Discover how to transform your relationship with money from a source of stress and shame into a tool for empowerment and choice. Anne Lester, a former Managing Director and Head of Retirement Solutions at JP Morgan, opens up about her own journey from being maxed out on credit cards to designing and launching target date funds, a process that revealed she wasn't "uniquely terrible" at managing money. This episode offers practical, non-judgmental advice—rooted in behavioral economics—on setting up guardrails for a secure financial future, the single most important habit for young professionals, and why being a little uncomfortable is a powerful lesson in resilience. Tune in to uncover how to align your financial actions with your goals and start living your best financial life.
Bio: Princeton New Jersey-based Anne Lester, portfolio manager and Head of Retirement Solutions for J.P. Morgan Asset Management Solutions group, retired in 2020. She is now on a mission to help Americans, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, achieve a happy retirement—on their time and target.
Anne is a regular commentator on an array of retirement issues. Media coverage includes Bloomberg TV, Barron’s, CNBC, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Policy work includes testifying for the U.S. Department of Labor and Securities and Exchange Commission.
A top-rated speaker and emcee, Anne addresses professional audiences (such as hundreds of J.P. Morgan clients, P&I, AARP, NAPA, and Wharton) as well as consumer audiences (such as employees of corporations).
Anne’s book, Your Best Financial Life, helps younger savers find long-term financial success by overcoming their behavioral biases, was published by HarperCollins in March 2024. She received the Axiom Gold Medal for best business book, personal finance, retirement planning, and investing. Her book also was named a Best Future Planning Book category winner in the 2024 the Skimm Good For You Awards.
Anne, who joined J.P. Morgan in 1992, worked as a fixed income and currency trader and portfolio manager in the Milan office prior to her move to the Solutions group in 2000. She spent over a decade managing Public, Private, and Multi-Employer Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution plan assets. She then focused exclusively on Defined Contribution research, product development, and management.
While at J.P. Morgan, Anne advanced the firm’s market-leading retirement investment product offerings and thought leadership agenda by developing new investment products and using behavioral economics to integrate anonymized data and reveal fresh insights. Anne holds three patents for the development of innovative financial services products and analytics. Under her leadership, J.P. Morgan partnered with AARP to found the Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings—which continues to bring together industry, advocacy, academic and government leaders' innovations that help build a private savings system in the U.S. that delivers retirement security for all.
Before beginning her career in finance, she worked as a staff assistant for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee with John Glenn, Chairman. She then spent a year in Tokyo as a Fulbright Scholar working for a member of the Japanese Parliament. Anne earned an M.A. in international economics and Japan studies from Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies. She received a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University. In 2020, Anne was recognized for her extraordinary lifetime contributions to Americans’ economic security with the prestigious Ray Lillywhite Award.
Anne is an Education Fellow for Alliance for Lifetime Income, a Non-Executive Director of the investment management company Partners Group, and Non-Executive Director of the financial advisory company Human Interest Advisors. A longtime violist, Anne volunteered on the board of Capital Harmony Works, an El Sistema-inspired after-school program in Trenton, NJ. She is married to a Baby Boomer. Anne and her husband have two children—a Gen Z-er and a Millennial—who are both actively working to become more retirement-ready.
Something Extra: "I guess when I look at successful leaders, most of them are pretty deeply human, humble and empathetic. And I think it's the human that I think makes this successful leader."
Guest Links:
