A new UK-focused study has shown women are still severely under-represented in the asset management profession.

Only 8.5 per cent of UK retail investment funds are managed by women, according to research by Tilney Bestinvest.

This figure is slightly higher than the 7 per cent identified last year but this is partly explained by Tilney Bestinvest’s latest analysis covering all sectors whereas previous studies were based on the five largest Investment Association sectors only. The UK retail fund range covered by the new study includes OEICs, unit trusts and investment trusts.

On a like-for-like basis, the proportion of women running funds in the five main sectors rose to 7.8 per cent. The sectors that were found to have higher representation of women were the smaller and more specialist ones such as China, technology and telecom, and Japanese equities. 

“Gross gender imbalance in the asset management industry is an irrefutable fact but the unanswered question is why this is the case when women represent a large ratio of university graduates and improved diversity is evident in many other professions?” said Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Bestinvest. 

He highlighted that in the medical field, almost half of general practitioners are women, while at law firms, one in four partners are female and women now make up 26 per cent of the boards of FTSE 100 companies.

The findings further demonstrate the gender imbalance of the financial services industry specifically. A recent report by Oliver Wyman found that women make up just one-fifth of boards and 16 per cent of executive committees in the industry.

“There won’t be a quick fix, but firms need to consider how they recruit at the graduate entry level, particularly in areas like research which is often the key stepping stone into portfolio management. If the industry shows it is serious about understanding this problem and addressing it, it will also speak with greater authority when engaging with company boards on matters of diversity,” said Hollands.