Diversity and Inclusion

Mass PRIM is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.  We believe a team comprised of individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives creates a more effective organization by enabling employees to learn from one another and challenging ingrained beliefs and conventional thinking. PRIM believes that a diverse and inclusive organization leads to improved decision making and better returns for our stakeholders.

Below is more detail on Mass PRIM’s diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives. These are just some of the steps the organization has taken on what they consider to be a much longer journey, and PRIM is committed to continually assessing how existing programs and strategies can be improved to influence lasting, positive change.

Human Resources Policies and Initiatives
PRIM seeks to hire talented individuals from diverse backgrounds. We have developed a comprehensive strategic plan to achieve our recruitment, retention, training, and procurement goals. Components of the plan include:

  • A hiring playbook to formalize our hiring process. This tool ensures PRIM has intentional diversity efforts incorporated into each step of our recruitment process.
  • A firmwide diversity and inclusion training curriculum with a focus on unconscious bias behavior.
  • Annual pay equity studies.
  • Partnerships with affinity groups to help attract, retain and provide an inclusive culture for diverse candidates and employees.

Investment Manager and Portfolio Company Engagement
Mass PRIM is committed to working with the investment management industry and companies that we are invested in to advocate for diversity and inclusion and its benefits.  PRIM believes companies must draw on the broadest possible pool of talent to grow and optimize their businesses. PRIM has established the following guidelines and processes:

  • Progressive proxy voting guidelines on areas such as board diversity requirements, over-boarded directors, gender pay gaps, labor, and human rights, and executive compensation. These guidelines include voting against all board nominees if less than 35% of the board is diverse in terms of race and if less than 35% of the board is diverse in terms of gender.
  • A formal process for all procurements to review the Directory of Certified Businesses maintained by the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) for suitability. The directory includes all registered minority, women, LGBT, and veteran-owned companies.

FUTURE Initiative

MassPRIM believes that a diverse and inclusive organization leads to improved decision making and better returns for stakeholders. In our experience, a team composed of individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences and perspectives creates a more effective organization by enabling employees to learn from one another and challenge ingrained beliefs and conventional thinking.

In January 2021, Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, with her team and the Massachusetts Legislature, passed legislation to increase the diversity of MassPRIM’s investment managers and contractors to at least 20%. The passage of “An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth” also increases access for minorities, women and disabled investment managers and business partners to growth opportunities in our investment ecosystem.

To reduce barriers and expand opportunities for newer, smaller, and diverse investment managers, MassPRIM launched a new Emerging-Diverse Manager Program (Program), which seeks to invest up to $1 billion in emerging and diverse managers across asset classes over the next two years. This Program utilizes five manager-of-managers to help source, conduct due diligence and have full discretion to select and monitor a portfolio of emerging-diverse investment managers. The advisors below are working with the corresponding asset classes:

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Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the investment management industry

Intentional engagement with investment managers and industry leaders regarding the importance of improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the investment industry is central to our approach. MassPRIM Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Michael Trotsky, CFA is a founding member of the CFA Institute’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and is leading the CFA Institute’s efforts to develop a Global Diversity and Inclusion Code of Conduct. In March, 2022, MassPRIM became a founding signatory to the CFA Institute’s first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Code for the Investment Profession (“DEI Code”).