A new initiative from service provider IQ-EQ is aimed at helping female-led funds get launched as more investors seek to allocate to diverse alternative investment firms.
Dubbed Launchpad, the project has two firms on the platform so far with a strong pipeline in place as IQ-EQ is committed to using data collecting and metrics to mitigate what it says is gender-bias in performance management.
Funds with over 50% women ownership or with a female founder will be eligible to receive preferential service terms, tailored fund administration solutions, capacity building and access to a global network, according to IQ-EQ, which already has $500 billion in assets under administration.
IQ-EQ already works with 15 of the top 20 global private equity firms. The firm’s first Launchpad client was Atlantica Ventures, a firm founded by Aniko Szigetvari, an African impact focused venture capital fund which provides early-stage funding and support to startups in Africa.
Emma Crabtree, group chief commercial officer at IQ-EQ , said that gender diversity achieves not just better outcomes for women, but also for investors and the industry at large.
“Only 15% of all private equity and venture capital firms are gender-balanced, let alone women-led,” said Serge Krancenblum, group executive chairman at IQ-EQ. “Yet research conducted by the IFC shows that gender-diverse fund management teams deliver an incremental 10-20% in net IRR returns compared to their non-gender diverse counterparts.”
Krancenblum and Justin Partington, group head of funds at IQ-EQ, will work on the project.
