The Fearless Girl statue when it was facing the Charging Bull in New York. (Photo: Federica Valabrega)
Assets in gender lens investing — deliberately incorporating a gender analysis into a financial analysis in order to realize better outcomes — grew by 85% to a record $2.4 billion in the 12 months ended June 30, Veris Wealth Partners, an impact wealth management firm, reported Tuesday.
At midyear, the number of explicitly gender lens strategies holding publicly traded securities stood at 35, more than four times as many as in 2014. These vehicles include 14 separately managed accounts, nine exchange-traded funds, seven mutual funds, three gender equality bond issues, one exchange-traded note and one certificate of deposit.
GLS, a term coined in 2009 according to Veris, targets these outcomes:
- Advancing women in leadership
- Increasing women's access to capital
- Securing gender equity in the workplace and women's and girls' well-being everywhere
- Supporting development of products beneficial to women and girls
- Addressing gender justice and equality issues
- Increasing active women investors' knowledge, confidence and numbers
"The growth of gender lens investing is one of the most positive developments in a year overshadowed by the gender pay gap, lack of women on boards and sexual harassment scandals," Veris' CEO, Patricia Farrar-Rivas, said in a statement. "GLI is one of the best opportunities to mobilize capital and remedy social issues we need to put behind us."
