In this edition, we spoke with Jana Holt, Global Director, Sustainable Investing Solutions at SEI. Jana, who is nominated ESG Investment Manager of the Year by the Women in Asset Management Awards, shares how she got into ESG, where career opportunities lie in ESG and more.
You’ve been a member of WIN for several years. What prompted you to join and why have you remained engaged?
I joined WIN in early 2020 shortly after moving to the Philadelphia area for my role at SEI. Although I grew up outside of Philadelphia and still have local friends and family, I didn’t have much of a professional network here after living and working in Boston, North Carolina and New York for my whole career. WIN has created opportunities for connection, both within SEI and the broader financial community, even as we retreated to our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we start to engage in person again, I look forward to strengthening those connections and welcoming new faces.
WIN is dedicated to empowering professional development in financial services. Could you describe your career path thus far and how you ended up in the industry? What brought you to ESG?
ESG is actually what brought me to financial services. As a bright-eyed college graduate, I wanted to channel my energy into environmental work, and started my career with Environmental Defense Fund, one of the leading environmental nonprofits working to address climate change, ecosystem health, and environmental justice. That work led me towards corporate sustainability, as I had exposure to companies that were making exciting investments in environmental practices despite a challenging political and economic environment (this was 2008/2009!).
After graduate school, as a sustainability consultant, I had exposure to a broad range of industries, and the challenges and opportunities they faced. I was inspired by the potential the financial sector has to catalyze the movement of capital towards social and environmental solutions, and eventually made the jump to financial services in the Global Sustainable Finance group at Morgan Stanley. After several years there, I found the opportunity at SEI, which was not only a chance to move closer to family, but an opportunity to contribute to building our sustainability strategy from the ground up and deepen my experience in asset management.
Given your focus on ESG, could you speak to some career path possibilities in this growing area?
This space is growing and changing rapidly. Even just five years ago, ESG opportunities were few and far between and were limited to small “ESG teams”. Today, it seems like ESG jobs are everywhere. There are opportunities within a variety of functions in an organization, even if “ESG” isn’t part of the job title. At SEI, I work with people in portfolio management, client service, investor relations, risk management, technology, and more. Look for ways that your skill set and expertise intersects with business needs and opportunities related to sustainability, and you’ll likely find opportunities to take on greater leadership and visibility, and maybe even create a new role that your company didn’t know it needed.
If you could give one piece of career advice to a young professional, what would it be?
Stay open to new opportunities and follow your interests. It’s okay to step off the predetermined path that you think you should be on. Every step of the way, I’ve been wrong about my five year plan. But I stuck to my values and kept sustainability as a guiding principle, and it led me on a path that is both challenging and fulfilling.
What are some topics or trends you would like to see covered at upcoming WIN events? Why?
In my view, the most valuable topics that WIN hosts are related to soft skills. In a field where women are often underrepresented, it’s valuable to hear others talk about the skills that have helped them succeed, and lessons learned along the way. Topics like ‘influence without authority’, or ‘how women can advocate for themselves’, would help us all see more success in the long run.