MEET the City’s alpha females. At a fundraising award evening last week, some of London’s most successful female financiers emerged from the shadows of the male-dominated industry.

Mina Gerowin, a 58-year-old who was born in the US, was the star of the event hosted by a group called 100 Women in Hedge Funds (100WHF). As managing director of Paulson Europe, a fund reported to manage about £2 billion, she posted positive results last year when many male managers racked up losses.

Gerowin, who attended with her two sons, told guests she had become hooked on investing when as a nine-year-old she joined a share club at her school in New York.

Another success story is Leda Braga, 43, the Brazilian-born manager of the £4.4 billion Blue Trend fund. Last year Braga’s fund increased in value by 43% while most of her competitors fell 20%. Industry experts suggest this could have earned Braga a bonus in excess of £10m.

Despite her success, Braga, who has a PhD in engineering from Imperial College London, keeps a low profile, living in west London with Randal Hockey, a Canadian aerobatic pilot, and their eight-year-old son.

The event both defied and confirmed suspicions that women either cannot or will not compete in the testosterone-fuelled City. It defied the stereotype by recognising an elite group of female managers, yet confirmed it because many women attending the event worked in administrative, legal or marketing roles, rather than frontline fund management.

Women control only an estimated £7.6 billion out of £166 billion in 800 London hedge funds.

One manager at last Wednesday’s event, who asked not to be named, said: “Very few women have a character that sits well with the trading floor.

“I’ve got a skin like a rhino, extreme confidence in my own ability and I’m comfortable with confrontation. It’s pure attrition and not a lot of women are interested in having that sort of daily life.”

One friend of Braga said: “Leda can work a 15-hour day and will often turn her mind to business, even on holiday, but she has got the work-life balance right.”

Earlier this year, a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that women employed full-time in the City were often sidelined into relatively low-paid support roles, receiving on average 80% less in bonuses and 47% less in salary than men. The report was ordered by Harriet Harman, the women’s minister, to shed light on the “hidden discrimination” in the City.

Last week’s party, despite an opulent setting in the Foreign Office, was low-key compared with the raucous, overblown nights out typically enjoyed by male traders. Champagne was sipped, small portions of seared scallops and risotto nibbled and a jazz quartet played.

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