Investment fund focuses on women

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Stacey Vanek-Smith: The world of finance is, by most accounts, a man’s world. But the fairer sex looks to be gaining a little ground. Word this morning that a new fund is launching that would focus on investing in companies where women have major roles. Stephen Beard reports.

Stephen Beard: The Women’s Leadership Fund aims to invest $2 billion in companies where women play a major role. The fund managers claim this approach will lead to higher returns. They argue that companies with lots of female directors usually outperform. For one thing, the women tend to curb excessive male risk-taking.

Glenda Stone runs a recruitment marketing firm called Aurora. She says the key to successful businesses is not just the presence of women in the boardroom, but diversity.

Glenda STONE: That may be male/female. It may be experience. It may be racial. But the point is: you need a diverse composition. You cannot have groupthink.

The new women-focused investment fund may not be a sure fire hit. A similar though smaller fund has not done well. It had assets of $27 million in 2007. Last year they fell to less than $5 million.

In London this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.