At Future IM/Pact, we're proud to partner with TDM Growth Partners (TDM), who passionately believe diversity is a key ingredient in being a successful investment team.
There is no fundamental reason that investing should be male dominated. We are unquestionably missing out on a huge pool of talent due to low female participation rates in investing. Investing is not just about returns and making money. The allocation of capital shapes the world we want to have for our children and grandchildren. If we are not attracting the best investing talent to the industry, it is a real long-term cost to society.
Inspiring an investing-curious mindset
While the statistics show that one in four candidates for open roles are women, TDM shares that their experience is more like one in ten. Low levels of awareness or understanding about the career opportunities in investment management has led to lower visibility of females in the recruitment process, particularly for entry-level roles, across the industry.
So what can we do about it?
TDM hopes that the encouragement of women early in their career will increase their investing curiosity and inspire a passion for investing, leading to a more diverse investor workforce.
TDM have been actively involved in our Mentoring Circles and Investment Competition over the years, supporting these hands-on platforms to educate and empower women by building their knowledge, interest and connections within the industry.
Two members of TDM’s investment team, Jess Bell-Allen and Sophia Croker, have been repeat mentors in our annual Mentoring Circles and have enjoyed the opportunity to share their candid insights into careers in investing and inspiring mentees on their journey. Read more about TDM’s participation in our Mentoring Circles here.
Great investment firms understand the value of diversity
Group think and individual biases are two of the biggest challenges that investors face. TDM believes that diversity of people and thought can help mitigate those challenges by enriching the quality of investment discussions.
To attract great female talent, TDM have initiatives such as female-focused hiring rounds and proactive outbound searches to highlight high-quality female candidates.
TDM believes that diversity is broader than gender. For their existing team, TDM’s company values, supportive policies and flexible work arrangements promote diversity.
Attend one of their team meetings, and there it is likely someone enters the discussion with the phrase, “Yellow hat idea….”. ‘Wear the Yellow Hat’ is proudly one of TDM’s five values. Its purpose is to encourage diversity of thought by giving permission for anyone – from the interns to the Directors – to speak vulnerably or share a ‘left of field’ idea.
TDM encourages their team to make time within the bounds of a high-performance workplace culture. For example, all employees get an additional week of leave to enjoy where they have used up their full annual leave allowance in a year. This helps to foster an inclusive environment which aims to nurture and promote diversity.
From recruitment to daily life, TDM acknowledge that diversity is an ongoing goal and that being authentic as a team about the type of diversity you are aiming to foster is more important than it being a box-ticking exercise. This highlights the importance of the Future IM/Pact partnership to both organisations.
- Enhanced TDM’s visibility and reputation among university students and early career women.
- Provided direct and personal connections with emerging female talent.
- Boosted employee engagement through positive experiences with the program.
- Supported industry-wide collaboration to drive gender diversity and be part of the solution.
- Aligned with TDM Foundation’s mission to support organisations creating a fairer and better Australia.
