Watch the full interview with Kim
LIVES
Near Chelmsford, Essex
FAMILY
Two lovely boys and my Partner
EDUCATION
Dartford West School for Girls and North West Kent Technical College
STARTED AT JM FINN & CO
October 2006
FIRST JOB
Statistical Clerk, Phillips & Drew Stockbrokers
GUILTY PLEASURE
West Ham United Supporter
AMBITION
To live a full life and have no regrets
HOBBIES
Passion for travel
Congratulations on being named Best Female Investment Manager at the City of London Wealth Management Awards – how do you feel about this?
I am naturally honoured and pleased to receive this accolade, not least because it recognises the growing role women have in finance. I think it reflects particularly well on JM Finn who are proactive in progressing women and young people.
How important are awards to the business?
Like all industries there are multiple awards across various sectors so it’s important not to be too distracted by them. That said, the most significant awards that we as a firm have won are those voted on by the public and to get a stamp of approval from our clients is not only gratifying, but recognises our strong relationships and promotes our brand in the most positive way.
Over your 39 year long career do you sense that the industry has become more attractive as a work place for women?
First and foremost, we need to meet the needs of our client base and hire on merit. Phillips & Drew were ahead of their time and broke down many social barriers during their existence.
For most of my career men have dominated the investment world but I personally have never felt disadvantaged - although employment laws were not so supportive when I brought my children into the world. Thankfully, much progress has been made over the last decade with flexible working arrangements and I think this has helped tremendously along with a more open policy to attract women into the financial arena. It is a good career for us girls but, like most careers, it does need commitment, grit and determination and of course the ambition to succeed in a competitive environment, whether man or woman!
It is fair to say I have had quite a journey but look at where I am. Apart from my day job, being asked to join the Court of my Livery Company was particularly pleasing, the first woman in 650 years, and I hope this will encourage other young women to get involved. Clearly still more work to be done but the opportunity is there.
As someone who gets involved in many facets of the changing shape of today’s wealth management industry, what areas are you most interested in?
What I love most about the job is the direct contact with clients, often spanning several generations. They put their trust in you and the individual accountability for their investment portfolios in my opinion keeps it real. Knowing you can make a difference to someone’s welfare is very rewarding. Thanks to JM Finn being a very client- centric organisation, we as investment managers are instrumental in shaping the services we offer our clients.
Technology is moving apace and we are embracing change. Apart from being much involved with MiFID II development work, we have also been developing our website and our award winning client portal which is key in delivering important information in a secure way. Compliance with the new regulatory framework has inevitably led to more communications but we are now able to deliver information electronically to cut down on paperwork. I have been keen to promote this and find many of my clients are much relieved not to have so much filing! And for those regularly using their phones for such things, the portal can also be viewed via the JM Finn app.
