Grace Le

"Becoming a fund manager was not a given when I arrived in the UK from France aged 11 with no English, but the experience did teach me resilience early on. The first sentences I learnt were “I don’t understand” and “Can you explain?” perhaps a sign that being curious and inquisitive would be a big part of who I became.

My first job at 16 as a kitchen porter and then later working behind the bar didn’t particularly signal fund management, but it was an early lesson in getting one’s hands dirty to get the job done. I also took on a teaching assistant role at a challenging secondary school while reading mathematics at university. The skills of being able to break down complex concepts to students and having patience would be something I didn’t know would help my future career.

It was through auditing a fund manager in my first job after university that I got my first insight into the industry and realised that as a career it matched a lot of the things I enjoy. To be a fund manager you have to be curious and keep questioning and seeking answers. Despite my lack of financial markets exposure, my mathematics education and the fact that I’d been poring over financial statements for the last few years did go some way in shaping how I view markets in analytical ways. These were all skills that aligned to my personality. And so here I am today. From kitchen porter to fund manager, with over a decade of experience behind me, and volatile markets that have kept me questioning what I think I know, time and time again. 

Curiosity also seeps into how I relax - some years ago I set myself the target of visiting two different countries each year. I love to explore. A recent trip to Albania will take the tally of countries so far to 57."