I’m ZCI’s senior trading associate. I work with our portfolio management team and facilitate trades. Also, I determine which brokers to work trades with and establish order flow. In my nearly two decades of trading, I’ve learned to tune out the noise. Our investment management team needs critical market information and trade reporting; they need me steady, not too up or down.

Broker selection is important. So is moving quickly, but prudently. We have to watch carefully where we allocate commission dollars. This is clients’ money, after all.

My driving question is: how do I best take care of our customers’ money?

Perspective matters. My parents reminded me how lucky I am to be alive at this point in history. “Think about all the innovation happening and all the things you can do,” they’d say.