The Lerner College Trading Center at the University of Delaware was filled with young women and men, all sitting under the center’s scrolling real-time digital stock ticker, eagerly waiting to hear advice from expert women in finance.

These expert financial professionals were on campus as part of the “Inve$t in Her Future” panel. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of Philadelphia partnered with UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics to bring this panel to UD.

The panelists included:

• Christy Watkins, a senior investment advisor in the private wealth group with Wilmington Trust and a UD finance alumna;

• Neena Saxena, a senior manager and head of Retail Advice Methodology group and a UD accounting alumna;

• Catherine B. Ulozas, the chief investment officer at Drexel University; and

• Kathryn Peck, a university relations specialist at Vanguard

Watkins introduced the panel and began by discussing why the field of finance needs more women professionals, and why more women should consider careers as investment bankers.

“The investment management industry is so skewed toward men,” Watkins said. “You may be thinking, ‘Is this an issue?’ Well, we think it is.”

Watkins said less than 10 percent of investment industry professionals are women, although she emphasized that the industry is nothing like media portrayals such as in The Wolf of Wall Street.

“There are so many different roles available in this industry, requiring so many different kinds of skill sets,” Watkins said.

However, she acknowledged the lack of mentors for young women: “There aren’t many female role models available in our industry.”

Saxena discussed the differences between Vanguard and the media’s portrayal of investment firms as greedy or self-serving. She said the company puts its clients first when making decisions.

“When I started there about nine years ago, my first task was to take a look at an insurance product we were thinking of offering,” Saxena said. “Giving the presentation to the senior research team, the head of the team said, ‘That’s great, but tell me: How it will help clients?’”

“When we talk about a mission-oriented company, I can tell you there are companies like Vanguard out there.”

The panel also discussed some common mistakes that hopeful investment bankers make, and how to improve their resumes when applying for jobs. Tips included removing all high school information in sophomore or junior year of college.

“One of the biggest mistakes I see students making is not bringing everything they do to the table,” Peck added. “The resume is the whole story of you.”

She urged students to include sports teams, clubs and other interests they are involved in, since this will show a level of engagement that companies are looking for. Ulozas then discussed the importance of creating multiple resume versions.

“You’re not one resume,” she said. “Have a good solid resume that you can adapt for the positions you apply for.”

“It’s good to be able to sum yourself up in a few sentences or a few paragraphs,” she added. “Think: How would you like someone to introduce you if you were speaking here tonight?”

Ulozas urged the young women in the audience not to worry about working in a very numbers-oriented environment, citing her own dislike of algebra back in high school.

“No matter where you work, no matter what field you work in, you can handle it,” she said. “You all have the skills.”

The women also took many questions from the audience.

“The best way to succeed is to help others succeed,” Saxena said. “It’s a very team-oriented corporate culture. The vast majority [of people in this industry] are trying to do the right thing, they’re trying to help clients.”

All of the panelists also stressed the importance of networking.

“You never know where your networking partner may come from,” Ulozas said. “I think you need to cast a very wide net at this part in your life.”

“When I interviewed at Vanguard, I met with eight different people, and only one was a female,” Saxena shared as an example. Saxena later emailed the woman when she got the job, and they kept in touch and met every few months. Eventually, that woman helped Saxena network for her next job.

“The people that are out there really want to help, so reach out and you will get a lot of responses.”