Women’s Month Profile: Rene Miles, COO at STANLIB

How did you get involved in financial services – was it something you always wanted to do? 

I had always expected my career would be in the legal profession. I worked hard to become a practising advocate at the Johannesburg Bar. But while I was busy with a legal tax qualification, I was offered an opportunity at Liberty Group – and seized it. I have never regretted it.

What was your first investment – and do you still have it? 

I took out a retirement annuity when I started practising at the Bar. I have kept contributing towards it and now it is a part of my retirement planning portfolio. 

What would you consider to be your best-and-worst financial/investment moments? 

I have always been drawn to more entrepreneurial businesses. I believe strongly that in such environments, having a stake in the business and seeing how your efforts contribute to the results of the business and then sharing in those results is a great way to be rewarded. Sometimes this goes in your favour, and sometimes not. I have learnt important lessons from that and am now much more critical about these types of decisions.

What are some of the biggest lessons you have learnt in and about the finance industry as a woman? 

It was evident to me very early in my career that having a seat at the table as a woman was always going to be more difficult than as a man with the same qualification and experience. 

So, I focused on my own growth through tertiary education and personal development to make sure I could not be ignored or excluded from the conversation.

In the last few years, I have realised the impact digitisation and data will have on the industry and our ability to deliver exceptional client service. In my role, I eat, sleep and breathe client satisfaction and STANLIB is investing significantly in technology that will see us revitalise the way we interact with clients in the next few months. 

This has led me to stretch and immerse myself in technical topics like agile methodologies, data architecture and systems integration. While very different to my original training, it was another opportunity for me to upskill and reskill to remain responsive and invested in my own growth and development. 

What would you say are some of the challenges faced by women in financial services, and how could they best be tackled? 

Gender inequity and the increasing pay gap are some of the real challenges women face in financial services. Inevitably a woman trying to make her way in a man’s world must overcome slights like being asked to make the tea in meetings. My standard response was always ‘God gave me many talents, however, making tea was not one of them’. Balancing a career with motherhood was and continues to be another challenge. 

What infrastructure investing trends are currently on your watchlist?

Infrastructure investment is an asset class that is critical to growing the economy. It is, however, not an easy asset class to understand and include in an investment portfolio for retail investors. There is a rise in the number of ETFs aiming to give retail investors access to these opportunities to do good while earning solid returns.

What’s the best book on investing/professional development have you read — and why would you recommend it to others? 

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America by Lawrence Cunningham

The Snowball: Warren Buffer and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder

Buffett, Making an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein

These are not investment manuals, but you will learn a lot about great companies and great management. The best lesson I learnt is to never investment in something you don’t understand. 

I also firmly believe in personal growth and development and have read many books on these topics over the years. One of my favourites is Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, which every leader should read. It tackles difficult subjects like vulnerability and authentic leadership.