More than a dozen institutional investment consulting firms have formed the Institutional Investing Diversity Cooperative to increase data and transparency around diversity in the asset management industry, the group said Tuesday.
Members of the IIDC advise on a collective $4 trillion of assets held by clients in retirement plans, employee health funds, endowments, foundations and other funds. Founding members include investment consultant and OCIO provider Verus along with Angeles Investment Advisors, Aon, Canterbury Consulting, Ellwood Associates, LCG Associates, Marquette Associates, Meketa Investment Group, Milliman, NEPC, SageView Advisory Group, Segal Marco Advisors and SEI.
The group also expects several plan sponsors to join in the near future.
The members said in a joint statement that they will push for better transparency around diversity within investment teams at the product level, along with more robust data and a broader definition of diversity.
Verus President Shelly Heier said in the statement that consultants appreciate the challenges of collecting data on diversity and disclosing it, and IIDC members will take a collaborative approach with managers. "By recognizing the need for better data on diversity all around, we're off to a good start," Ms. Heier said.
The group also unveiled a data questionnaire developed by eVestment to gather diversity data from asset management firms. Erika Spence, global head of data strategy for eVestment, an institutional data and analytics firm, said in the statement there is a continuous interest in how managers think about diversity and inclusion, including policy and its implementation. The questionnaire will help managers articulate what their firms are doing to nurture a diverse talent pool, Ms. Spence said.
