Four in ten (42%) asset managers made a voting decision based on the gender diversity of a company in 2018, according to a study from the Investment Association (IA), the trade body for UK fund managers.
The IA’s latest Stewardship Survey also found that more than half (56%) of asset managers actively engaged with UK companies on the issue of gender diversity.
The findings were based on a survey of 59 members of the Investment Association, who manage more that £5.6 trillion of assets in the UK.
IA chief executive Chris Cummings said: “Investors clearly want to see more women in the boardroom and senior management positions, and our study shows that companies who are lagging behind on gender diversity should expect investors to take action if they do not see enough progress.
The survey also found that:
• 80% of asset managers believe that engagement leads to better investment decisions.
• Asset managers are engaging regularly with companies they invest it: there were more than 7,000 individual engagements with UK companies, with each individual asset manager averaging 158 engagements.
• The stewardship process is “significantly” integrated into the investment process with nine out of ten asset managers using in-house resources to engage with companies.
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