Women still underrepresented in Fund Management finds Citywire

By: WE Staff | Friday, 22 September 2023

According to recent data, the asset management sector has not made any significant strides towards gender parity in the past year, and the gender ratio is still highly skewed internationally.

The annual Alpha Female Report from financial publishing and information company Citywire states that there are now only 12.1 per cent more female portfolio managers than there were in 2022. The Female portfolio managers have increased by less than two per cent since 2016. In contrast, there are only 7 per cent of female portfolio managers in India at the moment.

Only 6.2 per cent of the new funds that were launched in the previous 12 months had a female manager whereas the total number of new funds launched also decreased by 50 per cent.

In the last 12 months, only 274 new funds were launched, deteriorated from 562 in the previous 12 months, mentions the Citywire's database. Globally, there are now 1,490 funds with female managers whereas previously it was 1,508. When the average size of portfolios managed by men and women has been compared, the disparity shows men make twice as much money as women do on average.

Among the 24 countries surveyed that have more than 100 managers running funds, India ranks at the 19th position in terms of the proportion of female managers. Only 8 per cent of the funds are managed in India that have at least one female manager on their staff. A female employee working alone or with another female is in charge of a pitiful 1 per cent of the funds.