Even now, it is not uncommon to encounter all-male panels at industry events, and the percentage of women in the leadership ranks of companies in the financial sector remains quite low. In short, we are still far from achieving a good mix in the German-speaking fund industry, although some efforts and successes are becoming visible.
In a ceremonial event on October 11, 2024, the sixth Fondsfrauen Award was presented. The award honours pioneers and role models for gender diversity in asset management. Amundi won "Company of the Year," and congratulations go to Dr. Anja Hochberg from ZKB for being named "Woman of the Year." Other awards were presented to Katarina Melvan (Role Model of the Year), Maria Aguilar-Wittmann (Fund Manager of the Year), Dr. Kristina Bambach (Rising Talent of the Year), and Barbara Rojahn (special recognition for her commitment to advising women on financial investments).
With this award, which is presented annually, 'Fondsfrauen,' as the leading career network in the financial sector in the German-speaking region, aims to keep attention focused on the topics of equality and diversity.
16 financial experts or companies are honoured
A total of 16 financial experts and companies were honoured. Their achievement: They have actively contributed to greater diversity in the financial industry as role models, by motivating women in the sector, or through their outstanding performance.
Five categories
In the run-up to the event, Fondsfrauen, together with media partner FONDS professionell, had asked men and women in the industry to nominate individuals and companies for the following five categories - in each case with precise reasons.
- Company of the Year
- Woman of the Year
- Fundmanager of the Year (w)
- Role Model of the Year (m/w/d)
- Rising Talent (w)
After a welcome by Fondsfrau Anne Connelly, Maren Schmitz, partner at KPMG and the event's main sponsor, delivered a passionate speech on why diversity is good for the financial industry and why networking is important for women. Maren Schmitz leads the Financial Services Management Consulting division in Frankfurt and oversees consulting for banking, asset management, and real estate in Germany. Hans Heuser, co-publisher and editor-in-chief of media partner FONDSprofessionell, also emphasized in his speech that it is indeed possible nowadays to find female top talent in the industry, provided one looks in the right places.
Successful women in the industry do exist!
With nearly 200 nominations, the financial industry community nominated excellent companies and employees committed to diversity and already showing successes. The nominations, as in previous years, came from all four countries where Fondsfrauen is active: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.
The Fondsfrauen Awards honor successful women from the investment fund industry; companies that are committed to gender diversity in asset management; and men and women who are role models for others. These people send a clear signal that women achieve a lot in the financial industry and that it is possible for companies from the industry to promote and live diversity.
Here are this year's nominees and winners in the five categories:
Company of the Year
- Amundi Deutschland GmbH (winner)
- Union Investment (nominee)
- BNY Mellon (nominee)
Several factors favoured Amundi as the winner, including having a woman, Valerie Baudson, at the helm. Amundi also boasts 38.1% female representation on its executive committee and 33% in its senior leadership team. The company has allocated special budgets to close the gender pay gap and launched the Amundi Women Network (AWN), with over 566 members in France. Since 2022, the AWN has also been implemented internationally. Additionally, Amundi has developed good and practical solutions for employees on parental leave, such as 28 days of paid paternity leave and 10 additional days for mothers. Amundi is also a founding member and co-chair of the French and German '30% Club.'
Woman of the Year
- Anja Hochberg, ZKB Asset Management (winner)
- Barbara Schlyter, DWS Group (nominee)
- Vera Fehling, DWS Group (nominee)
Dr. Anja Hochberg was nominated as a successful manager: She leads the revenue-generating multi-asset division at ZKB Asset Management, with revenues of around CHF 125 million. Her strong sales focus is also highlighted: Under her leadership, ZKB Asset Management rose to number 2 in the Swiss fund business, 'while maintaining high employee satisfaction,' as noted. Moreover, Dr. Anja Hochberg consistently brings innovative funds with impact to the market. She managed to convince Swiss cantonal banks to launch a product where companies waive parts of the fees in favor of education in developing regions. This project has even caught the interest of the UN, where she presented the concept in October. Furthermore, she has been actively involved from the beginning in the Fondsfrauen advisory board and the Senior Professionals working group, contributing valuable ideas and driving initiatives.
Last year’s winner in this category Christel Rendu de Lint, became co-CEO at Vontobel in Zurich in January 2024.
Role Model of the Year (m/w/d)
- Katarina Melvan, BNY (winner)
- Carola Marx, DWS Group (nominee)
- Ilse Munnikhof, ING-DiBa AG (nominee)
The winner in the Role Model of the Year category is Katarina Melvan. With great conviction, she supports women and talents of all ages. This includes initiatives from kindergarten and school children through targeted events, Girls & Boys Days, Junior Mentoring, Young Female Talent events at BNY, and the internal WIN initiative for female employees and male allies. She also provides mentoring for female talents within BNY and beyond, in the city of Frankfurt, as well as in her private life. 'It is very important to me to support women of all ages, and I gladly invest a lot of time and energy in doing so,' says Katarina Melvan.
Fund manager of the Year
- Maria Aguilar-Wittmann, Allianz Global Investors (winner)
- Ute Rosen, Union Investment (nominee)
- Carla Bänziger, Bank Vontobel AG (nominee)
Maria Aguilar-Wittmann has been Co-Head of the Infrastructure and Co-Investment Teams at Allianz Capital Partners, representing Allianz on various fund and co-investment boards. She has demonstrated leadership and innovation, outstanding performance in deal-making, fundraising, and asset management for years. She played a key role in growing the infrastructure division from under €1.5 billion in early 2017 to over €10 billion in assets under management by the end of 2022. She has led numerous global transactions in clean energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and circular economy, showing a clear commitment to combating climate change and maintaining the 'social license to operate.'
Rising Talent
- Kristina Bambach, Eyb & Wallwitz Vermögensmanagement GmbH (winner)
- Eva Säljemar, Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank AG (nominee)
- Hanna Beloch, Union Investment (nominee)
Dr. Kristina Bambach is a portfolio manager at Eyb & Wallwitz Vermögensmanagement GmbH. After just four years as a portfolio manager, she has achieved great success compared to her peers. All the multi-asset mandates she manages independently (around €100 million) have outperformed their benchmarks over 1- and 3-year periods. She is co-responsible for stock selection for the Phaidros Funds Balanced (LU0996527213), which has a 5-star Morningstar rating. As Head of Responsible Investment, she has developed the ESG strategy for the Phaidros Funds over the past three years, covering over €1.8 billion in assets under management. Notably, she worked her way up from a non-academic background to become a PhD in financial mathematics with a CFA designation and is actively involved in financial education in her personal life.
Special recognition for commitment to advising women on financial investments
A special mention in the Company of the Year category went to Frauen Finanzberatung Barbara Rojahn & Kolleginnenwhich has been advising women for many years on their path to financial independence. Barbara Rojahn successfully handed over her company to the next generation in 2019, with three managing directors, including Annika Peters , continuing to motivate women to engage with financial matters and secure their financial future. Barbara Rojahn now focuses on estate planning for women and executorship and is a valuable member of the Senior Professionals working group.
Lots of great women in finance!
The respective winners of the categories were on site in Frankfurt and gladly accepted their award. The nominees were also pleased that they received so much support to be shortlisted.
The award shows that successful women in the financial sector do exist - even if some panels or conferences give the impression that the industry is still very male-dominated.
A big thank you to our media partner FONDSprofessionell for organizing the nominations. We also extend our sincere thanks to the two sponsors, KPMG and S&P Global Ratings Europe Ltd., without whom such an award ceremony would not be possible.
Hier findet Ihr der Artikel unseres Medienpartners FONDSprofessionell
Foto Copyright: Toni Hoffmann
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.