Female fund managers remain just 7 per cent of industry

The number of female fund managers currently stands at just 7 per cent, just as it did in 2014, according to analysis by Tilney Bestinvest.

The company, which this week announced a tie-up with the Law Society of Scotland, found that across five Investment Association sectors there were an average of 7 per cent female fund managers.

The UK Equity Income sector was the worst for diversity, with 95 per cent of funds run by men, while the Corporate Bond sector was the best at 8 per cent female managers.

Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Bestinvest said the figures are “dramatically out of line” with the gender divide at graduate levels.

He said: “Despite a handful of high-profile women in senior management positions within the industry, front-office positions continue to be male-dominated.”

Helena Morrissey, chief executive at Newton Investment Management and chair of the Investment Association, was not surprised by the lack of movement.

She said: “As an industry we need to do a better job explaining what we actually do, including our social purpose, so that new ‘types’ of people might be attracted to fund management.”

“Gender diversity is a key place to start building those broader perspectives since men and women do think and behave differently – we complement each other. It’s time to redouble our efforts to do something about this,” she says.

As part of the research, Tilney BestInvest highlighted female fund managers that have strong track records, including Paola Binns at Royal London, Sanditon’s Julie Dean, Christine Johnson at Old Mutual and F&C’s Catherine Stanley.

In its up-and-coming list of female fund managers, Tilney BestInvest selected Anna Lunden, manager of the Montanaro European Mid-Cap fund, Threadneedle’s Irina Miklavchich, F&C’s Malika Gulabani and Sophie Bosch at JP Morgan.