DEI data will be available for all investors free of charge through eVestment platform
ATLANTA, June 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — eVestment, a Nasdaq company and a global leader in institutional investment data and analytics, will make its asset manager diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data available for investors free of charge in an effort to improve transparency and standardization across the industry. The initiative is intended to provide an efficient and streamlined process for diversity disclosure. While the reporting is entirely voluntary, over 20% of the asset management firms on eVestment, representing 6,182 strategies, have responded to the DEI data collection program since January 2021.
Access to consistent, reliable and accurate data is critical to advance transparency in DEI. eVestment is committed to working with asset managers and asset owners to improve the data collection and discovery framework, and empower investors with DEI statistics on both firm and strategy levels.
“The investment community is on a journey in creating a more inclusive environment and ensuring that asset managers hired by pensions, foundations, family offices and endowments better reflect the diversity of asset owners and the end beneficiaries,” said Lauren Dillard, Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Intelligence, Nasdaq. “Institutional investors representing trillions of dollars in assets already leverage eVestment for data and analytics. Our mission is to build on that community to further the industry progress in diversity and inclusion.”
In January, eVestment launched the updated DEI questionnaire as part of a new industry-wide DEI data collection initiative, now dubbed the Institutional Investing Diversity Cooperative. The questionnaire offers asset managers options to highlight both qualitative and quantitative aspects of their DEI efforts.
Additionally, recognizing that asset owners seek to understand the state of diversity and inclusion across the entirety of their portfolios – both public and private markets strategies – Nasdaq is collaborating with the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) and FCLTGlobal to extend the effort to a standardized approach for making data from private fund managers available to Limited Partners, reflecting diversity of leadership and decision making at both the fund manager and the portfolio company level. As with the IIDC collaboration, this effort encompasses both the quantitative and qualitative, contextual data that illustrates how managers are advancing DEI in their own organizations.
Asset owners are demanding data beyond headline ownership stats, and the new questionnaire gives managers the ability to highlight information like hiring practices and mentor programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion in their organizations.
Key findings from current data collection initiative include:
- 55.3% of key professionals at the firms reporting DEI data are white males. The second largest group is Asian males, at 12.15% followed by white women at 9.43%. Black males only made up 1.86% of the key professionals at firms reporting data and black females made up only .59% of key professionals at reporting firms.
- 322 strategies across 48 firms report that some percentage of the decisions makers on their teams are military veterans.
- 288 firms indicate they have mentorship programs available for women and minorities and 244 firms indicate they have a pay-parity policy in place.
In developing the questionnaire, eVestment recognized that under laws in various U.S. and international jurisdictions providing diversity statistics might not be allowed. For instance, 87 firms reporting to eVestment report they cannot supply DEI data due to firm policy and 74 firms report they can’t provide data due to privacy regulations and laws in their area that impact all or some of the team. Similarly, for very small teams, providing diversity statistics could highlight personally identifying information that firms or members of firm teams might prefer to keep private. In these instances, the commentary sections become even more important.
Existing eVestment clients can access this information at no additional cost. Investors that are not eVestment clients can contact solutions@eVestment.com or visit www.evestment.com/diversity to learn how they can access it free.
Dillard will be participating on a panel discussion the topic of diversity in the investment business at the virtual 2021 CalPERS and CalSTRS Diversity Forum on June 22. For more information or to register for the free conference, please click here.
To view the entire eVestment DEI questionnaire, please click here.
About eVestment
eVestment, a Nasdaq company, provides institutional investment data, analytics and market intelligence covering public and private markets. Asset managers and general partners reach the institutional marketplace through our platform, while institutional investors and consultants rely on eVestment for manager due diligence, selection and monitoring. eVestment brings transparency and efficiency to the global institutional market, equipping managers, investors and consultants to make data-driven decisions, deploy their resources more productively and ultimately realize better outcomes.
Press Contact
Mark Scott
mscott@evestment.com
678 238 0761