Asset owners requesting more information about managers' various diversity efforts

As asset owners grapple with ESG considerations, they're also weighing diversity among their managers and how that affects performance, an institutional consultant said.

"Our research into diversity has shown that investment teams with greater diversity have outperformed those that are less diverse over time," said Nimisha Srivastava, the Charlotte, N.C.-based North America head of investments at Willis Towers Watson PLC, which advises on $4.7 trillion in worldwide institutional assets, according to P&I data.

"We work with clients to measure the diversity in their manager portfolios, then helping them manage this over time. This could be measuring progress, achieving target objectives, identifying new additions or engaging with existing managers to evolve."

With respect to diversity, Stephen P. McCourt, San Diego-based managing principal and co-CEO at Meketa Investment Group, said that many of his clients are "interested in the diversity of their vendor's staff, and the DEI policies and practices their vendors implement."

Meketa, he added, "surveys the asset manager marketplace annually to collect information on diversity and related practices and provide our clients with this information." Meketa advised on $2.8 trillion in worldwide institutional assets as of June 30.

In fact, Wilshire Advisors just released a report showing that the total number of mandates awarded to diverse-owned firms doubled to 21% in 2021 from 10% in 2018, while the inclusion rate of diverse-owned firms in manager searches increased in 2021 to 56% of all searches after remaining stable at just under one-half of all searches from 2018-2020.

"We believe that diversity in all its forms leads to better business outcomes, and we're committed to diversity, equity and inclusion both in our workplace and in the asset manager searches we conduct for our clients," said Jason Schwarz, president of Wilshire, in a Nov. 2 news release.

Wilshire's report also showed that from 2018-2021, the percentage of Wilshire clients investing with diverse-owned firms grew to 39% from 20%.

Added Joanna Bewick, senior vice president and portfolio manager at Wilshire: "Broadening the investment manager opportunity set is not only beneficial in principle, but diversity also maximizes the talent pool and increases the likelihood of capitalizing on investment opportunities in an increasingly global and diverse world. The investment consulting industry has a duty to improve equity and inclusion for diverse managers."

Wilshire advised on $1.05 trillion in worldwide institutional assets as of June 30.