Meet Brandes Mentors

Yingbin Chen is a Director, Investments Group and a Senior Analyst on the Technology Research Team. She is a member of the Small-Cap Investment Committee and the All-Cap Investment Committee. Ms. Chen is a limited partner of the firm’s parent company. Before joining Brandes, she was a Technology Officer with a major U.S. money center bank and a Technology Consultant with a major U.S. technology company. Ms. Chen earned her International MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and her MS in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Her relevant experience began in 2001 when she joined Brandes Investment Partners.

Q: What led you and others to initiate the mentorship program?
A: In my 20+ years at Brandes, I often reflected on why for the last decade or so, the percentage of women in the investment management (equity research and portfolio management) profession was persistently low with percentages in the teens. Through my own experiences and that of my female colleagues, I believe that this is a great profession for women, and many women are well qualified and excel at the job. My observation was that young women were often not very aware of investment management profession (IM) and what it entailed, or that they perceived the barrier to entry as exceedingly high. Such lack of awareness and misperception likely has deterred their preparation for a career in IM, which makes the perception, misguided as it is, self-reinforcing. The Brandes RISE Mentorship Program aims to break this cycle, and help motivated young women who are inquisitive and analytical to learn about IM as a profession early in college, boost their confidence and jumpstart their preparation to pursue a career in IM or related fields. It’s very exciting to start this program with my colleagues here at Brandes, and we look forward to building lasting relationships with our mentees and local colleges through this program.

Yingbin Chen is a Director, Investments Group and a Senior Analyst on the Technology Research Team. She is a member of the Small-Cap Investment Committee and the All-Cap Investment Committee. Ms. Chen is a limited partner of the firm’s parent company. Before joining Brandes, she was a Technology Officer with a major U.S. money center bank and a Technology Consultant with a major U.S. technology company. Ms. Chen earned her International MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and her MS in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Her relevant experience began in 2001 when she joined Brandes Investment Partners.

Q: What led you and others to initiate the mentorship program?
A: In my 20+ years at Brandes, I often reflected on why for the last decade or so, the percentage of women in the investment management (equity research and portfolio management) profession was persistently low with percentages in the teens. Through my own experiences and that of my female colleagues, I believe that this is a great profession for women, and many women are well qualified and excel at the job. My observation was that young women were often not very aware of investment management profession (IM) and what it entailed, or that they perceived the barrier to entry as exceedingly high. Such lack of awareness and misperception likely has deterred their preparation for a career in IM, which makes the perception, misguided as it is, self-reinforcing. The Brandes RISE Mentorship Program aims to break this cycle, and help motivated young women who are inquisitive and analytical to learn about IM as a profession early in college, boost their confidence and jumpstart their preparation to pursue a career in IM or related fields. It’s very exciting to start this program with my colleagues here at Brandes, and we look forward to building lasting relationships with our mentees and local colleges through this program.