On April 13, Pender's Laura Baker met with students from UBC Sauder’s SWIFT (Sauder Women+ in Finance Training) programme, continuing her longstanding involvement with the initiative since its inception in 2023. SWIFT, delivered in partnership with the UBC Portfolio Management Foundation, is designed to expand access to high quality finance training and support a more inclusive pipeline of talent entering the industry.
During the session, Laura shared insights from her career journey, reflecting on her experience across equity sales and research roles spanning multiple firms and sectors. She also provided an overview of Pender’s bottom-up investment philosophy, with a focus on small-cap investing, providing students with a practical perspective on how fundamental analysis is applied in real world portfolio management.
The discussion extended to the students’ own work, with Laura providing detailed feedback on their weekly reports. Her perspectives on developing differentiated market views, strengthening investment theses, and applying rigorous analytical thinking were especially well received.
Programmes like SWIFT combine academic rigour with hands on experience in capital markets, they also provide mentorship and industry engagement. By fostering a strong sense of community and creating pathways into finance careers, initiatives like this play an important role in broadening participation and supporting the next generation of investment professionals.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to engage with such a motivated and talented group of students, and to continue supporting initiatives that promote excellence, inclusion, and long term development within the finance industry.
