Title: Head of Municipal Credit Research
Firm: Whitehaven Asset Management
Age: 34
Recognized by her peers as a thought leader who has already left profound impacts on the municipal market, Jamie Brooke Forseth, 34, is creating upward momentum as the head of municipal credit research at Whitehaven Asset Management LP.
She cut her credit chops on bankruptcies such as Jefferson County, Detroit, and Puerto Rico, which she said helps how she approaches current and future credit research.
The challenge of sinking her teeth into and analyzing new bonds every day keeps her enticed and engaged, she said.
Her initial interest in the financial industry was sparked after an early stint in public diplomacy as the personal chief of staff to the U.S. Ambassador to Finland, as well as a tour of Goldman Sachs.
“It was like no environment I had ever before encountered,” she said. “The energy was palpable and the floor was abuzz with activity.” Jamie served as chief credit strategist on its municipal trading desk for four years before arriving at Whitehaven in 2016.
Jamie holds four bachelor’s degrees from Arizona State University in political science, integrated Polish studies, English literature and violin performance, as well as a master’s in political theory. She also earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
She often plays Bach and Brahms to relax after a long day; and speaks fluent Polish after living in Krakow and Poznan as a National Security Education Program Scholar.
Though Jamie thrives on Wall Street, she could just as easily trade her laptop for a tractor, since she grew up wanting to be a farmer like her grandfather.
“New York City may be the furthest I can be from Midwestern farmland, but one day I may find my way back to a farm,” she said.
In the meantime, she said her current position never ceases to challenge her.
“I feel extremely fortunate to have found a role where I can leverage a research expertise, work in an asset class that has a direct and profound impact on people’s lives as we help finance essentials like utilities and roads; and sit side-by-side with thoughtful, hard-working colleagues who inspire me to excel each day,” she said.
