Female fund managers in focus on IWD 2021

interactive investor highlights female managers in our Super 60 and ACE 40 rated lists.

Just two years ago, Morningstar researchers found that there were more fund managers called Dave than funds run by women*.

Today, on International Women’s Day, interactive investor is drawing attention to the women running funds/investment trusts on our Super 60 and ACE 40 rated lists (the latter of ethical investments).

At a time when female fund managers remain woefully under-represented across the whole industry, it is noteworthy that ethical funds seem more likely to be led by women compared to the wider fund management industry.

Female managed funds make up almost a quarter (24%) of the ACE 40 list (10 out of 41), with the likes of Baillie Gifford Positive Change, run by Kate Fox alongside Lee Qian, BMO Responsible UK Incomefund, co-managed by Catherine Stanley (alongside Patrick Newens), and Rathbone Ethical Bond fund (also on Super 60) with Noelle Cazalis as deputy manager, making the cut (Bryn Jones is lead manager).

Baillie Gifford Positive Change Fund has proven particularly popular among interactive investor customers – it was the fourth bestselling fund on interactive investor in 2020.

Among the 11 of the 65 funds (17%) female-led portfolios on the Super 60 rated list areTB Amati UK Smaller Companies fund which is co-managed by Anna Macdonald (withDr Paul Jourdan and David Stevenson), M&G Emerging Markets Bondfund led by Claudia Calich (with Charles de Quinsonas as deputy) and ASI Global Smaller Companies fund run by Kirsty Desson (alongside Harry Nimmo).

Rebecca O’Connor, Head of Pensions and Savings, interactive investor, says: “One of the challenges for young women coming into the industry in the past was the lack of visibility of women in the top roles. Thankfully, women have come to the fore in senior roles in recent history and have become fantastic role models to the next generation.

“However, women are still vastly under-represented at the front-line management level in the investments industry – and this is also reflected in our own rated lists, with 24% of women at the helm of our ACE 40 rated list, and 17% of our Super 60 rated list.

“The rise of ethical investing offers a doorway for more women to enter the investment world – whether that’s working in it or choosing where to invest their pension. Research suggests that women investors are more interested in ethical investing than men. The stories behind investments and their impact on people and the world give women a more meaningful way to relate to investing than risk and return trade-offs. Anything that encourages women to see investment as something that is for them – and by them – should be celebrated. These statistics shows there is a long way to go.”

List of women involved in management of Super 60 and ACE 40 investments

Super 60

Ace 40

Notes to editors * In November 2019, looking at a dataset of 1,496 UK-listed funds, Morningstar found that 7.2% were overseen by a man named David or Dave, compared with 7.01% run by women. Source: https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/197122/more-funds-run-by-daves-than-women.aspx