Pam Chan, CFA, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer and Global Head of Alternative Solutions at BlackRock. He also serves as Chief Investment Officer for the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund. She is a member of BlackRock’s Global Operating Committee, Alternative Executive Committee and Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Steering Committee.
Pam currently serves as Co-Chair of the Harvard College School and Scholarship Committee in New York City and previously served as a board member of the Harvard Club of the New York Foundation and the Harvard Business School Alumni Association.
He was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2020 and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper in 2012.
Pam also serves on the board of Forbright, Inc. and previously served on the board of Home Partners of America.
He graduated cum laude from Harvard College, majoring in philosophy and government, and earned an MBA cum laude from Harvard Business School.
Pam’s investment style
How many years of investment experience do you have? 10-20 years
What is your favorite investment sector? Our team invests across sectors and asset classes within the private markets, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, and other specialty strategies (music, specialty finance, etc.). I don’t have a favorite area. What I really enjoy is the continuation of new areas and how different investments fit in the context of portfolios such as risk, relative value, overarching themes and macro conditions surrounding us. It is to learn objectively.
When did you start investing and why?
I studied philosophy in college, so I liked asking questions.Investing provided a work environment that felt most like a philosophical tutorial on how we discussed X regarding y And what is the catalyst or moderator associated with that relationship? My inquisitiveness and curiosity, combined with my ability to clearly and quantitatively measure my performance, initially drew me to invest and stay here.
What has your journey been like as an investor? What challenges have you had to overcome?
It was rewarding, but also challenging at times. Most CIOs don’t look like me, but I was lucky to have a handful of great mentors who helped me stay on course. As a private market investor, I think this is an especially exciting time given how the depth and breadth of the private market continues to expand. We also see increasing convergence in public and private interfaces. This is a space that we are watching very carefully.
With so many new and young investors stepping into investing, what is the best advice for those just starting out or new to the industry?
First read, read, read. Read a wide range of economics, history, technology, psychology, philosophy, and anything else that makes you ask yourself new questions, not just the obvious books on investing. Second, try to have conversations with people who are not like you. It’s easy to accidentally find yourself in an echo chamber. Third, you can never read or learn as fast as you like, so be compassionate with yourself and don’t get carried away with your mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and move forward.
What advice would you give to a new investor who may be experiencing market volatility for the first time?
Focus on the rigors of the investment process, even when it makes you want to be more tactical. Surround yourself with people who read widely so you can learn from past market cycles and understand how markets have reacted in the past. This is not because history necessarily repeats itself, but because context informs what happens next.
Name three things that really excite you about the future of investing.
We are excited to see how the private market is growing (especially as new asset classes emerge across the private market space!). How technology and data will change the way private market investments are raised, underwritten, valued and made. And how we can deliver outcomes that go beyond risk-return (for example, when looking for ways to do well and ways to do good).
What are some quotes or sayings that inspire or challenge you?
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” —Socrates
“I have told you these things so that you may have peace in me. In this world you will face difficulties. has overcome the world.”—John 16:33
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