PE and VC entrepreneurs publish blueprint for Diversity and Inclusion in the investment industry

A number of leading venture capital and private equity investors have published substantial guidelines on Diversity and Inclusion in the investment industry.

Investors and professionals from the venture investment community have today released best practice guidelines to help increase investment in under-represented founders and drive diversity and returns across the investment sector. The “Guidance and best practice examples for VCs, private equity and institutional investors” document was written by leading investors and professionals including Atomico, Pollen Street Capital, Ada Ventures, Adelpha, Astia, KPMG, Diversity VC and Diversio.

The guidelines are being published by the British Venture Capital Association as a resource offering practical advice and best practice suggestions for all investors, regardless of what stage or sector they invest in, with a focus on four key areas:

• Talent acquisition, retention and development.
• Internal education, culture and policy.
• Outreach, access to dealflow, and unconscious investment bias.
• Influence, external guidance and portfolio management.

Lindsey McMurray, Managing Partner at Pollen Street Capital and Council member, says: “This is a helpful document written by investors for investors. It’s designed to give practical advice and actionable suggestions for any investor looking to improve diversity, inclusion and returns. Tangible action to ensure diversity across the investment industry is important to uncover and fund innovation but also from a performance perspective. Case in point, research increasingly demonstrates that firms with more female executives outperform less gender diverse peers.”

Read more/Source: Private Equity Wire