Voice of Experience: Jody Hrazanek, Head of Portfolio Implementation and Management, ING U.S. Investment Management
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
Jody Hrazanek, Head of Portfolio Implementation and Management at ING U.S. Investment Management (ING U.S. IM), has a suggestion for senior women executives: build stronger working relationships with one another. “As women we focus so much on our individual careers that it’s easy to forget about building a support network with other women. If we could find more ways to stay connected, we would all benefit,” she says.
In addition to networking events or participating in online networks like The Glass Hammer, Hrazanek envisions greater success for women who collaborate more in the day-to-day business environment. She commented, “Committing to events after the workday isn’t always easy for women so we need to find effective networking opportunities in our daily interactions too.”
Hrazanek suggests looking for collaborative projects or seeking out the support of female peers when possible. “These things seem to be much more common among men.” She continued, “I think strong networks would develop naturally” as a result of these connections.
Career Path in Investment Management
After studying mathematics at Fairfield University, Hrazanek went on to earn a M.S. in Statistics and Operations Research from New York University while juggling the responsibilities of working full time.
She began her career in Fixed Income Operations at Goldman Sachs before moving to an equity derivatives reporting role with Bankers Trust for the chance to learn more about the financial services industry. A few months later, Hrazanek switched to a role with the equity derivatives sales desk, liaising between the front and back office. Eighteen months after that, she accepted a position on the buy-side of Bankers Trust as an equity trader for its quant team. In 1999, the firm was bought by Deutsche Bank which led to a team lift-out to Merrill Lynch Investment Management. Hrazanek observed, “I learned early on the importance of being flexible and willing to take on new challenges. Not only does it help you grow your knowledge base but allows you to grow with a company in transition, which is pretty common in today’s marketplace.”
While at Merrill she specialized in convertible bond arbitrage strategies and became co-portfolio manager of a convertible bond hedge fund. In 2003, she took a position with Advent Capital Management to work on their convertible bond hedge funds but, after two years, she was again ready for something new. She explained, “I wanted to get back to the traditional investment management side of the business.” That’s when she found an opportunity with ING U.S. Investment Management.
In 2005, she started at ING U.S. IM managing the derivatives overlay strategy for a new closed end fund offering. Soon, she also was overseeing additional derivative overlay strategies across a variety of products run by the newly created Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions (MASS) team at the firm. In 2009, she was tasked with developing a new portfolio management system for ING U.S. IM’s fund of funds product line, expanding beyond her original role in derivatives.
Hrazanek is proud of her work on that system development project where she had the opportunity to team up with many of her IT and Operations colleagues as well as other departments. “It started as a basic outline in the late part of 2009 and today it is used to manage over 150 funds. We built a very efficient, flexible and reliable platform, and I am proud to have been a part of the hard work and collaboration across the firm. Even more rewarding has been seeing the contribution this system has made to the MASS team’s business growth.” She believes that efficiency in execution is a key ingredient to success in today’s competitive environment. Hrazanek added, “The platform is scalable so allows us to continue to take on more clients and products with limited disruption to the current product line and process.”
Advice for Women in Investment Management
To Hrazanek, the challenges women face in the investment management space are real, but not insurmountable. “I think there are barriers to success, but they can be overcome.”
“People like to be around people who are similar to them. It’s human nature. For women, that can be challenging in business settings dominated by men, but you can certainly be successful in the face of those issues. You just need to work at it” she explained.
“You have to be remarkably competent and knowledgeable. You will be required to constantly prove yourself. It takes more effort, but that effort will be rewarded.” She also encourages younger women to seek out what they enjoy and what challenges them. By using these criteria to guide career choices, success will come naturally.
Based on her own experiences, Hrazanek has had to balance raising her family and managing her career. She added, “It has always impressed me that when I was hired by ING U.S. IM almost eight years ago, I was six months pregnant with my first child. That should be very encouraging for women and in particular is a positive statement about my hiring manager and the company I chose for the next phase of my career. They were willing to give me a chance although it was clear that I was going to be out for a couple of months.”
In Her Personal Time
Outside work, Hrazanek enjoys spending time with her family. “I have two young kids and my life is primarily about them – keeping up with their hectic schedules. They keep me busy!”
