional development.

This profession can and should be open to anyone with a passion for it and a determination to succeed. We can all help make that a reality.

Take stock of your own teams.

Are you prioritizing educational diversity – and other forms of diversity -- today? Consider what you can do with your own teams to be the change we all want to see.

Clients count on us to help them fund their financial futures. We can fulfill our role for even more people -- and, in the process, realize an enormous growth opportunity -- by helping neglected or underserved communities save and invest for a better future.

An essential step toward this goal is bringing people of different colors, genders, ages -- and schooling -- into our firms and onto our teams. By doing so we can build trust with people who don’t now see themselves represented in our industry.

The best personal financial advice I ever received wasn’t a stock tip or a portfolio diversification strategy. It was to invest in myself. And now it’s time for all of us to invest in others.

Explore More

• Accelerating Change: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Investment Management | Sarah Maynard and Paul P. Andrews for the CFA Institute?

About the Author

?Saira Malik is Chief Investment Officer of Nuveen, a TIAA company, with $1.1 trillion in assets under management. As CIO, Saira drives the market and investment insights that Nuveen delivers to clients in the form of asset allocation views from across the firm’s investment teams. She also chairs Nuveen’s Global Investment Committee (GIC), bringing together Nuveen's most senior investment leaders to share best thinking and actionable portfolio allocation ideas. Additionally, Saira leads Nuveen’s Equities Investment Council and is a portfolio manager on multiple flagship strategies.

Saira regularly shares her insights and unique perspective through financial news networks, industry forums and social media. She has been named a “Top Voice in Finance” on LinkedIn.?In addition to appearing weekly on CNBC or Bloomberg TV, Saira has been profiled by Kiplinger’s, Institutional Investor and Barron’s, which for several consecutive years has recognized her as one of the most influential women in U.S. finance. Among her greatest passions are educating others about the importance of investing and financial planning, advocating for greater diversity in financial services, and encouraging both newcomers to finance and experienced industry veterans to take advantage of mentoring opportunities.??

?Saira is based in San Francisco, where she lives with her husband Stephen, daughters Finley and Tatum, and their new puppy, Mochi.