Transcript:
Interview with Jenny Tian
Kiran Bishop: [00:00:00] Hi, Ms. Tian thank you so much for joining me today. My first question is about your overall journey into finance. So, how did you get to where you are today?
Jenny Tian: I started my career in banking with Nomura after law school in Japan. I worked there for two years before I realized it was just simply impossible for me to make a career out of that as a foreign woman in a quintessential Japanese company. So I decided to make the move to the U S , got accepted into Baruch college with full scholarship and received an MBA in finance and investment in 1997. So in the summer of 1996, I interned, at Lehman brothers where, towards the end of the summer internship, I talked to, I remember it was dozens of [00:01:00] people for career advice and every single one of them said, Jenny, you should go to the buy-side. And I did. After working in New York for five years, as an analyst, an equity analyst and fund manager, I moved to Asia in 2002, exactly. 20 years ago. I spent my first eight and a half years in Beijing and followed by the next 11 years, in Hong Kong. So right now I'm living in Hong Kong.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. That's really inspiring. I really love how you, decided to change career paths because you went through this realization that Japan just wasn't right for you, and you had the motivation to apply and get accepted and get an MBA. so what moments are you most proud of in your journey.[00:02:00]
Jenny Tian: I think there were a couple moments that I was most proud of. I think one of them was the time when Springs capital, the company that I, co-founded, successfully won the first Asia investment mandate from a Canadian pension plan investment board back in 2013 out of more than 80 contenders. And we were still a very small fund back then and competing up against the likes of the bulge bracket as a management firms from both Hong Kong and China. Yeah, it was a moment I'm still very proud of until today. Another moment that I felt proud of was the time I was awarded as the best female hedge fund manager in 2015 in recognition of my contribution to the Asian hedge fund industry.
Kiran Bishop: Wow, those seem like really big accomplish. Thank you so much. And I understand that you currently work in Asia. So how [00:03:00] has working in finance there compared to the working in finance, in the U S and in Japan, besides for those cultural differences
Jenny Tian: I think in terms of business practices, these three different places have different business practices, like, you know, different, security laws for sure. Different, business environment and the way people interact also is a little bit different. but I think there are some things that are in common. You know, working in these three countries, I think the, the principle of managing a business and running a fund is actually, pretty much this. Say like, you know, alignment of interests between the managers, with clients, for example, is all the same. So this is something that we should always stick to, you know, when it comes to alignment of interest between the managers and the clients. Also the fact that, [00:04:00] you know, people should be focused, persistent, you know, all these qualities is, you know, run the same unit with any culture in any country.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you and keeping in spirit. Are there any differences between. Working and operating in Hong Kong compared to mainland China like Beijing?.
Jenny Tian: I think Hong Kong, you know, it's probably, you know, the most, you know, Westernized city apparently, you know, in Greater China. Hong Kong is very westernized. Although, you know, we are Chinese, but, being a British colony for the past a hundred fifty six years, definitely, you know, left a mark, on the psyche of the Hong Kong people here. So I think the working environment is very westernized, but culturally, you know, we are all Chinese. I think the legal environment is also, you know, very different, in Hong Kong, you know, compared [00:05:00] to what we have in Beijing.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. And, I understand that since now you work in Asia, this question doesn't really apply, but while you were working in New York, did being an Asian woman, working in finance, really pose any challenges that you had to overcome.
Jenny Tian: Well, I didn't really see myself particularly in that light. My first mentor on the buy side, was a female fund manager who really taught me how to rise up to the challenges in a male dominated world. On the buy-side I thing working as a front manager also helps us. Performance is the ultimate name of the game and is, I think is a lot less tricky than sell side investment banking, which is more relationship driven. So I think, you know, the fact that I have been working on the buy-side all this time, you know, also helps me put things in perspective. And I think if [00:06:00] it, if you work on the sell side, you know, in the investment banking world, you know, things might have been different.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. That's a very interesting insight. my next question is sort of related. Has there any been, has there ever been a point in your career where you've been, oh, one of the few or the only woman in the room. And did that make you feel intimidated? How did you deal with that?
Jenny Tian: Oh, yeah. I remember when I was in a company visit a trip, a group company, visit trip with a Japanese, robotics company, where I was the only woman in the room, filled with, analysts, PMs and corporate executives. I think, Japan at the time, you know, was very much a male dominated corporate corporate world. And at first I felt a bit intimidated because I felt like, you know, I felt immediately singled out, but quickly I pulled myself together [00:07:00] and tried not to think of my gender and focus on my. I think it's just, you know, down to, you know, how you react. I think people will look at you in different ways.
I think it's up to yourself, you know, how you react to people's emotions.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. I think that advice can be applied to many different facets of life. And I understand that finance is a very demanding profession. So my next question is about how work-life balance differs for a man in comparison to a woman in the industry, since oftentimes women are expected to be, you know, the caregivers.
Jenny Tian: Oh, yes. I think, you know, my advice, is if you decide to stay in the industry long term, you should try to find a partner that supports you. I think I have friends who have very, very supportive spouses, which have made things a lot easier, I think it definitely, you know, our [00:08:00] society has different expectations about women, which is, normal and understandable, but I think, you know, If you would like to stay and work in the finance, longterm it's it's, it's, it's a, it's a demanding profession. So I think our supportive partner would be would be ideal.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. And did you have a mentor in the industry who helped you?
Jenny Tian: Yes. As I mentioned, you know, when I first started out my fund manager I think, you know, she taught me a lot of things, you know, as to how to deal with colleagues in the industry, and also, you know, how to right up to the challenges. She was one of the few, you know, female fund managers at the time. I think she was, she also, you know, was a role model for me.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. And since finance is such a competitive space, how did you get the recognition you [00:09:00] deserved in such a field?
Jenny Tian: I think, the buy side is more of, if you accumulate enough experience, you know, your experience will be more recognized. It's not like investment banking, it's field driven and project driven, which basically you need to start, you know, from scratch, you know, after you finish your project and you need to constantly look for another project. In the asset management industry, it's the, I think it's the persistence and focus and the lifelong learning that matter the most. Fund management is a marathon, and you need to constantly be on the trail running and, you know, if you haven't, you know, done a good job, last year, just forget about it and everything will get restarted, you know, in the, in the new year, on January the first. So it's more of a long long-term game, like a long running, you know, like a marathon rather than a short haul in a run. It's more like a marathon. So I think persistent focus and lifelong learning matter at the most. [00:10:00] And that's how you get the recognition you deserve in a field.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you. And my final question is. If you could do it all over again, what, if anything, would you do differently?
Jenny Tian: Good question. Probably, no, Kiran, I know it's hard for me to, you know, for anyone to say that, but I think I have taken the right steps to get my self, you know, to where I am today. I think I have had the best experience, in, in the three countries that I have lived in Japan, us and mainland China, Hong Kong. I wouldn't trade anything for that experience because, I think I was at the right location at the right time. because in Japan it was also at the peak of the market. And then I left. In the U S it was a unit after the bubble burst. And then I left for China, you know, where I had the best of the 10 years of the fund management industry development. And right now, I mean, Hong [00:11:00] Kong, I think Hong Kong is at the crossroads of East and West. And you know, with all the challenges, you know, it's still a flourishing financial center in Asia, which allows us to expand our businesses both, you know, onshore and offshore. So I think I wouldn't trade anything for that experience.
Kiran Bishop: Thank you so much for joining me today, Jenny. I really appreciate it.
Jenny Tian: Thank you. Thank you, Kiran.
Share this post