As the team reflects on 2022, many notable things come to mind, and we are excited to continue the momentum as we move into 2023. We grew our Emerge Canada team and launched our major initiative, EMPWR, a program dedicated to women portfolio managers. Our goal is to provide them with a voice within the industry and commonality among peers. These initiatives and accomplishments are just the impetus of what to expect for our growth in this coming year.
In 2022, we were proud to grow our team by welcoming Darren Gazdag as Vice President of National Sales, Andrew Hungerbuhler as our Regional Sales Director and Sophie Masson as a Marketing Associate. They have already become integral to the Emerge Canada team, each offering their unique skillset and vision. We look forward to their continued contributions this year and embracing their talents.
The Launch of EMPWR
The asset management industry has shamelessly maintained low levels of women investment managers and insufficient mentorship. This, along with my own experiences in the industry, is what inspired me to launch EMPWR. With everyone’s hard work and dedication, we finally launched EMPWR in September. It’s the first-of-its-kind program to promote experienced, high-calibre women investment managers. The program began with 10 ETFs – five in Canada and five in the U.S. – and made history by having the first dual launch ETFs with the Neo Exchange in Canada and Cbeo Exchange in the U.S. For a small investment fund firm like ours to lead such a significant initiative that has a huge impact on the industry this is a major accomplishment that we should all be very proud of.
The program currently has four exceptional women sub-advisors based out of the U.S. They each have created and are actively managing their own EMPWR ETFs based on their sectors of expertise while adhering to Emerge’s core sustainability standards.:
- Cate Faddis: Emerge EMPWR Sustainable Select Growth Equity ETF (EPGC);
- Catherine Avery: Emerge EMPWR Sustainable Dividend Equity ETF (EPCA);
- Josephine Jimenez: Emerge EMPWR Sustainable Emerging Markets Equity ETF (EPCH);
- Jane Li: Emerge EMPWR Sustainable Global Core Equity ETF (EPZA).
The launch of EMPWR has garnered significant interest among fellow investors and the press. We have received notable media coverage, including an exclusive on the program launch and its ETFs with Bloomberg: Emerge to Launch 10 Sustainable ETFs That Are All Run by Women. Bloomberg also just published a feature article last week highlighting the skills and experiences of our EMPWR talented investment managers: Women Rarely Manage ETFs. Meet the Team Looking to Change That. We have many more opportunities coming with EMPWR this year, with new additions to the program. We are delighted to continue our mentorship efforts and work with more exceptional women investment managers.
Looking Forward
We have big plans for 2023 and look forward to reaching new milestones. Above all, we’ll continue to work hard to diversify the industry and provide more support to our valued sub-advisers. It will include system enhancements to better support our advisors by implementing an advisor portal in the first quarter of this year. These advancements will offer a more comprehensive approach to our services and demonstrate our value as an impact-driven firm. They will also help further our mission of opening new doors for underserved, high-calibre and diverse investment managers.
We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Our successes in 2022 would not have been accomplished without the hard work and dedication of our team, and we are excited for continued achievements in 2023!
-Lisa Langley, CEO & Founder, Emerge Canada Inc.
