Future IM/Pact welcomes partners to program

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

21 March 2023

The industry initiative working to improve the gender balance in the investment and funds management industry, Future IM/Pact, has announced a recruitment partnership and three new managers are joining its program.

Platinum Pacific Partners has joined as the initiative’s recruitment partner, while super fund Rest, international equity manager Platinum Asset Management and private wealth manager LGT Crestone have entered the program.

The partnerships seek to boost the initiative’s work to improve the representation of women in investment management and assist females in commencing or continuing their careers in investment roles.

“Because few investment teams recruit graduates, these roles usually require 2 to 5 years’ work experience,” Yolanda Beattie, Future IM/Pact founder, said.

“This strategic partnership allows us to connect with more exceptional women in key feeder roles like investment banking and corporate finance, while sharing the career insights Platinum Pacific Partners have gained over decades to help early career women land sought-after analyst roles.”

“We see first-hand the industry’s desire to recruit more women and we know we must deepen the talent pool over time to meet the challenge. This partnership allows us to amplify our current efforts to champion female representation in finance,” Victoria Biggs, Platinum Pacific Partners co-founder, said.

The other industry collaborators said they would use the program to support women and create more opportunities for them to launch careers in investment management.

“Investing on behalf of family offices, high net worth investors and for-purpose organisations presents incredible career pathways for women. Future IM/Pact helps us grow our female talent pool so we can continue to build high performing and diverse teams,” LFT Crestone Chief Operating Officer, Michelle Inns, said.

“Thinking differently is the cornerstone of our investment philosophy and gender diversity is one way we can bring new perspectives to find the best investment ideas. We’re excited to join Future IM/Pact and are eager to play a leading in role in helping young women to build an investment management career,” Platinum’s Head of Investments, Douglas Isles, said.

“Rest represents more than one million women in our membership, and are dedicated to promoting greater gender equality,” Rest’s Chief Investment Officer, Andrew Lill, said.

“Our partnership with Future IM/Pact builds on our existing program of offering internships to women in actuarial studies, while also helping us source great female talent for our investment team. It’s also consistent with Rest’s commitment to contribute to five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including ‘Gender Equality’.”