BMath’00, Math/Business
About Monali
Monali is head of Wealth Investment Solutions (WIS) within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. WIS designs and builds quantitative equity and fixed income personal portfolios and investment strategies to meet individual investment objectives including income generation, tax-advantaged, factor-based and value aligned portfolios. In addition, WIS manages the Goldman Sachs Exchange Funds and other solutions-based mutual funds and ETFs.
Monali joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 as an analyst within the Quantitative investment team and spent her entire career as a quantitative investor, ultimately building the Quantitative Equity Solutions business.
Monali was named Managing Director in 2012 and Partner in 2020.
Monali serves as a member of the Goldman Sachs Partnership Committee. She also serves on the Investment Committee at Rockefeller Brothers Fund, an organization focused on advancing social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable and peaceful world.
Monali previously served as co-head of the Goldmans Sachs Asset and Wealth Management (AWM) Inclusion and Diversity Council (IDC) and as a member of the firm-wide and America’s IDC. She was also previously co-head of the AWM Women’s network. She was featured in Crain's Notable Women In Finance (2021), Money Management Executive's Top Women in Asset Management (2020) and Investment News' Women to Watch (2020).
Monali earned a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 2000. She is a CFA charterholder.
Monali’s Perspective
As part of our series celebrating women who lead with purpose, we invited Monila to reflect on what fuels her commitment to service, how her Waterloo Math experience shaped her path and the impact she strives to create in her community and around the world.
Purpose and Motivation
When I was growing up, I couldn't picture what my career would look like. My parents immigrated to Canada with no financial stability, no safety net and no extended family. What they had was an extraordinary work ethic and a belief in their daughters. They raised my sisters and I to be ambitious and audacious and told us that in Canada, girls could be anything they wanted to be. I believed it and never questioned what I could accomplish.
Their belief drove me to pursue big goals, take risks and strive to be the best at whatever I took on. It's a mindset that still fuels me to this day; only now, it's not just about proving what's possible for myself, but about opening doors for others who are still trying to imagine what their path could look like.
How Waterloo Helped Me Discover My Career Path
The best part of my time at Waterloo was the freedom to explore, especially through the co-op program. One of the challenges I faced as an undergrad was simply not knowing what I wanted to do. There weren't many women in my class or in the field, so I didn't have a clear picture of what I could become. There's a well-known saying: "You can't be what you can't see." I think that's profoundly true, and it shapes people's ambitions in ways they don't always recognize.
Waterloo gave me the space to find my own path. I switched majors, explored different courses and tried a range of co-op placements from programming to business management to consulting. I finally landed in finance and found what I loved.
Overcoming Challenges and Creating Impact
One of my biggest challenges has been managing the demands of a high-intensity career alongside raising three amazing children, all very close in age. There's no magic formula; you simply have to fully show up for both. That means a lot of hard work, sometimes very little sleep and a whole lot of fun.
I don't believe in the concept of "work-life balance." I think of it as the work-life equation. Every day, the variables shift. Some days my kids win; some days work wins. I give my best to both and I understand that the equation is never perfectly solved. Now that my children are older, they love and respect me for my many dimensions. To me, that is the most rewarding outcome I could have hoped for.
Resilience, Grit and Championing Others
Throughout my career in quantitative finance, I've often been one of very few women in the room; sometimes the only one. Early on, that meant navigating environments where I had to work harder to be heard and to earn credibility. There were moments of discouragement, but I leaned into the work, built deep expertise and focused on delivering results that spoke for themselves. Over time I developed a resilience that any athlete will tell you is essential to winning. What I've learned is that the most important thing you can do is show up, especially in periods of adversity.
Have grit. Make progress. Push boundaries.
When I speak with people early in their careers, I often talk about the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. Frequently the two are confused, but they are fundamentally different. Mentorship is guidance. Sponsorship is an action. It means advocating for someone when they're not in the room. It means giving them a stretch assignment, creating opportunities where none existed and actively championing their promotion. I've been fortunate to have sponsors who believed in me throughout my career and I'm committed to doing the same for others coming up behind me.