The Missing Perspective: Cecilia Bosman on Women, Wealth & Investing - IBKR Podcast Ep. 392

Welcome to another episode of IBKR podcast. I'm Maria Dev working in the institutional sales team at IBKR based in our London office. Our guest today is Cecilia Bosman, investment analyst at Sheribore Asset Management in Edinburgh. Of that Moroccan heritage, she joined the industry 5 years ago. with a focus on emerging markets, regions often under represented in mainstream finance. As a research analyst, she brings diversity of thought and drives investment debates. Hello, Cecilia and welcome to the podcast. — Hi, Maria. Thanks so much for having me. — Before we get started, let me tell you how we met. I attended an investment manager event in London a couple of months ago and to my surprise among 50 attendees we were only two women in the audience Cecilia and me. Cecilia is this the norm in the industry and if so why aren't there more women doing your job? — Honestly Maria yes and I think the data backs it up. Globally, only around 14% of portfolio managers are women. And in the US, it's 18% for portfolio managers and just 26% of analyst roles. And the 41% figure that you sometimes hear in the UK sounds better, but I think that's skewed by larger firms. When you look at smaller firms like PE or venture capital, it drops to 27% and only 15% in senior roles. From my experience, working for a boutique manager focused on emerging markets, makes it even more pronounced. I'm regularly one of very few women at conferences, particularly if I'm traveling abroad, and most of my client meetings are with men. And that recent event that you mentioned was a real moment, kind of standing in a room and realizing how equal representation is still a long way away. — Yeah. — As for why there aren't more of us, I think it starts with role models. If you don't see women doing this job, it's hard to picture yourself in it. And that feeds directly into confidence. Women are far less likely to put themselves forward for a role unless they think they tick every single box. There's also this misconception about what the job actually requires. Being an analyst is fundamentally about curiosity. Asking questions, challenging assumptions, enjoying debate. Those aren't male traits. They're human traits and honestly I'd argue that the more varied the perspectives are around the table, the better the research is and the better the client outcomes. — Mhm. Yeah, you're you are totally right. And what you said about the other side on the investor side is also true. I'm deal usually with more male than female. So is throughout the spectrum. Yeah. And what do you think are the main barriers preventing women from entering this industry? I think the barriers start long before the application stage. I think finance still has an image problem. Feels like an old boy club. It's exclusive. It's hard to break into. And that alone discourages women before they've even considered it as a career. And I think compounding that is a real misconception about what the job actually involves. Because at its core, this is about helping people save for their futures. Pensions, retirement, financial security, and the analyst role is one that rewards curiosity, an analytical mindset, a love of debate, and challenge. Those aren't barriers for women. If anything, their strengths for women. But if you look at an industry and you don't see yourself fitting in, you won't pursue it. I remember wanting to join my university investing society, for example, and feeling completely discouraged because it felt like everyone already knew how to invest before coming to learn how to invest. And I think that paradox is still real today. We need more senior women. I want to see more female portfolio managers with gray hair, quite frankly, because representation at the top is what changes the pipeline at the bottom. and retention matters just as much as recruitment. Turnover among women is higher, especially in their 30s, which suggests there's a motherhood penalty. — Mhm. — I certainly have wondered how a career break would affect me and my track record if I were to become a fund manager in the future. But firms are recognizing this and moving to team- based approaches so that female fund managers don't have a break. But it's even just spreading the word about that and breaking down these challenges that women perceive. — And despite all that barriers that you mentioned when you started looking into this, you pursue this career. How does

it feel working for you? You saw the barriers, you jump into them. What is your feeling? How do you feel? — That's a very good question, Maria. And honestly, I think me personally, I've never had an issue with being different. It's something I've always grown up with. I was one of the very few mixed race kids at my school in the Netherlands. I played football with the boys long before women's teams existed. So, being a minority has kind of always been a normal for me. And if anything, I've liked the challenge. But I do understand how daunting it can feel. And that's exactly why I feel a responsibility to speak up and raise the profile of women in this industry. My colleagues at Scaryore have been incredibly supportive. We're a firm of 17 that includes six women, but I'm the only woman on the investment team. That being said, we are an incredibly diverse team of different degrees, different upbringings, different career paths, and I never feel self-conscious about being the only woman in the room with them. The negative experiences when they happen come from outside. So, I remember, for example, opening the door to a company, visiting our office, and I was assumed to be the secretary and not the analyst running the meeting. and things like that stay with you, but it doesn't take away from all the positives. And instead, it reinforces my drive to get more women in the industry. And I feel fortunate to have male colleagues that feel the exact same way. They actively value diversity instead of simply tolerating it. — It's why as a firm, we got involved with an initiative called Girls Are Investors Gain, it's known as. It's a charity that introduces women at university to investment management regardless of their degree or background. And after this year, we'll have introduced eight women over the course of 4 years to what this job actually looks like. So for us, it's not a box ticking exercise. It's a genuine belief that the industry is better off with more women in it and more diversity of thought. — Okay. So, so your companies is already there raising awareness and try to okay good this is a great initiative. — So, and apart from the industry, there's this recent research showing that the UK gender wsgap widening in 2026. The good news is that there are more women investing. According to the research, there are 7. 4 4 million female investor which is 26% of the adult female population compared with 11 million male investors which is 41% of the adult population. So what do you think are the reasons why women are less likely to trade and invest and how can we help to bridge this gap? How we can encourage women to invest and to save for their own retirement or for the future? I think this is such an important point because that same research that you just quoted shows that the gender investment gap in the UK is the size of the GDP of Switzerland, which is staggering. — Amazing. It is. — I think a big reason women are less likely to invest comes back to confidence. Women are more likely to doubt whether they know enough before they start investing when actually curiosity and a willingness to learn is all you need. I also think there's a structural issue. Women on average still earn less, take more career breaks, and retire with smaller pension pots. And I looked into the stats of that, and that too is mindboggling. Nearly 55% less women saved by the time they reach retirement age in the UK compared to men. — Yeah. Another statistic is that the age gap is particularly striking. So among adults aged 18 to 34, double the number of men invest at 41% compared to just 20% of women. Many women simply start investing much later on, which means missing out on years of compounding and wealth creation early on. But the direction of travel is really encouraging. I think more women are investing than ever before. There's accessible platforms and financial communities built just for women. One of our interns actually started a university society to encourage more women to invest and I gave a talk on saving and investing and that was met with some brilliant questions and energy. — So I think conversations are such a huge part to closing the gap. We need to talk more openly about money and investing. I certainly tried to do that with my friends of my age because ultimately investing isn't about being clever with money. It's about making your money work

for your future and that message belongs to everyone. — Cecilia, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a really, really insightful conversation, really interesting, really good to know that there are already initiatives out there. And yeah, I think one key takeaway for this is that conversations are really important. We need to go out there and share our experience and break kind of myths or barriers and work and help other women. So, thank you everyone for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of IBKR podcast and see you next time. The analysis in this material is provided for information only and is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. To the extent that this material discusses general market activity, industry or sector trends, or other broad-based economic or political conditions, it should not be construed as research or investment advice. To the extent that it includes references to specific securities, commodities, currencies, or other instruments, those references do not constitute a recommendation by IBKR to buy, sell, or hold such investments. This material does not and is not intended to take into account the particular financial conditions, investment objectives, or requirements of individual customers. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and as necessary seek professional advice.