History

Founded in 2006, The Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM) is a national 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the field of investment management. Challenged with a lack of diverse executive leadership, AAAIM supports those trying to grow their careers by providing a forum for professionals in the industry to meet, network and create business opportunities.

The efforts of Ginger Lew and Maeley Tom made a call to action that defied stereotypes of Asian American women and resulted in the founding of AAAIM. Ginger recalls, “The exclusion of AAPIs was, and still is, the driving factor. Some of it is overt exclusion based on ignorance, and some of it is an oversight. We wanted to combat prejudice and to educate the industry. We sought to support AAPI fund managers start their own fund and move into C suite. Twenty years ago, there were even fewer women than now. Gender equality in investment is still not achieved, so our work is not done.” Maeley was Chair of the Asian Pacific Caucus at the time, and knew Ginger through policy work, so she reached out to her to co-host a workshop for AAPIs in the industry to meet with institutional investors and learn how to access funds. They had three times as many guests as anticipated. There was a hunger from AAPIs that had clearly been overlooked for far too long. This event gave them their first roster of AAPI institutional investors. “My background was not in finance,” states Maeley, “my expertise was in legislative work, but my passion for AAPI advocacy was my motivation. AAPI success rate in small business was great at the time, but there was no representation of us in portfolio management. Something needed to change.”

Both Ginger and Maeley attribute Clayton Jue for assisting them in leading the charge for the creation of AAAIM by leveraging his existing industry credibility, generously donating office resources, and his fundraising skills. Founding board members Brenda Chia, Bennett Kim and Gordon Liao also remain active and dedicated to carrying forward AAAIM’s mission, over a decade after its inception.

Ginger Lew

Ginger Lew

Co-Founder | Co-Founder, Cube Hydro Partners | CEO, Three Oaks Investments, LLC

Maeley L. Tom

Maeley L. Tom

AAAIM Co-Founder | Board Chair Emeritus