Portrait No. 001
Nadine Terman
CEO and CIO, Founder
Solstein Capital
Raised — AUM of ~$830mm
In 2010, I started my first company, a global investment firm, because the culture of a firm--especially in investing--radiates from the top. Although women hedge fund managers control only roughly 1-2% of assets and represent a meager ~10% of portfolio managers globally, I wanted to build a culture that aligned with my values. Half of our professionals are women, and we now manage over $800mm. Currently, we are launching new businesses and solutions at the intersection of technology and investing because we believe that domain expertise matters, and with an estimated 45%+ of wealth expected to be in the hands of women, we want to support that change.
In her words
“As we continue to build, the right mix of humility with that grit and resilience enables our team to improve on our processes, launch new businesses, and take risks.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
I think one of our early investor meetings sums up the climb. After entering the meeting room, a potential male LP asked me, \"Honey, what do you do at the firm?\" I smiled and responded, \"Honey, I run the firm,\" and then proceeded to demonstrate our edge versus peers. From our initial funding (~$5mm) to today (managing >$800mm), we had to power through many challenges. For example, a significant portion of our business disappeared overnight when a consulting firm that acted as a sub-advisor to limited partners had to shut down from a compliance issue. Due to their own governance rules, investors were forced to pull their capital, even though we had nothing to do with the issue. Within a year we had not only filled that capital bucket but also grew the firm. As we continue to build, the right mix of humility with that grit and resilience enables our team to improve on our processes, launch new businesses, and take risks.
Chapter II
Your vision.
Our team is redefining the future of investment health. The current industry players are misaligned with clients, who are at a disadvantage in terms of time, skill/expertise, costly data, a lack of transparency, and social/emotional barriers. We provide the knowledge-through data and insights- that empowers people to positively change the trajectory of their wealth journey. Financial empowerment improves the well-being of individuals, families, and institutions, and it is key to generational wealth regardless of your background.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
Another manager and I founded 100 Women in Finance's FundWomen conference more than a decade ago, which helps bring capital to women investors around the world. It has grown to one of the largest events driving industry change. After seeing the impact, I worked with Bloomberg to start their annual diverse investor conference, which highlights diverse investment professionals across public and private asset classes. Looking ahead, I hope to broaden my impact further to wealth empowerment, which benefits not only diverse investors but also everyday people so that the industry becomes more aligned with their objectives and requirements.