Women looking to launch and grow their first funds will be able to reach out to IQ-EQ for help and support after the investor services group set up an initiative called IQ-EQ Launchpad.
The suite of services is designed to help women overcome the specific challenges they face and was prompted by a recognition of the limited opportunities for women in the industry, IQ-EQ said.
Funds with more than 50% women ownership or a female founder will be eligible to receive preferential service terms, tailored fund administration services, capacity building and access to a global network.
Serge Krancenblum, group executive chairman of IQ-EQ, said: “Only 15% of all private equity or venture capital firms are gender-balanced, let alone women-led. Yet research conducted by the IFC shows that gender-diverse fund management teams deliver an incremental 10-20% in net IRR returns compared to their non-gender diverse counterparts.
“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.”
Incentivise behavioural change
As part of the initiative, IQ-EQ is also committing further resources towards incorporating ‘gender-smart’ practices into all service delivery.
This will be achieved through the collection of data and metrics for the gender-equitable management of performance, and to incentivise behavioural change within the firm and its clients.
Krancenblum added: “We are very excited to have already onboarded our first Launchpad client, Atlantica Ventures founded by Aniko Szigetvari, an African impact focused venture capital fund which provides early-stage funding and support to start-ups in Africa.”
Recently appointed IQ-EQ group chief commercial officer Emma Crabtree said: “This is an exciting and vital step that we are taking. Gender diversity in fund management will achieve not just better outcomes for women, but also for investors and the industry at large.”