Investing in Women Leadership
Women’s leadership within the corporate space isn’t a fad, but a strategic advantage investors can benefit from through the Mackenzie Global Women’s Leadership ETF.
Though names such as Tim Cook, Jamie Dimon, and Satya Nadella are recognizable to investors and the general public due to the companies they lead, the names of Julie Sweet, Safra Catz, and Vicki Hollub may be less familiar, even though they are the respective CEO’s of Accenture, Oracle, and Occidental Petroleum; each S&P 500 companies that are leaders in their respective industries.
By taking an expanded view of women’s leadership we are able to truly understand the current advancement rate of women in the corporate ranks and showcase their influential contributions within the firms they lead.
Rising representation
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that women gained 34 seats on the boards of S&P 500 companies in the first two months of 2023, the strongest start since at least 2019, bolstered by the naming of three chief executive officers. Furthermore, recent reporting from Fortune Magazine stated that women ran more than 10% of the businesses on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest public companies. For context, the Fortune 500 ranks the largest U.S. public companies by revenue; the 500 companies on the list represent $18 trillion in revenue, more than two-thirds of U.S. GDP. This year, 52 companies out of 500 are led by female CEOs, an 18% increase from last year.
Elevated performance
The appointment and advancement of women to the executive suite and the highest tier of corporate management is not symbolic – it is the elevation of individuals that have the strategic foresight and leadership to steer their firms towards success, they just happen to be women. But research does shows gender diversity does have a material performance impact on a firm. According to research done by Bank of America, S&P 500 companies that have more than 25% of female executives have a higher subsequent one-year return on equity than the rest of those in the index. The same goes for those who have more than one-third of women on the board, the firm found. As a corroboration to these research findings, a 2019 analysis by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to experience above-average profitability than peer companies in the fourth quartile.
Benefiting from women leadership
The Mackenzie Global Women’s Leadership ETF (MWMN) is a globally focused solution that provides investors exposure to firm’s that reflect strong women leadership and diversity initiatives. Detailed below are the guiding investment principles of the fund:
- Seeks to provide long-term capital growth by investing primarily in equity securities of companies that promote gender diversity and women’s leadership, anywhere in the world.
- Places higher weight on companies with more favorable gender leadership, while maintaining diversification and managing portfolio risk.
- Shareholder engagements focus on influencing corporate policies and behaviors so that companies are well-positioned to take advantage of benefits associated with gender diversity.
For Canadian investors interested in attaining global exposure to firm’s that reflect strong diversity leadership and have female representation within the C-Suite, the Mackenzie Global Women’s Leadership ETF is worthy of consideration.
Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.
