Investment funds that favour companies with women in leadership roles are a fairly new theme being presented to Canadian investors, but one with a well established history south of the border.
As with socially responsible investing in general, pro-feminist strategies narrow the range of eligible holdings, which puts them at a disadvantage to money managers who have no such constraints. But this is not a significant impediment to generating competitive returns. After all, companies that discriminate against women in executive or governance roles or in the workplace are shrinking their talent pool, to the detriment of the companies themselves.
The small group of Canadian-domiciled funds that promote gender diversity and women's leadership in their investment mandates lack any meaningful performance history. But for those who want to support these social goals through their investments, the funds provide an opportunity to align investors with their values.
