Savita Subramanian interview: Stock-investing strategy, career advice - Business Insider

"Philosophy basically helps you parse really complicated problems." She added: "Financial markets are a human construct, and behavior, psychology, and all the 'softer' disciplines matter just as much as determining the value that investors are willing to pay for an equity."Subramanian, who has been with Bank of America for 19 years, is clearly well-read. Only 55% of American adults own stock, according to a June Gallup poll of about 2,000 people — a statistic related to income levels."It would be nice to democratize the market and make investing not just something people with MBAs who all went to the same school and have parents who were investors" do, Subramanian said.She also applauded how exchange-traded funds and online retail brokerages have increased market participation."Taking arcane concepts and breaking them down in a way that's accessible to everyone — it's a satisfying feeling making the markets more transparent and accessible," she said. "But then it almost made me feel even more bent on proving that I could do it and be good and be better."Subramanian, who was hired by Richard Bernstein in 2001, climbed the ranks to management over her nearly two decades at Bank of America.In addition to a desire to prove that a woman could be successful in finance, Subramanian said the way she's wired has been another driver behind her career's trajectory."It's kind of this personality trait that I have where I'm — dissatisfied sounds too negative — but I think I always want to get to the next thing," she said."Ever since I was little, when we got assigned a book, I just wanted to read it really fast and get to the next thing," she said.