Tinder-style mentoring aims to fix investment talent crunch

Amid concerns about shrinking investment talent pipeline, investment focussed education business, Future IM/Pact has rolled out a tinder-style mentoring platform to connect investment professionals with emerging talent.

The platform, Career Connect, launched in October, aims to widen that pipeline by breaking into an industry still defined by personal networks and narrow graduate intakes that critics say shut out capable candidates.

Founder Yolanda Beattie said it has already started reshaping the way the investment sector identifies and engages with early-career professionals.

“Career Connect is designed for one-off 45-minute conversations as a low-commitment, high-impact option for busy professionals. But when the connection clicks, many pairs choose to keep going. That’s the beauty of the platform: no pressure, just mentoring on your terms,” Beattie said.

“Mentoring is one of the most powerful ways to accelerate careers, but traditional programs can be time-consuming and hard to access. Career Connect removes those barriers, making it easy for professionals to share insights and for emerging talent to learn from the best,” she added.

Since launching, Career Connect has facilitated more than 45 virtual conversations, with participants giving an average satisfaction rating of 3.9 out of 4. The platform has also announced the expansion plan to include programs for professionals already in the industry and broaden beyond investment-decision roles to cover all functional areas across the sector in the first quarter of 2026.

Students said the platform provides rare insight into roles often uncertain from the outside.

UNSW commerce student Josephine Bong, who matched with Christy Kwong, Senior Associate at Evans & Partners, said the conversation opened her eyes to career opportunities in private wealth.

“Christy’s insights gave me a much clearer picture of what an investing career within private wealth actually involves, and I’m excited to learn more about this career pathway,” Bong said.

Similarly, Macquarie University commerce student Ahnie Bui, who connected with Jennifer Odjugo, an Equity Analyst at Schroders, described the conversation as highly valuable.

“Her explanation of buy-side and sell-side made the industry feel less intimidating, and her feedback on my CV was incredibly practical. I now feel more inspired and prepared to pursue an investing career,” Bui said.