UK investors aim to double female fund managers by 2026

BGF

08/03/2022 11:32

* Investors to launch gender diversity programme
    * Plan targets 20% female fund managers by 2026
    * HSBC Asset Management and Aviva Investors among backers 

    By Federica Urso
    March 8 (Reuters) - Some of Britain's biggest investors have
joined a plan to double the number of female fund managers to
20% of the total by 2026 as part of efforts to address the
under-representation of women in the industry.
    The Diversity Project, founded in 2016 by a group of leaders
in the investment and savings industry, on Tuesday said it was
launching the Future Female Fund Managers Programme on
International Women's Day to "move the dial on diversity".
    With only one in 10 portfolio managers currently women,
according to industry tracker Morningstar, the Diversity Project
wants to double the figure with the help of investors including
HSBC Asset Management  HSBA.L  and Aviva Investors  AV.L .
    Others to have already signed up to the initiative to be
launched in January 2023 include abrdn  ABDN.L , Schroders
 SDR.L , BGF  027410.KS , JO Hambro Capital Management, Fidelity
International, Newton Investment Management, Artemis and
Columbia Threadneedle.
    "Workplace culture has changed considerably for the better
over the three decades since I entered the sector as a graduate
trainee, yet women still remain woefully under-represented in
the field of fund management," said Helena Morrissey, chair of
the Diversity Project. 
    "We need a programme that is very targeted to correct that,
otherwise it just won't happen."
    The Diversity Project said the programme will offer a mix of
online and in-person training to help fresh starters and more
experienced women alike break through cultural barriers and the
challenges arising from being the only woman in the room, among
others. 
    "This programme is what the industry needs for a step change
in female fund manager numbers," said Joanna Munro, global chief
executive at HSBC Asset Management's alternatives unit.

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 (Reporting by Federica Urso
Editing by Simon Jessop and David Goodman)
 ((Gdansk.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 7696600;))