In the world of finance, which is dominated by men, there are certain areas where women are in charge.
The investment strategies of the UK’s largest pension fund, one of the largest managers of local authority pension assets, Pension Lifeboat, and the UK’s largest defined contribution pension, Master Trust, are all run by women.
In the United States, three of the nation’s largest pension funds, the California Teachers’ Retirement System (Calstrs), the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, also hold top positions held by women.
“Of all the parts of financial services, pensions seem to me to be the one where I feel like I have the most direct, long-term connection to people who have achieved their goals…On average, women… I wonder if that might attract more women because it’s more human-relationship,” said the chief executive of the University Pension Fund, the UK’s largest pension fund with £78bn of assets under management. Carol Young said.
A report by the Government Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum last year found that the rise in the number of women pensioners is having a snowballing effect. Of the world’s 50 largest pension funds, 28% are now run by women, up from 24% in 2023. This puts pensions well ahead of the broader financial sector on gender equality. The index includes 335 financial institutions, including women. Including central banks, commercial banks, and sovereign wealth funds, only 16% of leaders in 2024 were women.
Additionally, the proportion of women in pension fund leadership has increased three times faster in funds led by women than in funds led by men over the past two years.
“The real difference is that the environment is less aggressive,” said Liz Fernando, chief investment officer at the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), which manages around £47bn of assets. “You’re making long-term decisions, and the financial rewards are lower overall and less incentive-based.”
Fernando added: “It’s probably an environment where raw talent and skill get noticed.” . . In an environment of survival, we need to become more political. ”
Gallup, a research organization, found in a recent report that while pay is important for both men and women, women are more likely than men to be motivated by factors other than pay. Work-life balance and personal well-being were the top reasons cited when considering their next job, with 69% saying it was very important, compared to 58% of men. Women also said they seek jobs that match their talents and value being able to do what they think is best.
The women who have risen to the top of pension payouts come from a variety of backgrounds, from consulting and investment banking to asset management and human resources.
But everyone who spoke to the FT said they enjoyed the sense of purpose the role brings and the potentially flexible nature of the industry.
“Pensions are a slightly more family-friendly version of city work,” says Emma Douglas, president of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. “I don’t want to imply that we’re all a bunch of lazy people and that it’s not hard work, but I think even before coronavirus, we had a little more flexibility in how we spent our time.”
Douglas, who is also Aviva’s Director of Wealth Policy, leads by example and strives to create an inclusive work environment.
“As an industry leader, I take vacations, don’t work on weekends, and come home at a decent hour. I expect that to be the same for everyone who works for me,” she says. said. “When you get into a position where you manage people, you can model some of the behaviors that you want to see and that will benefit you as a manager as well.”
For Michelle Osterman, who was appointed chief executive of the UK’s pension lifeboat, the Pension Protection Fund, in April last year, a sense of purpose is key, part of an industry that delivers “significant social benefits” to the world. It was expected that he would make a contribution. later in her career.
“It is very rewarding for me to be able to apply my skills to achieve such tangible benefits,” she said. In line with industry-wide norms, Osterman does not enforce gender diversity quotas across senior employees, but has set gender balance goals for which the team has made “extraordinary progress.”
In the United States, Cassandra Lichnok, the first female CEO of Calstars, which has assets of $353 billion, points out that many pension plans are set up in the public sector and may not exist in the private sector. He said that it provides opportunities for sexual growth.
“My experience working in the public sector is that there are so many opportunities to grow and advance,” Lihnok said, adding that older women can encourage other women to “achieve greater things.” I can challenge you to do so,” he added. .
Calstrs serves more than 1 million working and retired teachers in California, 72% of whom are women. Approximately 60% of Calstrs’ 1,390 employees are women, including five teachers who serve on the board of the pension fund.
“We have an academic atmosphere, which I think is somewhat unique to Calstrs. . . . The people we’re hiring have thrived in a supportive environment and are more likely to connect with women.” It could be a trend towards more,” said Richnock, who received a salary of more than $1 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
Paul Todd, Nest Invest’s chief operating officer, said having women in leadership positions would be “incredibly beneficial” to the industry, especially given the diversity of people who depend on it. Ta.
“Diversity of thought and experience leads to more creative solutions and, in my experience, better decision-making,” he said. “At Nest, we have more than 6 million women saving for their pensions, and by having leadership that reflects our member and customer base, we have the potential to offer products and pathways that meet these different needs. Nest’s investment committee is chaired by Sarah Lessig, and three of the other four members are women, he added.
However, despite these benefits, women’s increasing presence in pension benefits is not reflected in other parts of financial services. According to trade publication Citywire, the latest global statistics show that the proportion of female portfolio managers has hovered around 12% over the past four years.
Rachel Elwell, chief executive of Border to Coast, which was set up to manage the assets of local authority pension funds, said: ‘For a mathematician who enjoys people, becoming a pension accountant is just the right combination. “It was,” he said.
She says the main attraction of her current job is that it is based in her native Yorkshire, and since she has two “young” children, she has He said it helped because it meant he could do really meaningful work while being based at home. local community.
“If you look at the financial services industry, pensions are not concentrated in London or Edinburgh. If you look globally, you see that pension companies are less concentrated geographically. , very useful if you want to live a slightly different lifestyle.”
