Twenty years ago, women were few and far between in the financial industry in Canada. That’s according to Kim Shannon and Gail Cook-Bennett, both of whom are featured in this special series of articles to mark International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8. From innovative new investment approaches to leading voices in Canada’s boardrooms, women are making their mark and helping to shape the future of finance here and around the world.

With three decades of experience under her belt, Kim Shannon knows the ins and outs of the Canadian investment industry. She founded her own firm, Sionna Investment Managers, and has been a leading proponent of the discipline of relative value investing in Canada. In this interview, she shares her advice for young women charterholders as they build their own careers in finance—and she talks about why the OSC’s proposed rules for including women on boards is a major step in the right direction for Canada.

How has business changed?

I started working in 1983, at the beginning of an extended bull market run. At that time, men in the industry wore suspenders, professional women never wore pants, and smoking at desks was acceptable. There were only a few professional women in the industry, very few professional minorities, very few computers, and long lunches were common. The industry was smaller, and it was possible to know personally most players in your specialty in Toronto and across the country. When launching a segregated mutual fund in 1990, I recall that the entire mutual fund industry was approximately $25 billion assets under management (AUM). Today, mutual funds are approximately $990 billion AUM.

How has the investment business changed for women, and what is your advice for young women starting out today?

When I started out in the industry, five percent of CFA charterholders were women. Currently, at the global CFA Institute, women charterholders account for about 18 percent of the membership. The percentage of women CFAs has increased over this period of time, although it certainly is still too low, given the clear capacity we can bring to the table.

I advise young CFAs to work hard, dive deep, and find a passion for the industry. Passion for the craft of investing is infectious and will inspire and motivate your colleagues and potential clients. Network through attending industry events, volunteer for industry associations (e.g., CFA Society Toronto, Portfolio Management Association of Canada, the Canadian Security Traders Association, etc.), get to know the players in the industry, and observe what you think it takes to be successful and emulate that if you can. Taking an official position and other senior volunteer roles in an industry association signals to the industry and your direct reports that you are capable of leadership.

You have said that it’s difficult to remain logical, rational, and unemotional in making investment decisions. How do you tackle this through your investment approach?

Markets are “noisy,” volatile, and irrational in the short run, but given time, patient investors find that, in the long run, the “noise” gets cancelled out and market behaviour approaches long-term averages. Keeping a focus on the long run and reversion to the mean impels investors to remain logical and rational and avoid the impulsive urge to act that is common in the short-term focused market that we find ourselves in today. The price that is paid for an investment has a significant impact on long-term returns.

The OSC published a consultation paper proposing a comply-or-explain disclosure requirement for listed issuers regarding women on boards and in senior management. What are your thoughts on this?

A course in Organizational Behaviour that I took in MBA school taught me that the best way to change people’s attitudes is to change their behaviour. Thus, regulating an exposure will normalize the activity for people over time. As people become more exposed to women as leaders and board members, it will become less noteworthy and extraordinary. As people get more exposed and comfortable with women as leaders, it will become more accepted.

I was very delighted to learn that a major investor, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, indicated that they supported the OSC’s proposed regulatory change regarding the number of women of boards. It makes sense not to limit the pool of possible candidates for board positions.