Kara Murphy, Chief Investment Officer, Kestra Investment Management, won CIO of the Year at Markets Media Group’s 2024 Women in Finance (U.S.) Awards.

What does receiving the CIO of the Year award mean to you, and how does it reflect your work and leadership in investment management?

Receiving the CIO of the Year award is a tremendous honor that I couldn’t have imagined when starting my first job on Wall Street. While in school, I never considered a career in finance. I saw the industry as a man’s world, one with sharp elbows and big egos. Having landed my first role largely by accident, I quickly discovered that investing represented an ever-changing intellectual challenge; twenty-five-ish years into this career and I have yet to be bored. 

Over time, though, I began to clearly connect investment decisions I made with the ability to help individuals grow wealth over time and to meet their financial goals. It’s the connection between the dynamism of the markets and the responsibility to our clients that provides great motivation for me. Because this career has proven so rewarding and exciting, I also want to ensure that others consider a career in this field.

How would you define your investment philosophy, and how has it evolved over the years?

If anything, my investment philosophy has grown simpler over time: invest wisely to live richly. For me, wise investing means making informed decisions, balancing risk and reward, while focusing on long-term goals. Over the years I’ve learned that complexity can actually dilute outcomes. 

As a CIO, how do you build and lead a successful team? What qualities do you look for in team members?

As an investor and leader, I highly value attributes such as collaboration, curiosity, discipline and humility. These attributes help align our team and reinforce our commitment to excellence, innovation, and delivering strong outcomes for our wonderful clients. From my experience at a variety of Wall Street investment firms, high-performing teams thrive when members feel valued, empowered, and encouraged to challenge each other’s ideas. Ultimately, it’s about building a team that collaborates effectively to achieve long-term success.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your role as CIO, and how have you addressed those challenges?

The most challenging aspect of my role is to identify what to listen to and what to ignore. As I mentioned earlier, the market is ever-changing and interesting. But what may seem incredibly important one day may be forgotten the next. So investors must hone in on those data points or factors that aren’t just interesting, or a change from before, but meaningful enough to change or affirm your investment thesis.

The role of CIO can be demanding—how do you manage work-life balance, and what practices do you use to stay focused and effective?

In addition to my career, which I’m fortunate to love, I have three children, a husband, friends, charitable pursuits and other things that demand time and attention. Importantly, I have a husband who is a true partner in life and in parenting, who knows the kids’ clothing sizes, their food preferences and schedules better than I do. In addition, I try to be ruthless in identifying what’s most important. That means yes to a parent-teacher conference or kid’s performance, and no to home-baked cookies for a bake sale (hello Costco!) or an always-organized house. 

Being involved in philanthropic endeavors is important to me, so I align my professional and charitable goals whenever possible, including my work with Kestra’s Women Empowerment Network, as well as serving on the board of directors for Welcome Home, a non-profit that I founded to provide support for newly resettled refugees.