Luba Nikulina has been promoted to global head of manager research at Towers Watson. She has worked for the consultant for nine years, holding various manager research roles, most recently as global head of private markets research in London.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An archaeologist.
What was your favourite subject at school and why?
History because it’s about the life of real people told in a variety of different ways and full of fascinating stories. Plus, I had a really good teacher in this subject at one point.
What was your first paid role?
Teaching kids foreign languages in school.
What led you to a career in investment?
Serendipity.
What are your priorities for this new role?
Reinforcing the integration of the 120-strong global manager research team across different streams of research, geographies and also with other research groups at Towers Watson, such as the Asset Research Team and Thinking Ahead Group. To be able to do well, we do need to ensure that our people work very closely together, have an open mind to consider multiple perspectives and deep understanding of relative value across the vast global opportunity set.
What is the biggest hurdle for institutional investors at present?
Filtering through thousands of investment ideas, staying on top of ever changing markets and prioritising opportunities which could allow institutional investors to achieve the best outcomes for their stakeholders in the long term.
Who do you respect/admire most in the institutional investment community and why?
I would say the greatest respect tends to arise when you feel that people are in this profession not to make lots of money for themselves, but rather have a genuine desire to improve the stewardship of stakeholders’ assets and achieve the best outcomes for ultimate beneficiaries.
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