Just Five Questions: Lei Bely-Cheng '14
Five questions posed to leaders in business and society.
Lei Bely-Cheng is an ex-attorney turned wealth advisor and private banker. A champion of entrepreneurship, she is an active angel investor in the NYC startup ecosystem and a community builder for women, minority, and immigrant founders. She holds an MBA from Yale SOM and an LLB in International Law from East China University of Political Science and Law.
1. What's a global trend you are following where you see an opportunity or bright spot in this challenging macro environment?
The Great Wealth Transfer is happening and women are the beneficiaries.
According to a 2020 McKinsey report, an unprecedented amount of assets will shift into the hands of U.S. women over the next three to five years, representing a $30 trillion opportunity by the end of the decade.
Further, a 2024 Global Wealth Report reports $83.5 trillion will be transferred within the next 20-25 years. $9 trillion, of this transfer, is estimated to shift horizontally between spouses. Over 10% of the total $83.5 trillion will likely be transferred to the next generation by women.
In addition to the transfer of existing wealth, the surge in female-founded unicorns is inspiring. Consider the wealth created by exceptional founders like Shuo Wang, self-made Chinese immigrant and co-founder of Deel and Aeris Cleantec; Tiffany Matterson, stay-home-mom-turned category creator with the founding of Drunk Elephant; or everyone’s favorite billionaire Taylor Swift. It’s an exceptional time to watch the impact women are having on global capital flows and wealth.
And with more women controlling wealth, it’s a great era for women to be in wealth management. Yet 15% is not enough - we need more of us. And we need more young women to embrace personal finance, investing and wealth creation.
As a female wealth advisor at the forefront of this Great Wealth Transfer and the surge in female-founded unicorns, I’m excited to witness this shift accelerate, empowering women as a group for generations to come.
2. What's an example of how SOM's mission informed your professional path?
To be a leader for business and society takes hard work, reflection and intention.
Wealth management is an extremely competitive business. Many advisors inherit a book, and some advisors build it from scratch. When I started out eleven years ago, I started from scratch. At the time, I thought I was “unlucky” and the goal felt impossible. Through sheer grit and resilience, I won my first client. Five years in, I had to move across the ocean, from Europe to the U.S., and rebuild again in a new market.
I tripled the target in half of the time given to me and realized I was so “lucky” not to inherit a book when I started. Navigating adversity requires charting your own course. It is harder in the beginning but it is more rewarding and in my experience makes you better.
Perhaps because it was so hard for me, I could relate to the journey of many of my clients who were entrepreneurs and business owners. Over the years I have grown extremely intentional about the clientele I curate and the business I build. I am particularly drawn to clients who are mission driven leaders and innovators.
My role as a “family board of director” to my clients goes well beyond traditional investing and financial planning. Engaging in a way that has enduring impact across generations has been incredibly rewarding. And giving, philanthropy, family engagement, and governance have become significant and fulfilling areas of expertise for me.
Now, ten years since I graduated from SOM, I wake up every day feeling I am bringing purpose to my work and it is truly fulfilling.
3. What's an SOM experience that helped shape the way you understand business and society?
I remember meeting Sheila Bair in DC, along with 20 other students in an elective class “Wall Street & Washington” led by Professor Stephen Roach in 2013. I recall Sheila sharing a bit of her personal story as a Mom with an adopted daughter from China, and her journey as an author who writes the Money Tales stories for children.
This experience spoke to me so much that I said to myself, one day when I become a Mom, I would buy her book for my children. Fast forward eleven years later, I read Sheila’s Money Tales to my 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. And I give them regularly to other parents.
This experience also continues to inspire me to think about the impact I can make with my brain, and also my heart, as a woman, a female advisor, and a Mom. It planted a seed that perhaps someday I can hone the next-generation of “wealth intelligence”.
4. What's a favorite SOM memory, faculty member, mentor, or class?
My then-boyfriend, now husband (and SOMer ‘13) came home one day all excited. He told me about how this new teacher came into the class holding a $20 bill and asked “Who wants 20 dollars?” He said, “she kept asking and people were stunned; some raised hands but others were just silent.” Eventually, my husband went up to her and took the $20 off her hands. Then she smiled and said, “you can keep it.” He told this story with a big grin, and then said, “now let’s go and treat ourselves to a coffee and scone at Blue State.”
I was totally amazed and said, “wow, who is this teacher?”
It was Zoe Chance.
I probably used all my credits to get to her class “Influence and Persuasion” the next year. I have stayed in touch over the years with Professor Chance and she has been nothing but insightful, innovative, and inspiring. Just a total badass in an elegant, classy, and charming way!
5. What are you excited about for the year ahead?
Turning 40 this year was a milestone for me. In Chinese culture, there's a saying: "Entering 30, you start to establish yourself; entering 40, you are no longer confused" (三十而立，四十不惑). This year, I've felt a newfound sense of purpose and clarity, partly spurred by navigating a challenging bank failure last year.
Through reflection, extensive reading, and taking bold steps such as sharing personal stories on LinkedIn and speaking on panels, I have navigated some significant challenges, by focusing on “serving others.”
I have a vision about wealth management that is around innovation, clarity, and authenticity. I have become the kind of advisor I wanted to become. Now with all the resources I have and a newly launched Lei 4.0, I am ready to scale a business that is bigger than myself.
I'm not just excited about the year ahead; I'm pumped for the next ten years and beyond.
Just Five Questions is an initiative led by the Yale SOM Alumni Advisory Board. Want to learn more? Contact Lee Race ’93 with feedback, thoughts, and/or questions.