26
Oct
2018

Investment20/20 expands to universities in push for diverse talent

Friday 26 October 2018

Investment20/20, part of the Investment Association (IA), the trade body that represents asset managers, has expanded its university careers fairs and outreach programme, to more than 20 universities nationwide to attract talent from diverse backgrounds to the industry.

Investment20/20 aims to attract young people from all walks of life into the investment management industry and has previously focused on school-leavers. Following a successful one-year pilot scheme, targeting universities with students from more deprived households and a higher percentage of BAME (black and minority ethnic) students, Investment20/20 is amplifying the industry’s call for the very best students, regardless of their background.

Investment20/20 has selected 21 universities, mostly former polytechnics, from across England, including Coventry University, University of Northampton and London Metropolitan University, whose students will be encouraged to consider a career in asset management. Many of the universities targeted are at the top of the 2019 Sunday Times Good University Guide’s social inclusion rankings, and London Metropolitan University is second, with 96.5% state school students and 37.6% black students.

Investment20/20 is now showcasing the asset management industry at more university careers fairs than ever before, to attract diverse and ambitious young people. Guest lectures and panel discussions are just some of the many methods Investment20/20 will be using to make the asset management industry more accessible and representative of the savers and investors it serves.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said:

“The expansion of Investment20/20 to new universities shows that the asset management industry is committed to improving diversity and becoming more accessible.

“I want asset management to be a career option open to everyone. As someone who grew up in a working class family in Yorkshire and was the first in my family to go to university, I know that barriers exist to a career in the City. That’s why I’m delighted that Investment20/20 continues to grow from strength to strength, building bridges to reach those furthest away from the industry.

“The evidence is clear: a diverse management team and a strong pipeline of talent makes for better decision-making. Not only is broadening Investment20/20’s horizons the right thing to do, it will also be good for firms’ bottom lines.”

Karis Stander, Managing Director of Investment20/20, said:

“The roll-out of Investment20/20’s programme to new universities will allow the asset management industry to reach young people who have too often been shut out of careers in financial services and the City of London.

“Some of the things we hear from students right across the country are: ‘I haven’t studied the right subject’; ‘firms won’t recruit from this university’’; or ‘there are no people who look like me who work in the City’. We will be working hard at our careers fairs and other university events to break-down these misconceptions of asset management and ensure that a diverse range of young people feel welcome in our industry.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editor:

The Investment20/20 university rollout will include the following institutions:

1. Anglia Ruskin University
2. Bath Spa University
3. Coventry University
4. Coventry University London
5. Goldsmiths, University of London
6. University of Greenwich
7. Kingston University London
8. London Metropolitan University
9. London South Bank University
10. Manchester Metropolitan University
11. Oxford Brookes University
12. Queen Mary University of London
13. Southampton Solent University
14. University of East London (UEL)
15. University of Hertfordshire
16. University of Leicester
17. Middlesex University London
18. University of Northampton
19. University of Salford
20. University of West London
21. University of Westminster

For further information, please contact:

Ben Rathe, Senior Communications Manager: [email protected]

T +44 20 7269 4655

David Parton, Communications Executive: [email protected]

T +44 (0)20 7269 4625

About Investment20/20:

  • Investment20/20 promotes entry-level talent, diversity and inclusion within the investment industry.
  • Investment20/20 has recruited and supported over 1,100 trainees and apprentices for its 35 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 JO Hambro. One sixth of Investment20/20 partners have joined in the last 4 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 (IA):

 

  • The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and employ around 100,000 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:
  • o Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
  • o Help people achieve their financial aspirations
  • o Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
  • o 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 35% of all assets managed in Europe.

For further information, please contact:

For media, to receive the full consultation document, please contact Helen Ayres

Helen Ayres, Communications Manager: [email protected]

T +44 (0)20 7269 4620; M +44 (0)7508 724 066

IA press office: [email protected]

About the Investment Association (IA):

  • The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and the asset management industry supports 100,000 jobs 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 35% of all assets managed in Europe.