Investment firms are collecting data against a wider set of demographics than ever before, while there is an increased willingness from employees to share personal information in an indicator of growing trust, the second annual Culture, Talent and Inclusion report has found.
Published by the Investment Association (IA) and WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute, the report found over 60% of respondents collected data across six of eight characteristics, including age, caring responsibilities, disability status, ethnicity, gender, neurodiversity, sexual orientation and socio-economic background. Age (97%), gender (100%), and ethnicity (92%) had the highest response rates, and an increasing number of firms are now also collecting data on disability (71%), sexual orientation (71%) and socio-economic background (55%).
Non-disclosure rates across all attributes declined year-on-year, with gender and sexual orientation seeing the largest decreases, at 7% and 5% respectively. According to the report, this indicates growing employee trust in firms’ data collection processes.
The report also overwhelmingly identified the desire to foster a positive and inclusive culture as the primary motivation for data collection (92%), while tracking against internally set diversity targets (66%) and compliance with current or future regulations (61%) were also cited as reasons.
The survey of respondents represented 81% of those directly employed by the investment management industry in the UK and is designed to help build a more robust picture of the investment management workforce.
“People are at the heart of our industry’s success, and we benefit from harnessing the collective strength that comes from nurturing talent across all sectors of society. The latest Culture, Talent, and Inclusion Demographic Data Report provides valuable insights into our workforce composition, highlighting the benefits of embedding robust data collection and analysis and enabling us to pinpoint areas for change, shaping more effective EDI strategies,” Karis Stander, director of culture, talent and inclusion at the Investment Association, said.
“Year-on-year, we see encouraging progress, with more firms broadening their efforts to collect demographic data and growing trust reflected in employees’ increased willingness to share their personal information. Achieving meaningful and sustainable change will take time and requires perseverance, commitment and a unified effort across the industry.”
Demographic make-up
In terms of the demographic make-up of the industry, this year’s figures show the workforce is relatively young, a feature consistent with last year’s data, with just over a third (34%) under 35.
Additionally, 41% of investment management employees are female, a two-percentage-point increase since 2022. However, female representation in the 50-64 age bracket declined, leading to a wider gap between men and women in this age group. This gap begins to widen from age 35 upwards.
The industry makeup stands at 62% white employees, 10% Asian, 3% black and 2% from a mixed ethnicity background. Some 70% of executive leaders hired in 2023 were White/White British compared with 80% in 2022. Notably, the proportion of individuals hired with mixed/multiple ethnicities rose to 13%.
Accountability for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategies starts at the top of firms, with 66% of respondents identifying CEOs and executive leadership as accountable, followed by board directors (21%). Less than a third (29%) of all firms leave the implementation of an EDI strategy to their EDI teams, reflecting what the report described as “a shared responsibility and a strong commitment and buy-in at the highest levels”.
Marisa Hall, head of the Thinking Ahead Institute, added: “Last year’s intent to assess the pulse of equity, diversity and inclusion progress across the industry is yielding its first fruits. Tangible improvements in data collection and response rates, and the consolidation of year-on-year trends from the second consecutive year of research reflect continued efforts in this space. EDI is one of those soft factors increasingly influencing organisational success and investment performance. These insights have the potential to uncover hidden drivers and patterns, looking toward the future at the organisations of tomorrow.”
