Maria Municchi is Italian, moved to the UK for studying, and stayed. Most of her career has been at M&G, where she started in equities and then moved to convertible bonds, before becoming an investment specialist across multi asset. Now she is a portfolio manager for multi asset strategies with a sustainability focus. Fondsfrau Anke Dembowski talked with her about the challenges of sustainable investing and about diversity in teams and why it might deliver better outcomes. In another interview we will talk with her about her market views.
Maria, what is your responsibility to the fund you are managing?
Twelve years ago, I moved to M&G’s multi asset teams, and two years later I became involved in fund management. I wanted to bring some innovation by incorporating sustainability to our proposition. So, together with some colleagues across the business, I designed a strategy for a brand new multi asset fund, which was launched in 2018. We spent a good couple of years refining the strategy ahead of the launch and we continued to evolve our approach to sustainability after that, as the industry saw many changes in sustainable investing and its regulation.
How did the overall strategy of the fund change over time?
The overall strategy and its sustainability ambition did not change, as the fund was designed as “sustainable”. Changes to regulations, clients’ requirements and investment landscape have certainly made it an interesting journey and an opportunity for me to remain involved with ESG, sustainable and impact investing.
The hype about sustainability seems to have faded a bit. Do you still find enough interest in sustainable investing these days?
Yes, I believe there is a true long-term opportunity in sustainable investment due to structural changes to our society, but change does not happen in a linear way. Immediately after the pandemic, ESG investing became extremely popular, leading in some cases to expensive valuations. This has reverted in the last few years. The narrative around ESG and sustainable investment has shifted, mainly on the back of poor short-term performance and headwinds. However, change continues to happen on the background, and over the longer term I believe opportunities still exist in sustainable investing.
Portfolio management & gender: It is said that mixed teams produce the best results. Why do you think that this is the case?
I believe that diverse and inclusive teams can deliver better outcomes, and that diversity can be expressed in many ways: gender, age, education, social background… so gender isn’t the only aspect. Each individual can bring a slightly different perspective to the team, leading to more comprehensive assessments and analysis. In that sense, diversity can be an important driver of innovation and a source of competitive advantage.
Also, I have observed that teams that had no change in personnel for a very long period of time, might benefit from change and in particular from diversity of thought. However, that can only exist if a team is inclusive as well as diverse.
How do you realise diversity at M&G?
At M&G we believe that diversity and inclusion provide a fertile ground for investment ideas and decision making. This is why diversity of thought is fostered within M&G: we aim to provide an inclusive environment to enhance communication and exchange of ideas, in order to produce better results. Efforts are led by senior management, but are also supported by employees. For examples we have recently launched an employee-led initiative across some investment teams which aims to develop a “diversity and inclusion of thought” network. The group organises various activities such as mentoring, networking, panel discussions and most recently a book club!
Does M&G provide a good working environment for women, also for women with children?
Yes, M&G has been supportive of my professional journey and I became a deputy fund manager while I was expecting my first child. It was a very exciting but also frightening time! Today I am a lead fund manager and I have two children, who are 6 and 8 years old. However, I am still party of a minority and more efforts need to be made across the industry in this sense.
What helps you being a working mum? Which flexibility and which aid is your employer giving you?
I would say hybrid and flexible working have been most helpful. I value being in the office as I believe it enables me to cultivate and maintain good personal relationships with my team and beyond. However, the ability to join a meeting remotely without feeling left out or to use the flexibility provided to attend to my young family’s needs it extremely helpful. I believe that when these types of company’s policies are embraced by senior and middle management it makes balancing work and family a much better experience.
Thank you for this interview, Maria!
Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.