Diversification is a core principle of investing. Yet money managers
have not applied it to their own ranks. Only around 10 percent of
portfolio managers--the people most directly responsible for investing
your money--are female, and the numbers are even worse at the ownership
level. What are the causes of this underrepresentation, and what are its
consequences--including for firms' and clients' bottom lines?
In Undiversified, experienced practitioners Ellen Carr and Katrina
Dudley examine the lack of women in investment management and propose
solutions to improve the imbalance. They explore the barriers that
subtly but effectively discourage women from entering and staying in the
industry at each point in the pipeline. At the entry level, the lack of
visible role models discourages students from considering the field, and
those who do embark on an investment management career face many
obstacles to retention and promotion. Carr and Dudley highlight the
importance of informal knowledge about how to navigate career tracks,
without which women are left at a disadvantage in an industry that
lionizes confidence. They showcase a diverse constellation of successful
female portfolio managers to demystify the profession.
Drawing on wide-ranging research, interviews with prospective, current,
and former industry practitioners, and the authors' own experiences,
Undiversified makes a compelling case that increasing the number of
women could help transform active investment management at a time when
it is under threat from passive strategies and technological innovation.
