Voice of Experience: Dorothy Collins Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Collins Capital

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“It’s a good thing I’ve been blessed with two things – I’ve been blessed with lots of energy and a love of the vertical learning curve,” said Dorothy Collins Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Miami-based hedge fund of funds, Collins Capital.

From founding her hedge fund of funds, to supporting an orphanage in Colombia, to chairing the Miami Federal Reserve, to chairing “We Will Rebuild,” the federal relief effort following Hurricane Andrew’s devastation of Miami in 1992, as well as leading several other philanthropic and civic endeavors, Weaver’s boundless energy and love of learning have driven a career spanning continents and industries.

Based on her experience, she advises, “Be in the room where decisions are being made. Roll up your sleeves. Get dirt under your fingernails.”

Building a Career, Growing a City

A member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, Weaver studied history at Wellesley College in Boston graduating with honors. Shortly thereafter, she and her husband moved to Colombia. She said, “My husband and I went down and were involved in the turnaround of a fifty year old textile company. We thought we’d be there for a year.” Eight years later, she said, “We moved to Miami. We had a factory here as well as the one in South America. It was the nexus of the relationships in South America and the US. It was just on the cusp of becoming the international city it is today.”

Weaver began working in real estate development, but soon turned her eye to the potential she saw in the city of Miami. She explained, “We had been dealing with Asia and Hong Kong – and thought exactly the things that made Hong Kong flourish would make Miami flourish.”

Weaver became instrumental in rewriting the banking code for the state of Florida – at the time, she explained, not even in trust state banking was allowed in Florida. For Miami to become an international city, she believed, changes would have to be made.

She said, “Once the laws changed, Miami just blossomed. Banks from Europe, South America, and the US opened offices in the city.”

Following her work with rewriting the code, she said, “I became the Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank in Miami.”

Managing Liquidity and Diversification

When she finished her work with the Fed, Weaver decided it was time to form her own company. She said, “In 1995, I started Collins Capital, to invest in hedge funds.”

She explained, “I’m a huge believer in diversification. In the ’80s, I was investing in many areas – real estate, textiles, timber, oil and gas… And I noticed two things – all of these industries operated in cycles and all were illiquid. As they would move into the speculative cycle, we were looking for a way to manage liquidity but not lose diversification.”

A well diversified portfolio of hedge funds enabled her to manage liquidity, reduce portfolio volatility, and weather divergent cycles.

Weaver said, “As Chairman and CEO, I’m very much focused on building portfolios that invest across multiple markets. Diversification, risk reduction, growth, and preservation of capital, irrespective of markets has always been our basic philosophy – nothing has changed.”

Regarding the industry’s new regulatory changes, she said, “The problem in this environment is understanding the unintended consequences of policies being enacted by our government and governments around the world, and how they will impact economies and businesses over the next 5 to 10 years.”

She continued, “The hedge fund industry is at an inflection point – from the entrepreneurial stage to a much more institutional stage. The challenge is keeping all the attributes – the can-do entrepreneurial spirit, while adding the checks and balances of infrastructure necessary to take it to the next stage.”

Civic and Philanthropic Achievements

Weaver is most proud of her work rewriting Florida’s banking code. She explained, “It had the most profound effect on Miami.”

Additionally, she said, “I chaired the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Visitors Bureau, the Workforce Education Committee for the Governor. Probably of most interest was when I chaired the Federal Liaison for Rescue and Relief during Hurricane Andrew. It touched everything, every part of the community.”

She explained, “I worked with the President, the Cabinet, the House, the Senate, various committees. I had to negotiate with congress. And then there was the national election – it went from being a Democratic Congress and a Republican President to being a Republican Congress and a Democratic President – every single chairman of every committee changed! But it was truly our government at its best – what happened was what everyone hoped would happen.”

She continued, “I’m very involved in philanthropy – I served on of the Board of Trustees of Wellesley College for 17 years and I was also on the investment committee for the American Red Cross.”

“I have certain passions that I have continued to stay attached to throughout my life. One of them is an orphanage for a thousand girls in Colombia, enabling it to add another year to the girls’ time each year. When I first became involved, they could only take the girls through third grade. …I’ve continued the effort to support the orphanage through all these years.”

Life Lessons from an Experienced Hedge Fund of Funds CEO

“Soak in as much as possible,” said Weaver. “Everything you learn everywhere will have value as you go through life. What has surprised me the most, whether working in tourism, banking, hedge funds, or joining the Fed – each complements the other.”

She continued, “One thing that has been consistent in my life is that I’ve continued to reinvent myself – I’m not like people who have a very linear view of life. I’m very much a product of taking advantage of doors that have opened.”

Weaver said that the challenges women face in their careers are on the individual level. “It’s within the women themselves, being willing to take risk and go into areas that they have not previously been exposed to. Many women have extraordinary strength, and are good at what they do. They’ve dotted all of the I’s and crossed the T’s – they’re more uncomfortable moving out of their comfort zone of skills that they have mastered.”

She continued, “In the hedge fund world, there is no comfort zone. It’s changing every day. You have to continue to grow and evolve and adapt.”

“Life balance is worth putting as as your top priority,” she said. “But I don’t think there is such a thing as doing it all at once. Part of life balance is realizing that you have a long life. You don’t have to do it all in your 30s and 40s. You can defer some things to 50s, 60s, 70s. So many things are intensely demanding. Many young women feel that if they don’t do something by X age, they’ll miss the opportunity. Life continues to present opportunities.”

“I will always continue my professional life,” she said. “I’m not looking to retire. I’ll continue to be involved in my community.”

Weaver continued, “Having said that, life balance is an issue not just for young mothers or families. It’s a never-ending balance. You have to be very clear [about priorities]… and often very creative to make it work. And I do think women are incredibly creative. Their ability to multitask is impressive. A lot of women achieve enormous amounts in multiple ares of life simultaneously.”

Finally, she said, “One of the things that mas made a difference in my life is that every time I took on a new challenge, I always sat down with my children and explained what I had been asked to do – the time and the commitment. It’s something that was important for me to do, and important for my children.”

“There’s a huge difference in terms of their buy-in and their education. I brought them a long with me in terms of understanding. It was never either/or.”

On Teaching and Learning

According to Weaver, young women should find an individual who will guide them and a career that inspires them. She said, “Find a mentor and find an environment that feeds your soul. Don’t worry so much about what your title is, or what your paycheck is, or even what your industry is. Think first about whether the growth is something that will be exciting. Make sure the culture is aligned with your value system.”

She continued, “Definitely, our generation were pioneers. We were the first to do mentoring – and mentors were one of the things we were not the beneficiary of. I hope our generation is making a difference for the next generation.”

“To me, [mentoring] is about helping people discover everything they have in them. Giving them the comfort to push themselves a little harder than they would have dared to go it alone.”

As for women advancing toward leadership positions, Weaver said, “They probably got there because they were excellent at something. Understanding the whole picture – how all of the pieces fit together. The next step requires working well with people, whether they can motivate and lead.”

She explained, “They can only reach their goals at the next level if they can lead others – they can’t do it alone. It’s a different set of skills to learn, and they will accomplish considerably more if they don’t worry about who gets the credit. Credit will find its source eventually.”

She also encourages women to get involved in the community. She said, “One organization is the Junior League, which I was also president of. It introduces them to the community. Miami is so multidimensional. It’s hard to get your arms around all of the dimensions. And the International Women’s Forum, which is made up of excellent women from the artistic, philanthropic, political, and business communities. It’s very important to have a cross-fertilization of individuals – with civic involvements, professional interests, and across ages – because I think we can learn a lot more from a multidimensional environment.”

And finally, she advises women to travel. “I love the fact that I had the opportunity to live on a separate continent and in a separate culture. Any women who has the opportunity – take advantage of it, and continue traveling. Have a lot of intellectually curiosity about every aspect as your travel. It’s very enjoyable and it keeps me growing, learning, asking questions.”

Weaver says teaching is something that has been important to her throughout her life. She said,”Teaching and learning can be defined in many ways. I consider teaching to also be a major dimension in our professional lives – even with our employees and investors. Investing is also about learning.”

She continued, “I have the conviction that learning is not linear. We continue to reinvent ourselves if we’re growing. You can’t stand still.”