Description
Diversification is a core principle of investing. Yet money managers have not applied it to their own ranks. Only around 10 percent of portfolio managers-the people most directly responsible for investing your money-are female, and the numbers are even worse at the ownership level. What are the causes of this underrepresentation, and what are its consequences-including for firms' and clients' bottom lines?
In Undiversified, experienced practitioners Ellen Carr and Katrina Dudley examine the lack of women in investment management and propose solutions to improve the imbalance. They explore the barriers that subtly but effectively discourage women from entering and staying in the industry at each point in the pipeline. At the entry level, the lack of visible role models discourages students from considering the field, and those who do embark on an investment management career face many obstacles to retention and promotion. Carr and Dudley highlight the importance of informal knowledge about how to navigate career tracks, without which women are left at a disadvantage in an industry that lionizes confidence. They showcase a diverse constellation of successful female portfolio managers to demystify the profession.
Drawing on wide-ranging research, interviews with prospective, current, and former industry practitioners, and the authors' own experiences, Undiversified makes a compelling case that increasing the number of women could help transform active investment management at a time when it is under threat from passive strategies and technological innovation.
About the Author
Ellen Carr has over two decades of experience as a high-yield bond portfolio manager, most recently at Barksdale Investment Management, a majority-women-owned, institutional fixed-income investment management firm. She is also an adjunct professor of finance at Columbia Business School, where she teaches courses on the credit markets and cash flow modeling. She is an occasional contributor to the Financial Times.
Katrina Dudley is a global equity portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments, one of the world's largest asset managers. She is the author of the introduction to the Vault Career Guide to Mutual Funds (2016). She is a frequent market commentator on CNBC and Bloomberg, a mentor to up-and-coming female investment professionals, and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School.
Reviews
Today, all forms of inequality are being scrutinized. The underrepresentation of women in investment management isn't in the headlines, but it's something many of us in the profession want to change. How can we make progress in this regard? Undiversified by Ellen Carr and Katrina Dudley is the authoritative source on the subject and a great place to start. -- Howard Marks, cofounder and cochairman, Oaktree Capital Management
Even the best investment management firms are struggling to fill more than 20% of their investment roles with women. This book provides a clear diagnosis of the problem and actionable solutions-written by portfolio managers, not outsiders. This book is a valuable resource for women in investment management, those considering the profession, and investment firms seeking to both attract and retain more women. -- Jenny Johnson, president and CEO, Franklin Templeton
Despite the continuing dearth of female asset managers, I still hear people proclaim that the pipeline isn't the problem. Carr and Dudley's book highlights surveys of undergraduate and MBA-level women that give critical insight into the ongoing struggle to build a robust female investment management talent pipeline and, more importantly, offers suggestions on how to help. -- Meredith A. Jones, author of Women of The Street: Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns (And How You Can Too)
This book is the best I've read on the troubling issue of gender diversity in the investment world. In my forty-year career, I've worked with many women who are extraordinarily gifted. Why aren't there more of them in the investment world? This book powerfully addresses and answers the question. A must-read for investment professionals or anyone interested in career fairness. -- Jim Ware, CFA, one-time analyst and PM, author of six investment books, founder of the Focus Consulting Group
In this timely, specific, and actionable book, two fabulously successful practitioners demystify investment management. They show why it is an excellent career for women-and why the industry needs women to survive and thrive. -- Tom Anderson, founder and CEO of Anasova and author of four books including New York Times & USA Today best-seller The Value of Debt
Carr and Dudley have written an enormously important and timely book that will have substantial value-added for both investment management and women's accomplishments. Their contribution should be required reading not only for aspiring young women interested in a career in investment management, while they are in high school, undergraduate and graduate programs, but also throughout their careers. I highly recommend this book for mutual fund directors, business school faculty, and business students alike. -- Edward I. Altman, Max L. Heine Professor Emeritus, NYU Stern School of Business, and director, Franklin Mutual Series Fund
The lack of gender diversity in asset management may be the biggest threat to the future of capitalism-Carr and Dudley explain why and what to do about it. -- L. J. Rittenhouse, author of Investing Between the Lines
'Undiversified' makes a compelling case. * Midwest Book Review *
Captivating and a valuable reference work. I will recommend it ... regardless of gender. The book is highly useful not only to women but also to other groups that are underrepresented in investment management. In addition to thoroughly covering gender nondiversity, it provides a unique overview of a profession to which few have access until they delve into it. * Enterprising Investor *
Awards
Short-listed for Best in Business Book Awards, The Association for Business Journalists 2022.
Book Information
ISBN 9780231195881
Author Professor Ellen Carr
Format Hardback
Page Count 280
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
In Undiversified, experienced practitioners Ellen Carr and Katrina Dudley examine the lack of women in investment management and propose solutions to improve the imbalance. They explore the barriers that subtly but effectively discourage women from entering and staying in the industry at each point in the pipeline. At the entry level, the lack of visible role models discourages students from considering the field, and those who do embark on an investment management career face many obstacles to retention and promotion. Carr and Dudley highlight the importance of informal knowledge about how to navigate career tracks, without which women are left at a disadvantage in an industry that lionizes confidence. They showcase a diverse constellation of successful female portfolio managers to demystify the profession.
Drawing on wide-ranging research, interviews with prospective, current, and former industry practitioners, and the authors' own experiences, Undiversified makes a compelling case that increasing the number of women could help transform active investment management at a time when it is under threat from passive strategies and technological innovation.
About the Author
Ellen Carr has over two decades of experience as a high-yield bond portfolio manager, most recently at Barksdale Investment Management, a majority-women-owned, institutional fixed-income investment management firm. She is also an adjunct professor of finance at Columbia Business School, where she teaches courses on the credit markets and cash flow modeling. She is an occasional contributor to the Financial Times.
Katrina Dudley is a global equity portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments, one of the world's largest asset managers. She is the author of the introduction to the Vault Career Guide to Mutual Funds (2016). She is a frequent market commentator on CNBC and Bloomberg, a mentor to up-and-coming female investment professionals, and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School.
Reviews
Today, all forms of inequality are being scrutinized. The underrepresentation of women in investment management isn't in the headlines, but it's something many of us in the profession want to change. How can we make progress in this regard? Undiversified by Ellen Carr and Katrina Dudley is the authoritative source on the subject and a great place to start. -- Howard Marks, cofounder and cochairman, Oaktree Capital Management
Even the best investment management firms are struggling to fill more than 20% of their investment roles with women. This book provides a clear diagnosis of the problem and actionable solutions-written by portfolio managers, not outsiders. This book is a valuable resource for women in investment management, those considering the profession, and investment firms seeking to both attract and retain more women. -- Jenny Johnson, president and CEO, Franklin Templeton
Despite the continuing dearth of female asset managers, I still hear people proclaim that the pipeline isn't the problem. Carr and Dudley's book highlights surveys of undergraduate and MBA-level women that give critical insight into the ongoing struggle to build a robust female investment management talent pipeline and, more importantly, offers suggestions on how to help. -- Meredith A. Jones, author of Women of The Street: Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns (And How You Can Too)
This book is the best I've read on the troubling issue of gender diversity in the investment world. In my forty-year career, I've worked with many women who are extraordinarily gifted. Why aren't there more of them in the investment world? This book powerfully addresses and answers the question. A must-read for investment professionals or anyone interested in career fairness. -- Jim Ware, CFA, one-time analyst and PM, author of six investment books, founder of the Focus Consulting Group
In this timely, specific, and actionable book, two fabulously successful practitioners demystify investment management. They show why it is an excellent career for women-and why the industry needs women to survive and thrive. -- Tom Anderson, founder and CEO of Anasova and author of four books including New York Times & USA Today best-seller The Value of Debt
Carr and Dudley have written an enormously important and timely book that will have substantial value-added for both investment management and women's accomplishments. Their contribution should be required reading not only for aspiring young women interested in a career in investment management, while they are in high school, undergraduate and graduate programs, but also throughout their careers. I highly recommend this book for mutual fund directors, business school faculty, and business students alike. -- Edward I. Altman, Max L. Heine Professor Emeritus, NYU Stern School of Business, and director, Franklin Mutual Series Fund
The lack of gender diversity in asset management may be the biggest threat to the future of capitalism-Carr and Dudley explain why and what to do about it. -- L. J. Rittenhouse, author of Investing Between the Lines
'Undiversified' makes a compelling case. * Midwest Book Review *
Captivating and a valuable reference work. I will recommend it ... regardless of gender. The book is highly useful not only to women but also to other groups that are underrepresented in investment management. In addition to thoroughly covering gender nondiversity, it provides a unique overview of a profession to which few have access until they delve into it. * Enterprising Investor *
Awards
Short-listed for Best in Business Book Awards, The Association for Business Journalists 2022.
Book Information
ISBN 9780231195881
Author Professor Ellen Carr
Format Hardback
Page Count 280
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
