CFA Societies Australia, member societies of CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, wants financial services to lead Australian business as advocates and practitioners of diversity and inclusion, with an initial focus on gender equality.
Mr Anthony Serhan, CFA, President CFA Society Sydney and Managing Director, Research Strategy, Asia- Pacific at Morningstar, said effective diversity practice was one of the hallmarks of a mature industry.
“The world is a diverse place and the principles by which a society’s belief system and practices are based must reflect this fact,” Mr Serhan said. “This isn’t just from a moral perspective; there are genuine reasons why diverse societies function not only more harmoniously but also deliver improved concrete outcomes at all levels and constituencies. The principles and outcomes as applied to industry are no different and, as the stewards of community wealth, we want our industry to show leadership in this area.”
As a first step, CFA will initially focus on gender diversity with CFA Institute completing the largest survey of investment management professionals on gender diversity to date.
The ‘Gender Diversity in Investment Management’ Survey (Survey) found that, compared with their male counterparts, the top female investment professionals globally only hold 9.8 per cent of Chief Executive Officer roles, 10.2 per cent of Chief Investment Officer roles, 11 per cent of Chief Financial Officer roles, 14.9 per cent of portfolio managers, 15.1 per cent of investment consultants and 17.3 per cent of personal financial advisors or planners. Women were found to be also more likely than men to have jobs that support or service those in investment management: 22 per cent for women versus 16 per cent for men.
“As the industry’s only global standard setter in ethics and best practices, we are asking our members and industry partners to join us in addressing the chronic issue of gender disparity in the investment management industry,” Mr Serhan said. “CFA is also under-represented in terms of female members so we absolutely include ourselves in this endeavor.”
Gender Diversity Increasing in Importance for Investment Managers and Their Clients
While portfolio performance is often seen as the ultimate criteria in investment management, the research indicated a growing number of investment management professionals and investors – both individual and institutional – were placing increasing importance on gender diversity.
The study found 54 per cent of individual investors expected better investment performance from or would prefer to work with a team of gender diverse investment professionals. A total of 55 per cent of institutional investors held the same view.
While these numbers were encouraging, almost half of the survey respondents didn’t believe gender diversity was a significant issue in investment management. This was believed to be one of the likeliest reasons why women were so underrepresented at every level of the financial profession.
The survey noted while women continue to be under-represented at every level and in every function of investment management, this disparity could be addressed by focusing on three key areas:
– Providing women with early exposure to the investment industry in their college years and early career
– Emphasizing to all investors the positive impact gender diversity can have on investment performance
– Working to bridge the work-life balance gap that disproportionately affects women
CFA will continue to advocate for diversity, and specifically gender diversity, with a series of initiatives as part of its Future of Finance program.
