GFWW 2023 Closing panel (pictured left to right): Moderated by MonaLisa Como, Executive Director, Institute for Diversity & Inclusion in Finance (IDiF), Chrissie Chen Pariso, Managing Director, MPowered Capital, Ashley Zohn, Vice President/Learning and Impact, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Global FundWomen Week (GFWW) is a powerhouse gathering of brilliant female fund managers and outstanding institutional allocators, together with industry partner organizations and leaders, to advance the distribution of investment capital to more women financial professionals.
Research has convincingly established that women- and diverse-led teams make better investment decisions and produce superior returns; “investment teams in the top quartile of gender diversity outperform those in the bottom quartile by 45bps per annum,” according to a report by Willis Towers Watson. Nonetheless, they manage less than 1% of institutional investments.
With the theme Standing Strong, Standing Together, industry partner organizations, including AAAIM, IADEI, IDiF, Knight Foundation, PEWIN, SEO, SWIPE and Toigo Foundation joined GFWW in supporting diverse and emerging managers. For a complete list of our 2023 GFWW sponsors click here.
IADEI Subcommittee Panel (pictured left to right): Jill Kitazaki, President at Denning and Company, Abigail Kahn Archibald, Portfolio Manager at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Jeff Smith, Investment Officer at Smithsonian Institution Office of Investments, Rob Rahbari Senior Investment Officer and Assistant Treasurer at University of Rochester, Bhakti Mirchandani, Managing Director, Responsible Investing at Trinity Church Wall Street, Sophia Tsai, Managing Director at Trinity Church Wall Street
During virtual programs conducted globally December 4 to 8, attendees heard from family office and foundation representatives on their preferred approaches by managers, best practices in due diligence and family office perspectives on emerging managers, plus topics on sustainability, macroeconomic views and mission-aligned investing, to name a few subjects. These sessions were arranged by our volunteer committee led by Marianne O, Co-Founder, Principal and Portfolio Manager, Lumen Advisors, and GFWW Committee Co-Chair.
At the in-person event in New York on December 7, 2023, there were keynote addresses, roundtables focused on targeted themes, spotlights of individual funds and one-to-one conversations, as well as networking. Priya Kaftan, Head of Investor Relations and Product Strategy at Heard Capital, and GFWW Committee Co-Chair, welcomed the attendees and panelists. Throughout the day, attendees exchanged perspectives, performance records and introductions for further conversation and due diligence.
“GFWW serves as a doorway for many to initiate new relationships, develop business opportunities and gain perspectives from colleagues on the other side of the investment process. In addition, allocators and fund managers alike appreciate the opportunity to gather with peers and speak informally. 100WF is pleased to host the investment community and build on long-standing relationships,” said Carole K. Crawford, Senior Advisor, CFA Institute and Board Chair, 100 Women in Finance.
Carole K. Crawford, Senior Advisor, CFA Institute and Board Chair, 100 Women in Finance
Global FundWomen Week is a unique event, which started from small regional programs in 2014 in San Francisco and expanded to New York and London. As an international conference, it affords allocators and fund managers alike opportunities to review past performance and return snapshots, and also scan the larger landscape of women portfolio managers.
Christopher Ailman, CIO, CalSTRS, keynote speaker, said:
“This event is powerfully expanding gender diversity in the money management industry. Women are breaking the glass ceiling to leadership positions across our industry. Events like GFWW enable connections and build relationship so, as women climb the career ladder, they can turn and put a hand down to help the next women up the ladder. I have seen firsthand how impactful it is when women collaborate and network, rather than compete. I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts, experiences, and hopefully inspiration to change the face of Wall Street. I’ve said it over and over we need to move ‘beyond talk’ and take action.”
Many attendees noted the conference was a unique opportunity to bring together the array of market participants under one roof and share the progress being made to advance diversity and women finance professionals, at an individual, corporate and industry level. Clearly, engagement between all parties is an ongoing, year-round effort.
GFWW 2023 Opening Panel (pictured left to right): Moderated by Reggie Sanders, Managing Director, Absolute Return and Fixed Income W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Leena Bhutta, Chief Investment Officer, Doris Duke Foundation, Meredith Jenkins, Chief Investment Officer, Trinity Church Wall Street, Matthew Wright, President and Chief Investment Officer, Disciplina Group LLC, Priya Kaftan, GFWW Chair
Plans are underway for a recap of the 2023 event panels, to be sent to all participants and members of 100WF.
The FundWomen Directory provides the allocator community with a valuable resource to source female-led investment opportunities and conduct due diligence year-round. Feedback from managers and allocators alike has been consistently positive, highlighting the effectiveness of this platform.
At the 10-year anniversary of Global FundWomen Week in 2024, an even greater participation by allocators and fund managers alike is expected — a sell-out crowd.
Click here to indicate your interest in attending this not-to-be-missed conference.
Click here to indicate your interest in receiving information about sponsorship of GFWW in 2024.
GFWW is open to all women investment managers who are members of 100WF and meet the eligibility criteria. Be a part of this progressive community by becoming a member today, and gain access to GFWW and FundWomen ongoing events.
GFWW by the Numbers
Global FundWomen Week in numbers:
✅300+ Delegates
✅500+ 1:1 Networking Meetings
✅120+ Institutional Allocators
✅60+ Female Fund Managers
✅18+ Roundtables
✅8+ Panels
✅15+ Partner Organizations
✅10+ Sponsors and Media Partners
✅50+ Volunteers
