Asset management: An old white boys’ club
Cracking the transformation puzzle, it would appear, requires the skills of a Sudoku grandmaster, writes Johann Barnard
Cracking the transformation puzzle, it would appear, requires the skills of a Sudoku grandmaster, writes Johann Barnard. A recent Glacier by Sanlam study revealed women representation in the asset management industry of 18%, with only 4% at fund manager level, and a pitifully low 31% nonwhite representation. Can anyone say old (white) boys’ club? Several reasons are given for this slow pace of transformation, but for those on the receiving end of the bias one factor overrides all others: attitude. "So much more needs to be done just to change the sheer numbers, and that means a lot more needs to be done to make them better homes for people," says Old Mutual Investment Group MD Khaya Gobodo. "We need to create an environment across the industry that allows people from different backgrounds, dispositions and races to call those places home so they can build their careers."
He adds that the industry tends to attract highly skilled and ambitious professionals who would be equally ...
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