IA launches new campaign to promote diversity in the investment industry

Thursday 28th June 2018

The Investment Association (IA), the trade body that represents UK investment managers, has today expanded its Investment20/20 programme to promote a more diverse pool of talent into the investment industry, and has launched a video challenging stereotypes of the industry’s workforce.

The IA, which recently merged with Investment20/20 to help drive greater diversity in the industry, expands Investment20/20’s membership model launching the ‘Supporting the Next Generation’ package. This is targeted at firms who work closely with the investment industry, from legal, accounting, consulting to fintech, to demonstrate their support of the work of Investment20/20 by displaying an Investment20/20 kitemark. The package complements the existing Investment20/20 flagship one-year trainee programme targeted at investment managers.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of Investment Association, said:

“Our industry is working hard to better reflect the customers we serve and the IA is committed to promoting greater diversity at the heart of the industry. We know that firms with diverse teams and pipelines make better decisions and we are working hard to make our industry more attractive to those from different backgrounds, a goal strengthened by our merger with Investment20/20. By expanding Investment20/20’s reach to firms who partner with our industry, we will ensure we attract tomorrow’s talented workforce, from all backgrounds, to our industry. Together we can change the perception of our sector.”

2018 marks five years since Investment20/20 launched and in this short-time it has brought 1,300 trainees from different backgrounds into the investment industry, 74 per cent of whom have been permanently employed across nearly 40 asset managers.

The investment management industry is committed to driving greater diversity and today the IA launches a thought-provoking video to break down stereotypes about the people who work in the industry by showcasing its talented employees: https://bit.ly/2N7EyH5

Karis Stander, Managing Director of Investment20/20 said:

“We know that young people’s perception of the financial services sector often doesn’t match the reality. This perception has to change. Our thought-provoking and fun video released today showcases the industry’s workforce, breaks down the misconceptions and stereotypes about our industry, and we hope will raise greater awareness of the potential career opportunities in our industry.”

Full video: https://bit.ly/2N7EyH5
Video hashtag: #investinyourself

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For media enquiries:

Anisha Patel, Head of Communications: [email protected]
T +44 (0)20 7269 4635

Ben Rathe, Senior Communications Manager: [email protected]
T +44 20 7269 4655

Helen Ayres, Media Relations Manager: [email protected]
T +44 (0)20 7269 4696

About Investment20/20:
Investment20/20 promotes entry-level talent, diversity and inclusion within the investment industry.

Investment20/20 has recruited and supported over 1,300 trainees and apprentices for its nearly 40 partner firms from the investment and wealth management sector since it was founded five years ago by Andrew Formica, Joint-CEO Janus Henderson Investors and Nichola Pease, Former CEO of J O Hambro Capital Management. One sixth of Investment20/20 partners have joined in the last four months alone.

Investment20/20’s aims are to ensure an increasingly wide range of students can access the knowledge they need to make an informed decision; to make opportunities easier to find and applications more straightforward; and to engender a positive perception of the industry amongst all the students in 3,400 schools, colleges and universities with which the programme communicates. Investment20/20 will also continue to provide valuable training and networking opportunities in London and Edinburgh to new recruits into the sector.

Key statistics about Investment20/20:

• 74% of those recruited have been offered permanent roles after the programme
• 88% of trainees have come from State Schools and 48% are school leavers
• 41% are BAME and 38% are female.
• Of the graduates, 52% are the first in their family to go to university, 57% studied non-finance-related subjects (e.g. maths, economics or finance).

For more details about Investment2020 visit: https://investment2020.org.uk/

About the Investment Association:

• The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 240 members manage £6.9 trillion of assets and employ 93,500 people across the UK.
• Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for
• the economy, so everyone prospers.
• Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to:
  • Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
  • Help people achieve their financial aspirations
  • Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
  • Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital.
• The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.
• The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages 37% of all assets managed in Europe.