Alignment and Purpose: A Leadership Perspective from Heather Brilliant, CFA

Rosemont Roundtable: Exploring the Business of Investment Management

For some publicly traded investment firms, tension can exist among stakeholders given the potentially competing interests of shareholders, employees and clients. In the latest episode of the Global Investment Leaders podcast, Diamond Hill CEO Heather Brilliant, CFA, joins Rosemont CEO Chas Burkhart to discuss how her firm seeks to align these interests. According to Brilliant, putting clients’ interests first is the key to Diamond Hill’s long-term success for its shareholders, with its employees investing right alongside clients.

“We do think of ourselves as an aligned boutique, aligned with our clients but also through a set of principles about investing that we believe to be true,” says Brilliant. These principles include actively managed, concentrated portfolios, a long-term perspective, a capacity mindset, and valuation discipline. According to Brilliant, these fundamental principles carry through to everything they do at Diamond Hill, and the firm seeks to ensure every investment team is committed to upholding those principles.

During their conversation, Brilliant and Burkhart also explore how differing perspectives can enhance a team’s effectiveness and culture. Specifically, they discuss:

• Brilliant’s background and her insights on the global investment community following her leadership roles at Australia’s First State Investments and her role as CEO at Morningstar Australasia
• The differences between the investment industry culture in Australia and the U.S., particularly around collaboration and sharing of best practices
• The opportunities and challenges that come with being a female CEO in a traditionally male-dominated industry
• How she believes cognitively diverse teams are better equipped to solve problems and how the industry would benefit from attracting more women and people of color
• How the next generation will continue to define the industry through a lens of purpose

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