The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has released its Metrics that Matter report, which provides recommendations from advisor firms and academics on how the financial planning profession can achieve greater diversity.
“It’s metrics for individuals as well as organizations, as well as the profession at large,” said Dawn Harris, director of diversity and inclusion at the CFP Board.
In its contribution to the 69-page report, Morgan Stanley describes its DEI Signal, which helps identify asset managers who rank above their peers in diversity, equity and inclusion. The metric incorporates an array of data points related to DEI.
“DEI Signal reflects how firms look based on representation, or actual diversity currently, as well as policies and procedures that they have in place to support DEI going forward,” according to the report.
The metric uses 2017 Census Bureau data as a benchmark. Based on the census data, the U.S. population is 50% women and 40% ethnically diverse, with a total of 70% who are either women, ethnically diverse or both.
“This approach introduces an objective standard for evaluating investment managers’ progress and provides a tool for both absolute achievement and relative standing among peers that can be incorporated into manager due diligence and selection,” Morgan Stanley said in the report.
DEI Signal scores are based on factors such as policies and procedures, leadership diversity, investment team diversity, and firm diversity….
