Investor services group IQ-EQ has established a new initiative whose goal is to support women in launching their first funds.
The firm said the IQ-EQ Launchpad aims to expand inclusivity for the wider asset management industry and foster a self-sustaining network of women in senior leadership roles.
Funds with more than 50% female ownership or a woman founder will be eligible to receive preferential service terms, tailored fund administration solutions, capacity building and access to a global network.
IQ-EQ said the recognition that there are limited opportunities for women in the industry prompted the new services to help women overcome specific challenges when they launch their first fund.
The group said it will also collect data and metrics for the gender-equitable management of performance, and to incentivise behavioural change within the firm and its clients.
Serge Krancenblum, group executive chairman at IQ-EQ, said only 15% of all private equity or venture capital firms were gender-balanced, and even fewer were women-led. Yet research conducted by the IFC showed that gender-diverse fund management teams delivered 10-20% higher net internal rates of return compared to their non-gender diverse counterparts, according to Krancenblum.
He said, “As a leading member of the fund ecosystem we believe that we can play an important role in addressing the gender imbalance within the asset management industry.
“We have leveraged our business model and contacts to put together a comprehensive support package that will help first-time women fund managers to succeed.”
IQ-EQ has onboarded its first Launchpad client with Atlantica Ventures which was founded by Aniko Szigetvari, he added. The impact-focussed venture capital fund provides early-stage funding and support to startups in Africa.
Emma Crabtree, group chief commercial officer at IQ-EQ, said gender diversity in fund management would achieve not just better outcomes for women, but also for investors and the industry at large.
“Having recently joined the business it has been so encouraging to see this and other initiatives being organised,” she said.
The project will be overseen and promoted by Krancenblum and Justin Partington, group head of funds, as the project sponsor.
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