The latest stories as they apply to environmental, social and governance-related issues in investing and wealth management behavior and strategy.

Global investment firm Cambridge Associates says that it has met its goal to double investments with “diverse managers” three years earlier than targeted.

Diverse managers are defined as firms that are a minimum of 33 per cent owned by women and people of color.

While women and people of color make up more than 10 per cent of the asset management universe, they hold less than 2 per cent of the industry’s invested assets, the firm said in a statement yesterday. In 2020, Cambridge Associates made a five-year commitment to double its 5 per cent of assets under advisement invested with diverse managers to create parity between representation and AuA. Upon meeting that goal after just two years, the firm has increased its 2025 diverse manager investment target to 15 per cent of total assets under advisement.

“While our new goal for 2025 may seem aspirational to some, we believe making progress toward systemic change requires bold action. Increasing the assets that are invested with women and people of color requires intentional decisions to re-examine all aspects of the investment process to achieve this more equitable goal,” Jasmine Richards, head of diverse manager research at Cambridge Associates, said.

Cambridge Associates said 62 per cent of its clients hold investments with diverse managers, and a recent survey of clients across the US, Europe and Asia identified social equity (including gender and race) as a top driver for impact investing capital. Increased GP data transparency also helped make achieving this investment goal possible.