BCI, Caisse, Ontario Teachers’ to implement steps promoting diversity and inclusion
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan are among 42 global firms acting to implement ideas to increase diversity and inclusion in investment management.
This commitment to action is part of the CFA Institute’s Experimental Partners Program, which was inspired by a guide that includes 20 ideas generated by roundtables with industry experts. Each firm will focus on three ideas from the guide and create action plans to implement them in the next 18 to 24 months. The ideas selected most commonly relate to finding better ways to understand and manage biases in hiring and advancement.
Read: How institutional investors are turning the gender diversity dial on corporate boards
“Incorporating diverse perspectives into investment decision-making improves investor outcomes and encourages our industry to embrace different viewpoints,” said Margaret Franklin, president and chief executive officer of the CFA Institute, in a press release. “We are pleased that so many firms have joined us on this journey to take decisive steps to strengthen our industry.”
The participating firms will provide confidential quarterly updates to the CFA Institute on their progress. At the end of the program period, the information collected will be used to update the original report’s findings, describe success stories and outline challenges for others in the investment industry to learn from.
Read: Building a diverse workforce a major challenge in the investment industry
“The CFA Institute Experimental Partners Program will be seen as one of the best-in-class tools for firms to move ‘beyond talk’ and put diversity and inclusion ideas into action,” said Chris Ailman, chief investment officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and a member of the CFA Institute’s diversity and inclusion steering committee.
This article originally appeared on Benefits Canada‘s companion publication, the Canadian Investment Review.