LeRoy’s passion was lit by her own trailblazing grandmother, who was one of Canada’s first female stockbrokers. She used to give LeRoy, her siblings, and their cousins, shares as birthday gifts.
“She was smart. She gave me some Irwin Toy shares, so I’d be more likely to be engaged. But, she wanted us to know that we had to be responsible as owners, and we had to attend the annual general meetings and exercise our right to vote. That meant I had to learn a little bit about what I owned. So, the idea that money is power and with power comes responsibility was ingrained a very long time ago when I was probably in the single digit-age as a child,” said LeRoy. She still remembers her first Irwin annual meeting because there were product samples in the toy room. “I remember that more than anything else, but I do remember I had to vote.”
While her grandmother taught her that privilege and power come with responsibility, stewardship became increasingly important over the years. LeRoy’s family has also always been involved in community service and global and local social justice issues. She said she’s been interested in responsible investing for at least 20 of her 30 years as a financial advisor.
“The landscape has really shifted so enormously over that timeframe, particularly in recent years,” she said. “So, it’s been a journey in terms of how I introduced, thought of, and used responsible investing over the years. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m all in, as are my clients, but it didn’t start that way. It was gradual.”
She began, much as her grandmother did, by introducing responsible investing to her youngest clients, as well as parents or grandparents. They’d look at how responsibly invest registered education savings plans (RESPS) and introduce the conversations about money to their children. She starts with children of 10 to 12 – older than she was – when the message can be ingrained.
