Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Introduces Bill to Increase Diversity among Asset Managers of D.C. Public Pensions Fund

Despite equal performance of the assets under management, a recent study finds just 1.1% of the $71.4 trillion assets under management across the world is in the hands of women and minority-owned firms.

On May 16, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, Chair of the District of Columbia Council on Business and Economic Development introduced the Diversity in Fund Management Amendment Act of 2017 [B22- 0286]. The aim of this legislation is to increase the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of the fund managers by requiring the District of Columbia Retirement Board to report annually on the affirmative steps it has taken to hire diverse fund managers.

A recent study by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation found that, while performance of diverse-owned firms is comparable to that of their non-diverse peers, non-diverse asset managers hold 98.9% of the $71.4 trillion assets under management across the world. With the introduction of this legislation, the District of Columbia joins the Diverse Asset Managers Initiative, which is working with institutional investors to raise awareness about the benefits and opportunities of investing funds with diverse-owned asset management firms.

With introduction of this legislation, Councilmember McDuffie said:

“There is ample data that confirms a lack of gender and racial diversity among asset managers—and the District is in a position to do something about it. By requiring the D.C. Retirement Board to affirmatively report what actions they are taking to diversify the management of their assets, we can take a measured first step toward ensuring the managers of District employees retirement funds more closely reflects the wonderful diversity in the District of Columbia.”