Features/Profiles
There are currently 25 women and/or minority executives at the top 100 U.S. defined benefit pension plans, versus 38 at the top 100 U.S. nonprofits, up from 23 and 36, respectively, in 2019, according to data compiled by Emerging Manager Monthly. Progress, however small, is still progress, but there is value in digging deeper into the reasons why incremental change remains the status quo as well as the ways we can further bridge the gap to achieve true equity.
From taking part in an SEO program that led to his first job on Wall Street to finding traction for his fledgling private equity firm through emerging manager programs, “when I think about the success I have had in my career, there is an element of ‘a little bit of help’,” Siris Co-Founder Frank Baker says.
This feature initially ran in EMM sister publication Nonprofit News on May 21.
The equity markets—both public and private—have garnered the majority of the investment world’s headlines through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, leaving fixed-income managers to serve as a key relief valve for investors seeking liquidity.
The COVID-19 virus has resulted in the complete upheaval of day-to-day life in the U.S. and forced businesses across the country to shift to running with an entirely virtual workforce. In the asset management space, that shift has coincided with a dramatic downturn in the markets that saw March post the worst returns for stocks since 2008.
CalPERS, Progress Decisions Create Questions Heading Into 2020
The emerging manager-of-managers space has seen a significant shakeup in the past three months with the elimination of roughly $3 billion in assets from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Attucks Asset Management’s acquisition of Capital Prospects and the decision by Progress Investment Management Company to close this year.
The loss of roughly $3 billion in assets dedicated to active equity emerging managers is going to sting even those managers not directly impacted by the decision.
Investment management firms considering launching non-U.S. equity strategies need to evaluate their own capabilities and resources and how they relate to an investor’s wants in the asset class, according to both asset allocators and investment managers in the space.
This month we present our second annual feature looking at minority and women cios among the largest public pension plans and nonprofits.