“Our [DEI] goal has been to have a very thoughtful and integrated strategy,” said Sapna Shah, managing director with Santa Monica-based Angeles Investments, an asset management firm for institutional and high-net-worth investors.
Shah, who heads the firm’s DEI committee, aims to advance its efforts internally and with the industry and community at large.
Organizationally, Angeles is working to integrate DEI considerations into its human resources processes (e.g., in recruiting) and its marketing and communication output (e.g., highlighting the firm’s DEI advocacy). The firm’s strategy also includes deepening engagement with DEI initiatives amongst stakeholders (employees, clients and external investment managers).
Since 2020, Angeles’ community-oriented DEI efforts include a partnership with nonprofit Phelps Forward, which provides career counseling, networking and job placement to first-generation female college students and graduates. The relationship has resulted in six interns and four full-time hires.
In an effort to encourage diversity within the industry at large, the firm requires potential managers to complete a detailed questionnaire asking them to describe their actions relating to DEI, ESG, business sustainability and shareholder engagement.
“We want them to be an extension of our firm’s values and our clients want to know that our partners embody their own values,” Shah said. “Also, [the managers’] answers are a demonstration of their organizations’ long-term success.”
Contact Sapna Shah, managing director and chair of the Angeles DEI committee, at sshah@angelesinvestments.com to learn more about its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.