43 investment company boards are exclusively male finds Investec report

Investec Bank plc’s latest investment companies sector review Skin in the Game looked at the board composition of 303 investment companies and it found that there has been a significant improvement in board diversity, but there is still work to be done.

In 2010, women made up just 9.5% of board positions at FTSE 350 companies, this has jumped to 30%, and there are now just two companies with all-male boards. Women were found to hold 30.5% of board positions at FTSE 100 companies.

Of the directors of the boards of investment companies in 2010, only 8% were female, this is now 27.9%. The Investec report was less encouraged to find, however, that there are still 43 investment companies with all-male boards.

Gender differences between equity and alternative investment companies

The Investec report also highlights how women’s representation on the boards of equity and alternative investment companies differs. Including the flexible investment sector within alternative investment companies, it found that women represent 31% of equity fund directorships, but just 23% of alternatives. This means that alternative investment companies have a way to go to meet the target set by the Hampton-Alexander Review of 33% representation of women on FTSE 350 boards by the end of 2020.

When it comes to gender, Nurole’s latest figures on investment trust board placements far exceed the industry average; of the 16 investment trust board placements Nurole has enabled this year, 50% have gone to women.

Susie Cummings, Nurole's founder and CEO, is delighted that the Nurole platform is proving to have such an impact on the diversity of investment trust boards. "The Nurole platform transforms the tiny talent pool that traditional search processes rely upon into a vast global sea of cognitively diverse people with highly relevant skills," she explains.

"With the focus on what you know, rather than who you know and by encouraging strong leaders to join Nurole and apply for roles or nominate others in their network to do so, Nurole dramatically expands the diversity of boards by gender, ethnicity, age and geography."

Nurole is the global platform changing the way organisations bring the best people on to their boards. Find out how it works for talented people looking for the best board level positions, and for organisations looking to hire the best board level talent.