More UK funds run by men called Dave than women
There are more funds run by men called Dave than there are female managers in the industry, according to Morningstar analysis.
There are 68 UK funds run by men called Dave or David and just 45 women, equivalent to just 7.7 per cent of UK-domiciled funds in Morningstar’s sample.
Additionally of the £475m in managed assets in total women managed just £44bn, around 9.3 per cent of the total. By comparison men called Dave manage £27.6bn in the UK.
It marks little progress from Morningstar’s last analysis which showed just 7.2 per cent of UK-domiciled funds were managed by women.
“7.7 per cent is simply not good enough is it? Fund management is a brilliant job, full stop, and it’s a brilliant job for women because it requires emotional intelligence, attention to detail, common sense and care,” Alexander Jackson, manager of the Rathbone UK Opportunities fund.
In Europe the picture is not much different. While Dave may not be as common a name male managers outnumber women across the board. In Italy of the 646 funds sampled, there are just 23 female managers while there are 39 funds run by men called Andrea.
“Gender equality is by no means a new topic and over the years we have seen many initiatives to level the playing field. But as a group, women remain woefully underrepresented in the field of fund management,” Ruli Viljoen, head of manager selection at Morningstar.
The pandemic has changed working habits so much that it could level the playing field for women in the industry, Morningstar predicts.
“If there is one change that might emerge from this pandemic it’s the potential for society to embrace more flexible work practices, which may help improve workplace diversity and potentially we will all be winners as a result,” Viljoen added.