Newport Beach finance leaders tackle the ‘Pink Wall’ at UC Irvine

Wall Street comes to Irvine on Thursday night.

A piece of it, at least.

A life-size replica of the famous bronze sculpture “Fearless Girl,” which symbolizes female empowerment and stands directly opposite the New York Stock Exchange, will be on display for the “Tearing Down the Pink Wall” event at UC Irvine.

That’s in Orange County, for those keeping track. Jane Buchan, the Newport Beach-based chief executive of Martlet Asset Management, LLC, is one of those empowered females.

“They’re not going to L.A.,” Buchan said with a laugh. “Sorry, just a little bit competitive with me.”

The Tearing Down the Pink Wall event is hosted by Orange County-based nonprofit Women Investing in Security and Education (WISE), and will be held in partnership with UCI’s Continuing School of Education. WISE’s mission is financial empowerment for females of all ages.

Buchan, who founded Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO) in 2000 and built it into one of the largest hedge fund managers around, is just one of two Newport Beach-based investment leaders attending the event. The other is Katy Sherrerd, vice chair and chief executive of Research Affiliates.

They will be using their real-world experience to help the next generation of women who are entering an industry where they have historically been underrepresented.

Anna Paglia, executive vice president and chief business officer for State Street Investment Management, will be moderating the event. State Street commissioned the Fearless Girl sculpture.

The final panelist is Devin Shanthikumar, associate dean for undergraduate programs at UCI’s Merage School for Business and accounting professor.

Buchan, Sherrerd and Paglia are all on the WISE advisory board.

This is the 10th anniversary of the Tearing Down the Pink Wall initiative, which has reached more than 10,000 participants through 20-plus events. It started at UCI a decade ago and is back on campus for the third straight year.

“We get speakers regularly who are on the Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in Finance list,” said Angela Dailey, the WISE board chair who is a Huntington Beach resident. “Really, the top women in finance come and join us, and a lot of that is through Jane’s connections. The event is really special.”

Vika Sokolova, who has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from UCI and earned her master’s in finance in August, attended last year’s event and will be speaking this year.

“You walk into any math room and it’s like 85% men,” Sokolova said. “It’s a challenge, it’s interesting. It makes your mind work. If you do have good returns, I like the advising part. I use my brain, and I think outside the box. There’s so many different parts that are moving at all times, but you’re helping out another individual, and you see a direct impact.”

She added that she sees Tearing Down the Pink Wall as not only a productive education event, but also a community forming event.

“There is only a certain amount of women in these fields,” Sokolova said. “I think the more women you meet, the more experiences you’re able to grasp. You’re able to apply yourself, and maybe feel encouraged by them and confident because of their journeys and what they’re doing. To me, that was really cool.”

Buchan is happy to impart her knowledge — and again, happy that it’s happening in Orange County, which she said has a substance of its own that is different from Los Angeles.

“It’s a career that I don’t think a lot of young women consider so much,” she said. “You think about the stereotypes with investing, the stereotypes with Wall Street. Investment management is a very different career path. A lot of the wealth is being transferred to women over time, and how do you invest and safeguard your assets?

“How do you decide what you want to give to your children, and what you want to donate away? It’s a very big, important question.”