22 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 05/2017AHEADPETER OUMANSKIOF THE 25 FUNDS IN THE KIPLINGER 25
(see page 50), a number have women
managers. I interviewed several of
them, and in addition to the stellar
performance of their funds, these
women have a lot in common. They all
took the initiative to get a foot in the
door, benefited from the encourage-
ment of male mentors, have fulfilling
family lives and offer similar invest-
ment advice for women.
Lori Keith, who manages PARNA SSUS
MID CAP with Matt Gershuny, received
a baptism by fire when she became
manager in October 2008 and the
market tanked during her first quarter
on the job. “We were down a lot less
than the market because we stuck to
our strategy: focusing on high-quality
companies with a competitive advan-
tage so they can endure over a full
market cycle,” says Keith. One favorite
now: Fortive, an industrial-products
firm spun off from Danaher last year.
One characteristic of Keith’s fund is
perseverance (“We hold companies for
at least three years and often much
longer”), a trait she learned by study-
ing classical piano in her youth. She
was attracted to Parnassus be-
cause of its emphasis on social
responsibility, and she credits
an internship at the firm with
helping her land a full-time
position.
Asset management is a “fan-
tastic” field for women, she
says, because it’s “challenging,
intellectually stimulating and
impactful.” But it can be tough to
break into the business because,
unlike consulting firms, it doesn’t
have large classes of new entrants
each year. And for women, says Keith,
it’s important to be at a “culturally
friendly” firm that allows you to have
both a family—she’s married, withthree children—and a long career.
“The burden is on those of us in the
industry to cultivate a pipeline.”Diana Strandberg is part of the eight-
person team that manages DODGE &
COX STOCK. With the company’s team
approach, women make up 33% of
members on its investment-policy
committees—the highest percentage
in the industry, says CEO Dana Emery.
The team approach also provided sup-
port for Stock in 2015, when the fund’s
emphasis on energy and financial
stocks hurt returns, and paved the way
for a big snapback in 2016, when the
fund gained 21.3%. The fund is still
bullish on financials; its top four hold-
ings are Bank of America, Wells Fargo,
Capital One and Charles Schwab.
Strandberg and Emery have been at
the firm for decades—between themthey have five adult sons—another
example of choosing a company with
a culture that aligns with your values.
At Dodge & Cox, says Emery, “we’re
looking for people who thrive on de-
bate and are resilient—more of a per-
sonality issue than gender.”
Strandberg’s advice for young
women: Raise your hand to jump
into projects even when you don’t feel
100% ready. And stay f lexible. “Many
more doors may be open to you than
you imagined.”Jean Hynes manages VA N G UA R D H E A LT H
CARE, which has been caught squarely
in the middle of the political debate
over health insurance and pharma-
ceutical pricing. From her perspective
of 20 years analyzing the health care
market, Hynes thinks some parts of
the Affordable Care Act will be re-
pealed but that the entire law won’t
be dismantled—in her words, “repeal,
replace, repair, rebrand.” She is ex-
cited about prospects for innovative
treatments of complex diseases that
affect a small number of patients, and
she is optimistic that we’ll be able to
figure out ways to pay for them.
Like Keith, Hynes says an intern-
ship—in her case, with a brokerage
firm—got her interested in the busi-
ness. She joined Wellington, which
manages Vanguard Health Care, in
1991, and 26 years later, she says, “I love
it as much as I did then.” She credits
former fund manager Ed Owens, who
was “gender-blind,” with “allowing
me to learn how to take risks
and make mistakes.” A mother
of four teenage daughters,
Hynes says she loves “telling
young mothers that if you love
your job, your children will
know that and it will make the
juggling act more achievable.”
As for investment advice,
all four women agree: Think
long term. Says Emery, “Women
tend to want more stability in
their investments, but they
probably need to own more
stocks.” ■All-Stars of the Kip 25
JANET BODNAR Money Smart Women