Albourne Partners Ltd. and the Alternative Investment Management Association, both based in London, collaborated on the creation of a new diversity and inclusion questionnaire for alternative investment managers.
The diversity section of the questionnaire focuses on classifications of women and minority groups within a money manager's workforce, including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ-plus individuals, veterans and people with disabilities, said a joint news release from Albourne and AIMA.
The inclusion portion asks money managers to report on their equal recognition, respect and merit-based evaluation practices.
"An increasing number of investors are including D&I criteria in the evaluations of alternative investment managers and are therefore seeking greater transparency on managers' D&I metrics, policies and practices," said Tathata Lohachitkul, an Albourne partner and portfolio analyst who works on the firm's D&I initiative, in an email.
Ms. Lohachitkul added that the purpose of the D&I questionnaire is to provide managers with a "standardized format" for reporting their diversity and inclusivity measures to investors.
"There is huge interest across the industry in how to improve the representation of women and minority groups," said Adam Jacobs-Dean, managing director and AIMA's global head of markets, governance and innovation, in the joint news release.
As of now, the D&I survey covers racial and ethnic minorities in only Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., the joint release said, although managers in other geographic areas are encouraged to respond to relevant questions.
The questionnaire is available on AIMA's website for use by its money manager and institutional investor members and on Albourne's money manager portal. Registration is required on both websites.