Where are all the women in asset management?
“We do have statistics that we are not proud of,” said a manager at one UK asset manager about gender diversity. “But we have a clear commitment to doing something about it.” That was in 2004.
Fast forward to 2016 and the CFA Institute, effective gatekeeper to the sector, noted that fewer than one in five of its charterholders were women: “The most enduring principle of sound investment management is diversification, yet it is remarkably absent from team construction across all spectrums of the investment profession.”
Or as the diversity head at a large UK asset manager said last year, when launching its latest rules for portfolio companies, “if you’re only selecting from 50 per cent of the population, how are you going to select the best people? It’s not statistically possible.”
The situation is embarrassing for the sector, in part, because of where there have been improvements. Industry sources say that the intake at junior levels is gender balanced. In its 2012 fiscal year, only 28 per cent of candidates taking the CFA were female; that has risen to 40 per cent.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Helen Thomas
