What has been the biggest challenge over the course of your career?

The biggest challenge has been creating a culture that will be successful for the next generation. It’s not always easy. When bringing together different personalities with different expertise, it is important to give everyone a chance to express their opinions. In a room of highly intelligent, vocal people with strong ideas, you have to manage the discussion so that everyone gets a chance to voice their opinions in a respectful, productive way.

Another challenge is staying levelheaded and not getting emotional. During downturns, we saw many sophisticated investors sell at the bottom. They were too scared to stay invested. I had the support to stay unemotional, disciplined, and really understand the fundamentals of what I was investing in. This was the key to generating successful results.

It’s especially challenging in our world where you have clients who have earned their wealth through extremely hard work and get nervous when markets are volatile and their net worths decline. We understand this emotional reaction, and our job is to make sure that our clients stay invested (or sometimes add to investments) when this occurs. For example, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would often review the fundamentals and state of our investments on webinars. I had a client call me after one webinar saying that it feltlike I was reaching through the screen and holding his hand. He stayed invested, and that was a very good result!

Describe your investment philosophy. Has it evolved over time?

I have always believed in values-based investing. At my core, I believe you should buy an investment that is worth more than it’s currently priced. Price will ultimately follow value. However, you need to evolve to be successful and learn from your mistakes.

The global financial crisis was eye-opening for me in terms of risk. It is clear that one must take risks to generate returns, but I think I am more risk-aware now. For example, I think you should have a significant long-term allocation to equities to combat against the biggest risk – inflation – but I’m always going to make sure that I only increase risk when markets are priced such that it makes sense to do so. Howard Marks said that there are times to take risks, and there are times not to take risks. He knows that you have to pull back when the markets are frothy, and you have to go where the inefficiencies and the opportunities are. When there’s blood in the water, there is often opportunity.

Finding inefficiencies, buying high-quality investments with strong managers, and being mindful of the risks that are inherent in the investments you are making are key elements of my investment philosophy. Paying attention to trends and seeing around corners to figure out where the puck is going, not where it’s gone, is something that I’m more focused on today.

Speaking of trends, artificial intelligence (AI) has been all over the media for some time. What investment risks and opportunities do you see related to AI?

We’re paying a lot of attention to AI right now, and I believe it will be a significant trend for the next 10 years. We don’t know what AI will fully look like, but we are looking for opportunities to participate in this trend from an investment perspective.

BBH has exposure to AI in its portfolio with some of the big tech companies, who are all investing significant dollars into AI. We believe that infrastructure – such as semiconductors – will also be beneficiaries, as more computing power is going to be needed. We’ve also added venture capital (VC) in the portfolio, as many VCs are investing in new AI companies. Importantly, we must ensure that the companies in which we are invested are leveraging AI. Those that aren’t will be disrupted.

No one knows who is going to win, but we’re focusing on how we can get prudent exposure.

Tell us about the work you have done with 100 Women in Finance (WIF), formerly 100 Women in Hedge Funds, to help get more women involved in investing.

100 Women in Finance is an extraordinary firm, and it’s really a grassroots operation. There are many chapters now all over the world. Some of my favorite programs include the mentorship program, where we raised money to give away to causes that helped mentor women, and the women on boards program to encourage more opportunity for women to join boards.

Many younger women have joined WIF for networking. Fostering young talent is the only way we’re going to get women to feel that they have support to stay in investing. It is hard to retain them!

There were many times in my career when I said, “I can’t do this anymore. One of my babies is sick. I have deadlines. I don’t know what to do.” But I had other women who were there for me and helped me get through those times. If women don’t have that support, they will never reach senior-level positions.

You also need the support from men both at work and at home. As I’ve seen my sons and son-in-law become fathers, I’ve watched them lift their share of the burden because their wives are working, too.

What advice would you give to women starting their investing journey?

This applies to everyone – not just women – but a lot of it comes down to education and asking questions when you don’t understand something. I would encourage new investors to find a mentor, network with their peers, and take advantage of everything that their firms have to offer. For example, at BBH, we have various networking groups that our employees can join, such as women’s groups, parenting networks, and so forth. These are wonderful ways to meet and learn from other employees.

When beginning an investing career, it’s important to develop an investment philosophy. There are many ways to invest – and in order to be the best you can be, you have to believe in the approach that you are implementing. So learn from everyone – and then figure out what resonates with you. Make sure that you have passion. When you like what you are doing, you have a better chance of being successful.

How do you advise others to invest in line with their values?

Values show up in many different ways, and there are differences between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, socially responsible investing (SRI), and impact investing. At BBH, we are always considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria when investing. If you don’t, you’re not investing in high-quality companies.¹

When you get to SRI, it becomes a far more personal decision. When someone comes to us and is interested in SRI, we dig into understanding the family’s values. What do they care about? What are their hot buttons? Each family’s values and priorities are unique.

I’ve worked with families who are starting a foundation and when asked what their charitable mission is, they don’t have an answer. You need a mission! Once you have that, you can decide whether or not you want that mission to be implemented in your investment portfolio.

You don’t necessarily have to have your values implemented in your investment portfolio. But we always make sure that we’re invested with managers who display values that are important to us – including integrity, treating their employees well, adhering to rules and regulations, and no conflict of interest.

What do you see as the strengths of women investors?

Patience! If an investor believes in the fundamental value of something, they must be willing to let it play out. I think women are often very patient.

Another strength is introspection. I always ask myself, “What did I do wrong, and what can I learn from it?” I tell my team that we are going to make mistakes, but you need to admit them and learn from them.

Lastly, I think women have a realistic view of risk – often making us less willing to take risks that are not commensurate with the return prospect.

We touched on the topic of mentors earlier. How important is it for women investors to seek out mentors and sponsors, and how can they approach this?

Having people support me as I moved up throughout my career has been key in my life. Even at BBH – I did not expect to become a Partner here, but I had good mentors!

You have to find people who you can learn from and to whom you can ask questions, because you don’t know everything. You should also get together with them regularly to ask advice about career steps that you should be taking to advance.

Having those trusted relationships is key. You can find them inside or outside your organization, but it is critical to find at least one person inside your firm who can help you get where you want to go.

You mentioned that you did not expect to make Partner. What does it mean to you to be a Partner at BBH as you approach your retirement?

When you look at the storied history of this place, it’s just an incredible honor. I joined in December 2017, so I had the benefit of being here for the bicentennial anniversary. It was amazing to celebrate this venerable institution and to meet all these wonderful people.

It is an honor to help grow this business in a way that is important and consistent with our culture. BBH is a wonderful place to work. I wanted a place where you can be intellectually honest and where clients come first. That is what BBH espouses. We believe in alignment; that’s a key component. At BBH, our Partners and Principals are invested alongside clients – our interests are aligned, and that is incredibly important.

You were named to Crain’s Notable Women on Wall Street a couple years ago. Crain’s chose leaders who not only excel in their demanding professional capacity, but also contribute to the social, cultural, and educational fabric of New York. How have you integrated your outside interests and charitable commitments with your career?

I have always been philanthropic, but now that I am retiring, I have been ramping up my board presence. I joined the investment committees of the New York Botanical Garden and the Carnegie Institute of Science. I think they’re wonderful organizations, but I also think I can benefit them by providing insight on different opportunities and ways of investing.  

I truly believe that it’s important to have outside interests. You obviously need to manage your commitments and prioritize, but my interests outside of work have taught me valuable lessons and  helped me benefit the firms at which I worked.

What are you planning to focus on in this next chapter?

I’m really excited about getting more philanthropically involved. I’m also going to continue to mentor the BBH Investment Research Group (IRG). Justin Reed, BBH’s CIO, is fabulous, and I love working with him and the IRG team.

I will also be spending plenty of time traveling with my husband and with my children and grandchildren – we have four already and one more on the way, all within 18 months.

And finally, I am going to learn Italian – so come back to me next year, and we can do another interview in Italian!

One more question: What do you want your legacy to be?

I want my legacy to be having generated strong results for my clients and creating a strong team that will live on after me.

Suzanne, thank you so much for your time and insights.