"This industry is more of a meritocracy"

Christine Tan knows how to adapt. The portfolio manager at SLGI Asset Management Inc. has spent her life and career adjusting to new settings, learning new languages, and achieving through her adaptability. As a woman coming up in the male-dominated fields of finance and portfolio management, that adaptability was a key to her success. Now as a leader at a huge Canadian investment manager, she takes the time to help young people adapt to life in the industry and help the industry adapt to the next generation of female talent.

Tan will be sharing her insights and experience at the upcoming Women in Wealth Management Summit on December 5th. She’ll be speaking on a panel about empowering women in wealth, explaining how women can win a ‘seat at the table’ for themselves. She spoke to WP ahead of the summit explaining why advisors, regardless of gender, would want to attend the event. She shared some of the stories of challenge and success that made her the leader in the industry she is today.

“When I started on Bay St. I was in mergers and acquisitions as the only woman on the team,” Tan says. “M&A is a very intense part of finance, and joining a group where you don’t see direct representation, I had to learn how to fit in, how to get my voice heard. It was a challenge to communicate what I wanted to say in a way that could be heard by colleagues who just had a different language.”

While Tan notes everyone on her team ‘spoke finance,’ the subtle differences in communication between genders proved to be a challenge. As she worked to make sure she was understood and trusted to lead and grow, Tan leaned on her experience as a teenager coming to Canada for the first time. In high school, and in her M&A team, Tan listened and observed closely. She picked up the language around her, and she built rapports and credibility that set her up for greater success.

That success didn’t happen in a vacuum, though, and Tan expresses deep gratitude for the official and unofficial mentors she had along the way. Now as a leader herself she mentors young team members at Sun Life Global Investments and encourages them to grow and succeed.

Tan notes that her mentees face very different circumstances to what she faced 20 years ago. Young women entering the industry can see representation at the very top and have the confidence to say that they want to get there too. The industry is more diverse overall and Tan notes that the communication style of young people — especially young women — is more direct. Just as she encourages these women to advocate for themselves, Tan also encourages active listening.

“My grandparents always used to love to say, you have two ears and one mouth,” Tan says. “Young women in the industry need to listen and learn and absorb and then share their views without fear.”

Even as women have broken into the wealth management industry, portfolio management remains largely male-dominated. Tan, as a female portfolio manager, expects that change to come gradually. She notes that her generation of PMs are still mid-career, but as they rise and retire the pipeline of new talent is far more reflective of the industry’s new diversity. Nevertheless, even gradual change requires advocacy and Tan is a proud that Sun Life Global Investments has sponsored a program called women in asset management. She is currently a mentor within the program, where she encourages women in academic programs other than business and finance to enter the wealth management field because it’s an area where success can be measured clearly.

“I spread the message about how interesting this industry is, and that you work with smart, driven, and passionate individuals. It’s also more of a meritocracy because your numbers are very measurable,” Tan says.

Tan hopes that attendees at the Women in Wealth Management Summit will be reminded of all the huge opportunities available in this industry. She wants women to recognize that leadership in this industry comes with many different faces and styles. She hopes that her own personal story can serve as a form of inspiration.

“Personally I hope that they will take from my stories that it’s not always easy for anyone who has a different voice. You have to learn how to be heard,” Tan says. “But the corporate world is actively making an effort to be more inclusive…I hope attendees can see that with time change can continue to happen.”    

The Women in Wealth Management Summit will be held on December 5, 2023 at The Carlu in Toronto. Register here.