Leaders In Funds Management – Ezinne Udeh Martinez, Executive Manager, Investments – VFMC

Brief overview of career to date

I have been working over ten years in finance with a particular focus in asset management, institutional banking and corporate strategy. I came to Australia to study my Bachelor of Commerce and then moved straight into the world of finance. Over the years I have worked across multi-asset class portfolios in a variety of organisations including ANZ, Australia Post Superannuation Scheme and currently VFMC. I became a CFA charterholder in 2015.

How did you get your first position in the industry?

A lot of hard work through university with some good old “being in the right place at the right time”. I was awarded a scholarship sponsored by ANZ in my last year of studies thanks to my grades and I joined their private equity team as soon as graduated. It was a great opportunity to be in a small team in such a fast paced and complex environment as I got to work on all aspects of the PE investment cycle which taught me strategic analysis, deal origination, execution and a lot of time management! It was also very rewarding to be directly involved with successful companies that were growing to new levels of profitability in my first job.

How did you get the opportunity to become an executive manager of investments at VFMC?

I joined VFMC in 2018 as a portfolio strategist with a particular focus on a whole-of-portfolio approach to managing the portfolio. Over the first year, I played an active role in shaping the strategic allocation in the portfolio to enhance diversification and portfolio resilience, including the introduction of new asset classes and approach to managing foreign currency exposure.

In this role, I worked with pretty much all functions across VFMC which provided me with a great insight into the fund and the way we operate, whilst bringing a fresh mindset to cross-team collaboration. Our work program highlighted the changing nature of the skills and experiences that are needed across investment professionals, in focusing on the portfolio as a whole and leveraging data and analytics for better decision-making. After about a year at VFMC, the position of executive manager, investments was created, and I immediately applied for it as it was a great opportunity to continue to broaden my experience.

Can you provide an overview of your position? What do you do on a daily basis?

It varies day by day and I really like that. Reporting directly to the CIO, I’m responsible for the central coordination of investment related functions, mixing long term investment strategy with the urgency of immediate demands resulting from markets and our clients.

On a usual day, you could find me involved in the analysis around the strategic positioning of our portfolio, followed by the implementation of material portfolio changes or tactical rebalances, as well as developing plans around the portfolio priorities over the near future. At the moment I’m also contributing to the evolution of VFMC’s strategic plan, and we are actively trying to innovate the ways in which we work together so there’s a bit of thinking and trying new things around that too. We are a mid-size firm which means I get the opportunity to be involved in as much as I can and I’m definitely encouraged to do so.

If you could give one piece of advice about developing a career as an investment professional within funds management what would it be?

Make sure that you are constantly learning in whatever role you have and surround yourself by people who will stretch you and that you can learn from. My approach in choosing my next career move has been as much about the role as the people I will be working with.

For me, culture is a huge piece of a workplace and you want to make sure you enjoy where you are going to spend most of your day. I have also benefited from both mentoring and sponsoring along the way, so make sure you are receiving feedback that helps you grow and try to find someone who will advocate for you and widen your scope of opportunity. And lastly, build a network in a way that resonates with you – it can make a big difference in the good and not so good times.

Kaizen Recruitment specialises financial services recruitment across funds management, wealth management, superannuation, investment consulting and insurance. We are based in Melbourne and Sydney. For assistance or further information please telephone our office at +61 3 9095 7157 or submit an online form.

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