Research carried out by Redington has found that less than half (47 per cent) of asset managers assess gender diversity when researching potential investments – despite recognising its importance within their own firms.
Investment managers are calling for greater transparency on ethnic diversity on boards as almost three-quarters of FTSE 100 companies failed to report the ethnic make-up of their boards at their AGMs.
A mentoring programme has been launched to address the “striking absence” of senior Black professionals at all levels in investment management, by bringing together experienced Black managers with chief executives and chief investment officers from across the industry.
The asset management industry has reached a critical period for nurturing gender diversity, industry experts have advised, as investment firms choose how they will adapt to new challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Many of the UK’s largest fund managers are backing an initiative to offer paid internships to Black university students next year, as the investment industry grapples with a chronic lack of racial diversity among its employees.
A rash of financial institutions have recently made headlines with grand donations and initiatives to improve diversity within their firms, in response to the protests over the killing of George Floyd that gripped cities across the US and beyond.
Direct indexing firm C8 Technologies has made the LGBTQ100 ESG Index tradable for investors around the world, by collaborating with LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings through its wholly-owned business unit, Advancing Equality Preference.
Investment consultant Redington is working with nine other leading financial services firms (all members of the Diversity Project) to help connect businesses directly with students to tackle the underrepresentation of black talent in the industry.
Sterling Trading Tech, a provider of compliance, risk and infrastructure solutions for equity, options and futures trading, is committing resources to support a non-profit urban youth financial education, training and mentoring organisation, Wall Street Bound.
Asset managers, including Fidelity International, Aviva Investors, and Invesco, have outlined their initiatives to close the gender pay gap, as scrutiny returns to the male-dominated financial services industry.