Employment trends in the asset management industry continue to be heavily favour of men, especially when it comes to investment-related roles, the Asset Management Research Institute has said.
“The number of women who went into investment roles is less than half that of men. A total of 18 men were appointed as portfolio managers [in 2023] compared to only three women. There were 19 male investment analysts compared to nine females,” said Muitheri Wahome of the Asset Management Research Institute.
“Women’s ability to progress to investment leadership roles depends on the talent pipeline. An 80/20 male-female split of CFA (chartered financial analyst) charter holders suggests that the industry still has a long way to go to achieve gender parity.
“Indeed, a 2023 study titled ‘Diversity in Asset Management commissioned by the Eskom Pension Fund’ found a small number of women in the top investment decision-making ranks, concluding that if the industry is looking to attract women, it will have to do things differently.”
Wahome is quoted in the 2024 Alexforbes Manager Watch Survey.
Data shows that men involved in investment decision-making — chief investment officers (CIOs) or equivalents, research analysts and portfolio managers — outnumber women three to one.
Managers in the industry have often decried the lack of a diverse talent pool, which makes it difficult to hire female investment professionals. This has a direct correlation to the low proportion of female CFA charter holders and candidates.
The CFA designation is considered the apex for professional development in investment management and highly valued by employers for roles in the finance industry, including portfolio management, analysis, private wealth and consulting.
The underrepresentation of women in the asset management industry is not only a SA issue, but a global one.
Goldman Sachs has found that women’s representation in the industry lags the rest of financial services, arguing that the gender gap in asset management is a result of decades of structural and cultural issues.
‘War for talent
Wahome also touched on the broader talent challenges facing the asset management industry in SA. She said the industry was struggling to attract and retain talented personnel due to a “war for talent” in the financial services industry.
“Talent also ebbs and flows as professionals fall out, emigrate and veterans retire. The industry must mint fresh talent to meet the demand for new and exciting roles in the age of artificial intelligence,” Wahome said.
“Talent shortages are felt everywhere, particularly when looking for the diverse, hands-on market experience of senior operations managers, data architects, data analysis, fixed-income portfolio and distribution professionals (client-facing, sales support, marketing and communications).”
Momentum Metropolitan Holdings (MMH), one of SA’s largest financial services conglomerates, in 2023 flagged a lack of critical skills in the industry, partly due to emigration, as one of the risks facing the group and one that has necessitated a “war for talent” in the sector.
The company stated in its latest annual report that it was engaged in a war for talent, particularly attracting and retaining actuaries, IT and technical skills.
Asset manager Coronation in its 2023 annual report said that in a competitive industry the long-term retention of world-class talent was critical to the success of its business.
“For SA firms, retention has become a key challenge in an already scarce skills industry, as we see escalating levels of emigration ... but it is not only push factors at play. The brain drain is being exacerbated by offshore firms headhunting SA talent and offering attractive remuneration,” Coronation said.
According to the 2022 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, SA had an overall ranking of 77 out of 133 countries.
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