NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, July 28, 2016

When advisers attend industry conferences, they can usually expect to be swimming in a sea of white males, given the demographics of the financial services sector. That is, unless the conference focuses on social impact investing.

Then the gender ratio reverses.

“I looked out, and it was an ocean of women,” recalls Matthew Weatherley-White about his recent experience speaking at such an event.

As a managing director of the Caprock Group, Weatherley-White leads the advisory firm’s initiative on impact investing and, in that role, has guest lectured on sustainable business management at business schools nationwide and in Europe.

His audience scans from those stages reflect what is seen on the web pages identifying team members of advisory firms, think tanks, foundations and other asset managers who are focused on social-impact investing: Women lead and populate in this sector, more so than in any other in the financial services industry.