Ruggins believes her academic pursuits prior to her career in financial services have helped her to better understand the behaviour of investors and managing client expectations.

“When we think about diversification, and when we think about it in context of the regional outperformance of the Magnificent Seven, we hear a lot about regret,” she said, giving an example of how her academic background fits in with her current role. “We have clients going to dinner parties who are being asked about their multi-asset long-term investment portfolios, next to an individual who’s gone all-in to the S&P 500.

“We’re having a lot of conversations right now about performance and objectives. When you’re appropriately diversified, you are of course going to have a smoother return. You’re not going to participate in those upswings as much, but you will hopefully have some cushioning when the valuations correct, which is what we anticipate will happen over the next 12-to-18 months.

“From a behavioural perspective, I think it’s about staying true to your objectives, practising discipline, and having conversations with advisers if you’re worried about performance, and then staying resolute in the fact that diversification and the appropriate spread not just across asset classes, but risk, is really going to be integral moving forward.”

See also: A broadening market: Will the Magnificent Seven continue to motor in 2024?

Ruggins currently heads up the SJP multi-asset research team, helping to inform decisions on portfolio construction, asset allocation, and strategic development ecosystems.

Before joining SJP, she was the Principal’s Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and research scholar for Queen’s University, Canada. She holds postgraduate degrees in the philosophy of economics and financial sociology.

Looking back on her career so far, Ruggins said: “It’s been a wild ride. I’ve always been inclined towards academics and, while I was waiting for the light bulb to go off and identify what I wanted my career specifically to be, I spent a lot of my time in academia. I have four different degrees in four different subjects, ranging from a Bachelor of Arts up to a doctorate in the social studies of finance.

“What I really did during that time was work on developing a core set of skills that I found came naturally to me that I enjoyed using and developing in my work. What I found over time is that those skills were quite transferable to all the different disciplines I was studying and the work experience I was having.

“The end goal for me was not a specific role at a specific company, it was more a pathway that would allow me to use those skills. I’ve studied, for example, international relations and philosophy. My master’s was in the philosophy of economics. And then my doctorate again, social studies of finance with more of a specialty in financial economics.”

Ruggins joined St James’s Place in 2018, initially as an analyst before becoming head of multi-asset research in 2021. She is currently acting head of investment specialists.

Explaining what drew her to financial services, Ruggins said: “It was the irreducible complexity in a lot of the ideas that we grapple with. I was able to take a lot of my learnings from social sciences and philosophy and apply those to the hard sciences, such as the mathematics, that I learned as well.

“What I really enjoy is living in that grey area and trying to reconcile the two, and trying to find answers to questions that aren’t easily quantifiable. I think that’s what a lot of us are attempting to do in the industry.

“That’s why I ended up in finance, to look at why people make the decisions they do, why regulators react to information in certain ways, and how trading behaviours and patterns change in response to the market. It’s all a mix of arts and hard sciences.”

See also: Baroness Dambisa Moyo: Why traditional multi-asset portfolios may lose their shine

Theory versus practice

Transitioning to a new industry often presents challenges. Ruggins’ own experience of moving from the world of theory into practice followed that path, as she described the first year of her move into financial services as the hardest of her career.

“I’d say the biggest shock was that there was no time for esoteric questions, there was a lot of focus on failing fast, and a lot of focus on getting the minimum viable product out there. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad product, it was still to a very high standard, but it’s just the minimum viable for that product.

“The resource constraints we’re operating in private industry forces you to act, think and prioritise your time in a completely different way. Whereas in academia, any tendencies you have towards perfectionism are almost celebrated and you can take much more time on more nuanced questions. I had to learn how to work at pace and how to prioritise my workload in a completely different way.”

In terms of investment decision-making, Ruggins believes establishing a team with diverse backgrounds and experiences is integral to building a strong process.

“It’s one of the most foundational elements to the research process, not just for manager selection, but for any type of debate that we’re having in the business. I’ve been very purposeful when looking at my team dynamics in introducing not just a variety of experiences, but a variety of backgrounds, and different professions and different qualifications into the team.

“So while we are a pure investment team, we don’t just have CFAs. We do have some PhDs, we have some masters and MBAs as well, and some individuals that don’t have higher education. I think the real difference we see when we build teams like this in a more holistic way, is the quality of debate. If there’s a culture of safety there, the quality of debate is much higher and much more robust.”

Away from investing, Ruggins has undertaken immense challenges to fundraise for charity. Last summer, she took part in a Transcontinental ultra-endurance cycling race, raising £20,000 for the St James’s Place Charitable Foundation by cycling across Europe from Belgium to Greece in under 14 days while providing her own mechanical, medical and navigational support. She plans to take part again this year.

In her teenage years, Ruggins was an Olympic hopeful, running her first Commonwealth Games qualifying time at 15 years old. However, her life changed when an injury required extensive surgery to both her feet. Soon after, she developed a disease to her nervous system which caused near total-body paralysis.

Speaking before the race last year, she said: “In those years my goals changed from running an Olympic qualifying time to surviving. But over time I gained confidence to try and flex my toes, feed myself independently, and hold a pencil well enough to write my name. During this time there were numerous charities involved in my care, and I could not have recovered without them.”

You can read more about Ruggins’ fundraising efforts on her Just Giving page.

This article was written for our sister title Portfolio Adviser

The decline marked the UK as having the lowest percentage of female appointments across major European markets, with France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy coming in at 64%, 43%, 54%, and 45%, respectively.

All of the monitored companies in the UK did have a woman at the boardroom level, with the total split across firms remaining at the same level as last year, 57% men and 43% women. However, over a fifth of companies still have a representation of less than 40% women on its board.

Currently, the FCA requires all listed UK companies to hit a 40% threshold, a regulation which came into place for financial periods onwards from 1 April 2022.

Anna Anthony, EY UK Financial Services managing partner, said: “While annual fluctuations in the make-up of boardrooms are to be expected, a decline in the number of UK female director appointments of this magnitude is concerning. Tougher reporting requirements on gender diversity, requiring firms to comply or explain their current diversity metrics, are clearly not yet driving the necessary change at pace.”

See also: Beyond the Data: Real stories of diversity and inclusion

The report also noted a differentiation in c-suite roles held between men and women, with 81% of incumbent directors appointed to boards in 2023. However, only 36% of those were women, compared to 50% in 2022. The emphasis on c-suite was slightly lower in Europe, with 59% of appointments bringing this experience.

Andrew Hobbs, EMEIA Center for Board Matters leader, said: “C-suite experience is understandably a highly influencing factor in the appointment of financial services board directors given the skills and leadership qualities it brings.

“While there are de facto a smaller number of female candidates with c-suite experience, the ideal board is not necessarily made up entirely of individuals who have all held the most senior roles. Diversity of experience should not be underestimated, especially as financial services firms increasingly navigate complex new focus areas which require specialist, less traditional skills and experience, for example, in sustainability, technology, risk and geopolitics.”

Appointments with ESG experience also took a hit in 2023, down to 15% from 31% in 2023. Tech experience increased, from 22% in 2022 to 30% in 2023, and political experience slightly decreased from 39% to 37%. Across current boards, women outpace men in both tech and ESG experience, with 11% of men having ESG experience compared to 22% of women and 22% of men with tech experience as opposed to 44% of women.

See also: Women not concerned about gender of their financial adviser

Omar Ali, EY EMEIA Financial Services managing partner, said: “As global geopolitical dynamics continue to evolve, and technology and sustainability demands on firms grow ever more complex, bringing new skills and breadth of experience to the boardroom is a priority for financial services chairs across Europe.

“Structuring a board that is sufficiently broad in scope yet attuned to the multitude of changes across the sector is a balancing act, which chairs and boards across Europe are proactively addressing.”

This article was written for our sister title Portfolio Adviser

Verma was appointed to the role in April 2023 and shares her experiences of diversity and inclusion during the span of her career.

Khan and Verma touched on positive discrimination, importance of having diversity of skill and thought in your workforce and the benefits of mentoring.

Verma has previously worked for Brooks Macdonald, Pictet Asset Management and Smith & Williamson.

In this launch episode, Khan sits down with operations director at Investengine, Marianne Oliver.

Oliver has previously worked for FNZ and LGIM and shares her experiences of entering the financial services industry in 2008 and the challenges she faced being a woman in a male dominated industry during the span of her career.

LGT Wealth Management picked up a trio of gongs at the ceremony, while HSBC, Legal & General Investment Management and Lloyds were also recognised for shining a light on “excellent, often untold stories that exist across organisations and among individuals in the wealth management and advice industry,” said Pimfa (Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association).

Liz Field, chief executive of Pimfa, commented: “I am delighted, as ever, to congratulate both the winners and highly commended from this year’s D&I Awards, but also all those who entered the awards this year.

“The business, moral and social case for diversity and inclusion has not dimmed, nor shall it for some time to come, and the firms and individuals that entered this year’s awards are all excellent examples of how our members recognise the talents of individuals from all backgrounds and ensure that all people feel involved, valued, respected, treated fairly, and embedded within the cultures of the organisations they work for.”

The winners of the awards, for which MA Financial Media titles ESG Clarity, International Adviser and Portfolio Adviser are the exclusive media partners, in each category are as follows:

Inclusive Talent Management Award

• Winner: LGT Wealth Management

• Best D&I Initiative Award (1-50 Employees)
• Winner: The Verve Foundation

• Best D&I Initiative Award (51-350 Employees) – sponsored by Royal London
• Winner: 7IM

• Best D&I Initiative Award (351+ Employees)  – sponsored by SEI
• Highly Commended: Legal and General Investment Management
• Winner: Lloyds Banking Group

• Best Industry Partner Award
• Highly Commended: Women Returners
• Winner: EY Foundation

• Rising Talent Award – Sponsored by Raymond James
• Winner: Nalini Solanki, Legal and General Investment Management

• Best Approach to Wellbeing Award – sponsored by Charles Schwab
• Winner: FIS

• The Overall DE&I Champion Award – sponsored by Morningstar
• Highly Commended: David Coombs, Rathbones
• Winner: Fiona Wallace, HSBC

• The DE&I Executive Sponsor Award – sponsored by Clearstream
• Winner: Phoebe Stone, LGT Wealth Management

• Best Organisational Outreach Initiative Award – sponsored by FIS
• Highly Commended: Future Frontiers
• Winner: LGT Wealth Management

Pimfa chief executive Field added while there is still work to be done “it is heartening to see just how much effort is going into making our industry as diverse and inclusive as it can be”.

“As the voice of our industry, Pimfa will continue to make D&I a priority and look to collaborate across the sector to provide resources, support and co-ordination of efforts in the years to come,” she added.

The winners were chosen by an independent group of industry peers alongside experts in diversity and inclusion from charities that Pimfa partner with. These included Roopalee Dave, partner at EY; Peter Moores, chief executive of Raymond James; Matt Cameron, global managing director at LGBT Great; Bev Shah, co-chief executive & founder, City Hive; Jennifer Mathias, group chief finance officer at Rathbones;  Sean Taylor, director at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management; Richard Wilson, chief executive officer at abrdn Personal Wealth and interactive investor among others.

Huge congratulations to all the winners!