SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Parallelle Finance, a research, analysis, and advocacy firm focusing on gender lens equity and fixed income investing, announces the launch of the Parallelle Finance Gender Lens Scorecard, a tool for appraising investment funds and portfolios.
The Scorecard is designed to evaluate funds on adherence to stated objectives and criteria around diversity and equality through incorporating a range of both qualitative assessments and quantitative measures.
“The Scorecard will allow investors the opportunity to identify the gender lens funds leading the way on pushing for greater corporate gender equality,” said co-founder Marypat Smucker. “With our hands-on approach, the Scorecard accurately depicts a fund’s commitment to investing with a gender lens.”
The tool applies five grade levels to four categories, each comprised of scores from sub-categories and indicators. Taken together, the categories assess both the fund and the asset management firm on gender equality in investment criteria, holdings, portfolio management team, and firm-wide leadership, as well as the fund's performance and overall ESG approach.
Category 1: Fund gender metrics
- Gender lens investment criteria.
- Women in leadership and workforce metrics of holdings.
- Representation of women on portfolio management team.
Category 2: Firm gender metrics
- Women in leadership metrics.
- Firm public commitments to equality.
- Advocacy for gender equality and diversity.
Category 3: Fund performance
- Internal rating of fund performance vs. gender lens indexes and broad market indexes.
- Third-party ratings of fund risk-adjusted performance.
Category 4: Fund ESG
- Aggregation of leading ESG scores
Parallelle Finance provides subscription access to Scorecard analysis and results for the gender lens and DEI equity funds in its coverage universe. Results for a suite of ESG funds will be available in the second half of this year.
“We’re excited to provide a tool that creates an informative metric for advisors and investors to direct resources into equity funds utilizing best practices on investing in gender equality,” said co-founder Angela Atherton.
There are 27 gender lens equity funds in the Parallelle Finance coverage universe. These are characterized by investment criteria around women-in-leadership and related corporate gender equality metrics.
The Scorecard will be updated quarterly. For the period ended December 31, 2021, here is the inaugural list of gender lens funds in Scorecard rank order:
- Desjardins SocieTerra Diversity Fund
- Nordea 1 - Global Gender Diversity Fund
- Pax Ellevate Global Women’s Leadership Fund (investor class)
- Mackenzie Global Women’s Leadership ETF
- UBS Global Gender Equality UCITS ETF
- RobecoSAM Global Gender Equality Equities Fund
- Mackenzie Global Women’s Leadership Fund
- Fidelity Women’s Leadership Fund
- Fidelity Women’s Leadership ETF
- Mirova Women Leaders Equity Fund
- Impact Shares YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF
- Glenmede Women in Leadership U.S. Equity Portfolio
- Lyxor Global Gender Equality (DR) UCITS ETF
- Fidelity Women’s Leadership Fund (Canada)
- SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF
- RBC Vision Women’s Leadership MSCI Canada Index ETF
- AVA Gender Equality Tracker
- NEXT FUNDS MSCI Japan Empowering Women Select Index ETF
- Daiwa ETF MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN)
- BMO Women in Leadership Fund ETF
- BMO Women in Leadership Fund
- Valeurs Feminines Global
These funds, listed in alphabetical order, are not currently scored due to incomplete data:
- Ampega Diversity Plus Aktienfonds
- Barclays Women in Leadership ETN
- IQ Engender Equality ETF
- Meritz The Woman Securities Investment Company
- Smart ESG 30 Empowering Women Net Return ETN
This data and analysis are for informational purposes only and are not to be construed as investment advice.
About Parallelle
Parallelle Finance is a research, analysis, and advocacy shop focused on gender lens investing. Parallelle’s research in the space includes its Gender Lens Investing 2022 report, and its gender lens equity funds performance, stats, and composition pages, placing Parallelle among the foremost authorities on gender lens investing. The firm publishes comprehensive quarterly reviews of gender lens equity and fixed-income funds and special topics.
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