Racial Diversity

AIMA understands that the alternative investment industry needs to do better when it comes to racial D&I. In 2020, Bloomberg research found that only 4% of hedge funds in their database were not managed by white men. However, the research also showed that those funds managed by women and minority ethnic groups outperformed their peer funds by nearly 2 to 1.

It is important that the industry does more to support minority ethnic individuals in entering the profession and create a safe anti-racist space for individuals to thrive and progress to senior and executive roles.

Organisations

There are a number of organisations that seek to assist and provide mentorship to minority ethnic groups across the investment industry. A few of these are shared below:

New America Alliance leadership and members leverage their influence to increase capital access for women and minority-owned firms and accelerate diverse leadership in entrepreneurship, corporate America, and public service.

The Association is dedicated to the advancement of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the field of investment management.

The Association assists people of colour and women in achieving inclusion in the financial services industry.

SEO provides specialised training and mentoring to help individuals successfully achieve positions in Private Equity and Alternative Investments. SEO offers opportunities across the US, Africa, China, Vietnam and London.

Resources

The Diversity Project, which promotes diversity in the investment industry, has produced a number of videos on growing up black and the experiences of senior black individuals and women in the investment industry and in financial services. It has also created a flyer on what actions individuals can take to drive real change, from educating yourself about racism to admitting your own fears and biases, understanding your privilege, and speaking up. 

The educational resources set out in the flyer have been shared below, supplemented by the recommendations of AIMA’s Careers Network.

Reading:

  1. Between the world and me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  2. Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch
  3. Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch
  4. Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
  5. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  6. How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram Kendi
  7. I Am Not Your Baby Mother by Candice Brathwaite
  8. Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World by Layla Saad
  9. My Vanishing Country: A memoir by Bakari Sellers
  10. Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
  11. Orientalism by Edward Said
  12. Roots by Alex Haley
  13. So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  14. Taking Up Space by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi
  15. The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla
  16. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
  17. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin D'Angelo
  18. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
  19. Blog: Now That I Have Your Attention by Gavin Lewis
  20. Blog: So Can We Talk?, Dawid Konotey-Ahulu
  21. Online: Guide to Allyship
  22. Online: How to be an ally if you are a person with privilege by Frances E. Kendall

Podcasts:

  1. 1619, New York Times audio series
  2. Have You Heard George's Podcast? from George The Poet
  3. In Search of Black History with Bonnie Greer
  4. Seeing White with John Biewen and Chenjerai Kumanyika
  5. The Stoop: Stories from Across the Black Diaspora
  6. We Need to Talk About the British Empire with Afua Hirsch
  7. Yo, Is This Racist? With Andrew Ti and Tawny Newsome

Videos:

  1. Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism (CNN and Sesame Street)
  2. Debunking Myths About Race
  3. Discussing White Fragility
  4. Jane Elliot’s Brown Eye, Blue Eye Racism Experiment
  5. Killer Mike's speech in Atlanta
  6. Not all superheroes wear capes, TED Talk by Nova Reid
  7. Why "I'm not racist" is only half the story

Documentaries:

  1. 13th (Netflix)
  2. Crime + Punishment (Hulu)
  3. Explained – The Racial Wealth Gap (Netflix)
  4. I am not your Negro, James Baldwin (Prime Video)
  5. OJ: Made in America (BBC)
  6. Slavery by Another Name (PBS)
  7. The Hate U Give (Prime Video)
  8. Time: The Kalief Browder Story (Netflix)
  9. When They See Us (Netflix)