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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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Why Aren't There More Women Fund Managers?

FYI: If you're looking for comforting news about the great strides women have made breaking into investment management, you won't find it here. Men still overwhelmingly dominate the field.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20160724/FREE/160729970?template=printart

Comments

  • Hi Guys,

    Nowadays, it's all about freedom of choice. In the USA women are free to enter whatever occupation appeals to them on an individual basis. Education is not a limiting factor. More females do post-high school than men.

    Women choose not to work as bricklayers (the construction industry) or as firefighters as a general rule. That's their choice. Occupational participation rates are dynamic and are in a constant change mode. There are now more women bartenders than men.

    More power to females. They have earned it. They are patient, they are persistent, and they multitask better than their male counterparts. They learned that skill managing households and children.

    I love them all. They will do well as more and more of them invade the financial money management world. Good for them and good for us.

    Best Regards.
  • They learned that skill managing households and children.
    No, fact is women were not really given a choice other the managing house holds and raising children, so kind of a "this is your lot in life". Managing households was not a stepping stone job used until women's skills were honed to compete with men. Women, when societal casting was slowly pushed aside and progressive thinking and laws were instilled, learned there there skills along side men in schools and internships when given that chance.

    I'm sure your post is meant as positive, and maybe it's just me, but it does show generational bias.
  • MJG
    edited July 2016
    Hi MikeM,

    You are both right and wrong. My post is indeed constructed to be positive. You are right that generational bias did exist, but not typically among my generation. It pretty much ended in the generations preceding my group. Rosie the Riveter in WW II was a major player.

    It started earlier than that. When Woodrow Wilson ran for reelection, his Republican opponent Charles Evans Hughes supported a women's right to vote constitutional amendment. Wilson opposed it. Reputedly, Wilson believed that "universal suffrage is at the foundation of every evil in this Country". Time does change things and folks have a short flawed memory.

    When my wife and I share the same room, I'm not the smartest person in that room. Her knowledge and carefully crafted logic overwhelm me. My professional experience reinforces that observation. Women really get things done, and I believe their multitasking capabilities are a primary factor.

    I have no issues recognizing what countless women bring to the table. Without them the West would never have been Won. Without them, WW II would not have been won so convincingly. Please do not doubt, please do not challenge my sincerity on this matter.

    When hiring a fund manager, their policies, their.experience, their strategies, and their record are decisive considerations; their sex never enters the equation.

    Best Wishes.
  • You noted: " their sex never enters the equation."

    I'm sure Gloria Steinem or related ladies have this documented somewhere. I sure as heck would enjoy reading or hearing hiring managers state this; especially if they were connected to a lie detector or voice stress analyzer device. Never happen, eh?
  • edited July 2016
    @catch22: I think MJG simply left out the subject of the participle. Try reading "When I hire."

    "Multitasking capabilities" is certainly not a compliment. Multitasking means trying to get bunch of different things done and doing them poorly or incorrectly, maybe not getting the most important thing done.

    Otherwise, I would say the site owner and benevolent overlord is a master of getting things done -- all sorts of things -- on abbreviated time schedules. He really gets things done.

    To get this thread slightly back on track, the article Ted posted mentioned that women are not represented as fund managers in proportion to their population number. Maybe that should be "in proportion to women graduating from MBA programs or Econ from schools that serve as feeders for the fund industry."

    Cuz, you know, there aren't that many women cardiac surgeons or astronauts, either.

  • Hi Catch22,

    Like most evolutionary movements much depends on timeframe and where you look. Women have successfully penetrated many professions. One industry that has escaped Gloria Steinem however has been the financial sectors, especially mutual fund management.

    There is a huge, huge gap between what fund managers say and what they do. That gap is not possible in other professions such as among doctors and engineers. It is not a hard assignment to find statistics that demonstrate the bias that still exists in the mutual fund manager sector. Here is a Link to a recent Morningstar study that makes the case:

    http://corporate.morningstar.com/US/documents/ResearchPapers/Fund-Managers-by-Gender.pdf

    The stats tell the story without resorting to lie detectors. The Old Boys Club appears to be intact and working against females and clients in this financial arena. Note that I included clients as suffering damage. Studies show that women are terrific investors, are conservative, and introduce a diversity of perspectives in formulating investment decisions.

    I too recognize that in some professions, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is notable by its frequent absence. Politics anyone?

    In my working career, I had the good fortune to hire and also to work for some very talented women.

    Best Wshes.
  • Because maintaining a work life balance is hard when you spend so many hours in the office thinking of new ways to underperform your benchmark. Ask the men. They're really good at this.
  • @MFO Members: It looks like Lewis now worships at the Haystack altar !
    Regards,
    Ted
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