Over the last 12 months, we have seen a significant surge in demand for diverse investment management talent as the shift in industry and societal winds has turned attention to the importance of inclusivity for both corporate culture as well as performance. At Jamesbeck, we are helping some of the highest performing and prestigious firms address their talent needs and find executives that bring more varied skill sets, combining outside perspectives with strong academic and professional pedigrees.
Through the first eight months of 2018, we are seeing considerable momentum in this trend as nearly 2/3 of our placements were either female and/or diverse – more than a 132 percent increase from 2017. Diverse talent placements have increased by 25 percent since last year, while female placements have seen an increase of 30 percent in the same period.
In a tight labor market, we are seeing qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds command a premium in the market, given the strong demand for top-quality talent that fits a firm’s culture and growth strategy. In April 2018, our partners Beth Rustin and Kirsty McAlpine wrote an op-ed on the gender pay gap in Pensions & Investments, citing data from Morningstar that having one or more women on a new fund’s management team improved the odds that it would attract enough assets to be successful, and that mixed-gender teams performed better than women-run or men-run funds. Similarly, research from McKinsey showed that the most racially/ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to have financial returns above industry medians.
With our skilled and highly experienced team at Jamesbeck, including our new executive leadership coach Megan Staczek, we’re seeing how this significant increase in diversity can effect positive change across investment firms. For more information, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!