LCP joins industry initiative to tackle under-representation of black talent in investment industry

LCP has joined nine other leading financial services firms (all members of the Diversity Project) to help connect businesses directly with students to tackle the under-representation of black talent in the industry.

Run by Entrepreneurs in Action as part of its Classroom to Boardroom initiative, firms will work with more than 25 black students primarily from schools across South London, to find ways to increase the applications, opportunities and development of young black people in entry-level roles.

The participating organisations – Redington (who led the initiative), Aon, Fidelity, Invesco, LCP, Lincoln Pensions, Mercer, Morgan Stanley, St James’ Place and Wellington – will share details on their current diversity initiatives and entry level strategies, alongside what they perceive as any barriers to bringing in young black talent.

Students will then be encouraged to challenge firms on their existing approaches based on their own experience and market research and present both their findings and solutions as part of a digital session on 17 July.

To structure the discussion, they have been asked to solve the following problem:

“Despite decades of running Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, as an industry the representation of black employees in our organisations (at all levels) is not good enough. What problems/obstacles do we need to understand? What blind spots can you illuminate? What solutions can you suggest, specifically for bringing more entry level black talent into our organisations?”

The solutions will be presented to CEOs and other senior leaders from the participating firms as well as representatives from the industry.

Derek Browne, CEO Entrepreneurs in Action, commented: “I am excited to be part of this initiative. As someone who joined the industry 30 years ago, I am aware it has made slow progress to identify and recruit black talent despite a range of entry programmes under the banner of diversity.

“This initiative provides a unique platform to engage some of the highest profile Investment Management and Consulting firms with a range of talented young individuals who are excited about the industry. Working with GenZ to solve industry challenges is the way forward and I hope this is the first of many programmes for Entrepreneurs in Action to work with the industry.”

Clay Lambiotte, Head of Investment at LCP, commented: “We are really excited about this initiative, and believe so much can be gained by working across the industry to challenge our thinking and find solutions. This is a great opportunity to engage directly with young black students to hear their ideas for our industry, and hopefully in return inspire them to consider a career in investment. We know we need to be doing more to attract black talent, and this programme will give us a fresh perspective on current diversity policies to drive the change needed to make our firm and industry more representative.”

LCP’s Investment team is involved in several diversity initiatives. These include LCP’s Women’s Talent Academy, which is a unique undergraduate mentorship programme which was set up to find new talent and improve diversity. LCP has also been heavily involved in a partnership with upReach, a social mobility charity, to offer mentors and work experience places to university students from less advantaged backgrounds. This is part of an industry wide collaboration to get more diverse talent in the investment industry.