Morgan Stanley has launched a new tool designed to enable its advisors to incorporate gender diversity considerations into client portfolios, the Wall Street financial services firm announced on Tuesday.
The firm has introduced a new investment framework that advisors can use as a roadmap with clients “to develop a tailored investment approach to integrate gender diversity criteria into their investment portfolios.”
“As greater gender diversity and balance is reached across the macroeconomic landscape and as the business case for gender diversity becomes more apparent, our objective is to help investors position their portfolios to take advantage of these opportunities,” says Lisa Shalett, head of investment & portfolio strategies for Morgan Stanley, in a news release.
The tool covers multiple approaches that can be used individually or together, including: using gender diversity as a screen; employing diversity criteria to identify companies with potentially better risk/return profiles; and using ‘gender lens investing’ to more proactively influence diversity by supporting women entrepreneurs, providing access to capital for women, and investing in products and services benefiting women and girls.
“As an investment opportunity, gender diversity is about identifying the ways in which achieving balance in representation, empowerment and economic opportunity is material for financial outcomes,” adds Lily Scott Trager, director of Investing with Impact for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “With the support of a Morgan Stanley financial advisor, investors can take actionable steps towards incorporating gender diversity into investment decisions in a variety of ways.”