House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, want data from the nation's 31 largest investment firms — including BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard — on their diversity and inclusion practices.
"We are making progress to ensure a comprehensive understanding of diversity and inclusion performance in the financial services industry," Waters and Beatty wrote in a letter dated March 18, which Waters released Monday.
"However, this cannot be achieved until organizations, especially the largest investment managers, disclose their diversity data and policies with the [Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion] OMWIs, Congress, and the public," they explained.
Waters and Beatty requested that the asset managers — those with $400 billion or more of assets under management — complete a questionnaire by April 30 regarding the firm's diversity and inclusion data and policies from 2016 through year-end 2020.
Some of the lawmakers' questions focus on:
- Workforce and board diversity;
- Spending with diverse suppliers, including the use of diverse asset management firms; and
- Challenges implementing diversity and inclusion policies and practices.
"In addition, you may also include any recent policies and analysis that may further inform our review," the lawmakers wrote.
