Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At Natixis Investment Managers, we are actively committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. As a global asset manager with nearly 20 affiliates, diverse thinking is at the heart of everything we do.
We continuously work to create an environment that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in all its forms, across gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity and background. We believe this creates equal opportunities for our employees — and better outcomes for our clients and communities.
As an advocate for ensuring that organisations are more like the diverse communities in which we live and work; it is important that employees can see representation of themselves through all ‘lens’ of inclusion.”
The Natixis culture is rooted in openness to new ideas, hard work, and creative problem solving. We believe our most valuable asset is our employees – the people who drive us forward as a firm through their expertise, dedication, and unique perspectives. In this spirit, we continuously invest in our people in order to enrich their lives both in and out of the office.
We offer our employees an enjoyable and rewarding work environment. We invite our employees to enjoy events while providing work-from-home flexibility and a competitive benefits package.
We support our company's mission to help people live better lives by developing an engaged, high performing workforce. We believe learning and development are continuous. Every employee is expected to participate in at least one learning program every six months as a commitment to their ongoing and continuous learning.
42%
of the workforce (including affiliated investment managers) is female1
28%
of the Management Committee is female2
28%
of Portfolio Managers are female1
Programs
#10000 Interns Foundations
Natixis Investment Managers partners with the #10000 Interns Foundation to deliver internships across a range of internal business functions annually. The foundation is a charitable organisation that helps provide internship and career opportunities for students and recent graduates from underrepresented backgrounds. As an industry we recognize the financial field can be more inclusive and have an increase talent pool, which is why we value our partnership with the #10000 Foundation and their mission. We are committed to inclusion and granting opportunity to change the lives of aspiring young people.
Find out more about the foundation’s mission here.
UK Graduate Schemes
We offer graduate internships and placements across various departments in our office. Our interns receive comprehensive support to nurture their early career growth. Additionally, we collaborate with our partners, Investment 20/20, who share our aspirations to foster greater opportunities and responsibilities, thereby facilitating an environment where talent and business can collectively flourish.
We believe that diversity and inclusion are key to creating a successful and dynamic workplace. Our internships are open to all recent graduates who are eligible, regardless of background or experience. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels valued and supported.
Graduate Challenge
A yearly initiative since 2019 based in Natixis Paris headquarter. In the Natixis Investment Managers Graduate Challenge, 12 teams of students, selected from over 45 submissions, compete to manage simulated investment portfolios over the course of three months.
As part of the program, the teams are mentored by our asset management experts from Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, Harris Associates, Loomis Sayles, Dorval AM, DNCA Finance, Mirova, Ossiam, Ostrum AM, Seeyond AM, Thematics AM and Vega IM.
The teams are evaluated on how effectively they managed their virtual portfolios according to ESG principles and strict investment guidelines, as well as their capacity to articulate and present their investment approach and decisions.
Employee Resource Groups (ERG)
Belonging and building a community is at the heart of our culture here at Natixis, we value and encourage employees to look after their well-being and get involved in ways beyond professional work. Employee Resource Groups are voluntary, employee-led groups whose aims are to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace aligned with the organizations they serve. ERGs give a voice to underrepresented people within an organization and deliver informative, yet enjoyable events; while creating a safe space to discuss experiences, giving employees an opportunity to be heard, valued, and engaged.
“Sexual orientation is still a taboo subject (“don’t ask, don’t tell”) and very few of us dare to simply be ourselves at work. That is why we created All Equals 3 years ago, for allowing everyone to “be in his/her shoes” and to decide whether or not to be visible without fear of discrimination” - Joelle Gouraud, Lead
“WiNN is an employee led initiative embedding inclusion and gender equality across all silos of the business with the aim to support women’s professional growth and development, and to raise the visibility of women in leadership roles. We provide employees with opportunities to connect with senior leaders across the firm at various networking events while at the same time encouraging an inclusive culture to attract and retain a diverse range of professionals.” - Bronwyn Middlebrook, NIM Lead
“Healthy Minds is dedicated to supporting Natixis employees by providing resources and assistance to improve their mental health. The ultimate objective is to create a workforce that feels a sense of purpose, belonging, and fulfilment. By prioritising mental health and creating a supportive work culture, we can enhance teamwork, productivity, and staff retention. The mental well-being of our colleagues is critical, and its intersectionality is a fundamental part of our identity as individuals and as a firm.” - William Fox-Robinson, Lead / Joy Rosenstrauss, Co-Lead
“We are Employees committed to supporting and championing underrepresented groups within Natixis Investment Managers; while aiming to cultivate an atmosphere focused on enhancing the progress of current and prospective employees of culturally diverse backgrounds. We believe diversity and inclusion is a tremendous success driver which allows the business to attract and retain talent while fostering innovation. Our Steering Group is made up of employees willing and committed to help Natixis Investment Managers be a company where employees of culturally diverse backgrounds can feel included and thrive professionally.” - Veronique Sangou-Trilland, Lead
“Facing current degradations of biodiversity and climate, LEAFS has a strong focus on contributing to a better environment. It notably pushes for more sensitivity regarding climate and biodiversity. It also tries to act, at individual level and asset management and social levels (meeting experts and analyzing how science and society interfere and what we, as an organization, could potentially do). Lastly, it also tries to see how our daily working lives can contribute positively by helping neighborhoods socially (ex: delivering remaining food to food-delivering associations).” Edouard Debonneuil, Lead
Partnerships
Natixis actively pursues partnerships and opportunities with organizations that share our commitment to diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. Examples of these partnerships include:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Charter
DE&I Policy Statement
Natixis Investment Managers is committed to supporting diversity and to creating an inclusive and equitable culture. Our business is about people, and we strive to ensure the well-being of our employees and to create an environment responsive to different cultures and groups in all our interactions with employees, clients, visitors, suppliers, contractors, shareholders, investors and in the communities in which we operate. We value diversity; we believe it to be important to business success and integral to achieving our strategic objectives.
Natixis Investment Managers recognizes the potential that all people bring to the workplace.
Employees have the right to be treated with respect and dignity throughout their employment with Natixis Investment Managers and not to be discriminated against in any way. We have a zero tolerance policy to bullying, harassment, victimization and racism of any kind.
We seek to achieve higher standards than the minimum set out in legislation, and we will proactively encourage a culture that supports diversity and equal opportunity.
Company Responsibility
- To actively support and promote diversity, equity and inclusion and to ensure that all our employees are valued and treated with dignity and respect.
- To strive continually to provide employees with a working environment that is free from all forms of discrimination.
- To ensure that managers work in partnership with employees to create and sustain an inclusive working environment where everyone’s unique contribution is valued.
- To ensure that decisions affecting employment, training, promotion and career development are based on an individual’s ability and genuine occupational requirements.
- To comply with relevant legislation by requiring all employees to meet the minimum standards of behavior and conduct in relation to how they treat their colleagues and other people they have contact with as part of their work with Natixis Investment Managers.
- To regularly review the policy and its practical application and continue to make any updates towards identifying and eliminating any potentially discriminatory practices.
- To provide employees and managers with the appropriate information, via this policy, on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, and to provide Diversity Equity & Inclusion training for all employees.
- To make adjustments to meet the needs of disabled employees, visitors and clients where reasonable and practicable to do so.
- To ensure all internal publications and material reflect, in the language and images, the diversity of our employees and clients.
- To provide investment products, solutions and services to our clients without any form of unlawful discrimination and/or harassment.
Recruitment & Selection
As a global player, Natixis Investment Managers recruits people from all around the world. We believe that our employees from many different cultural, racial, linguistic and national backgrounds provide us with the valuable knowledge for understanding complex global markets, and allow us to better support our clients wherever they are based. We have established programs that provide opportunities to identify talented women and individuals from ethnic and other under-represented backgrounds for recruitment, with the end goal for them to become high achieving professionals, while we invest in pipeline opportunities for high performing employees from all backgrounds and demographics.
A more recent initiative is the Natixis Scholarship Program. The financial industry historically has not done enough to attract diverse talent from an early age. A focus of our diversity, equity and inclusion program is to develop a pipeline of diverse talent early enough so they receive the academic training and internship experience needed to succeed in the financial industry. Just as important, we aim to inspire promising candidates to pursue a career in asset management and build a career with us. To expand those efforts, we will be creating a scholarship program for university students from under-represented minority groups, which we hope will help bring diversity to our industry and contribute to our talent pool at Natixis IM. Scholarships will be granted to two students with a demonstrated financial need who are majoring in business, and we will support and develop the students through internships and mentoring from our team. We will pilot this program in the US, where we can build on existing university partnerships and mentoring programs, and look to expand to other locations.
Natixis Investment Managers endeavors to attract applicants from all sections of society and we strive to reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate. We will ensure fair treatment through the recruitment process. This includes:
- Checking that job descriptions are relevant and non-discriminatory.
- Ensuring that the wording and images used in job advertisements reflect and appeal to all sections of society and comply with the law.
- Seeking a diverse pool of qualified candidates for each position.
- Ensuring that all roles are available to internal candidates.
- Short-listing only those people whose skills and qualifications most closely match the job description.
- Asking fair, objective and consistent questions during interviews.
- Keeping records of the recruitment and selection process, including interviews.
- Monitoring recruitment and selection to ensure equality of opportunity throughout the process and taking steps to eliminate any discriminatory practices.
Diversity Monitoring
To get an accurate picture of Natixis Investment Managers and to identify any inequalities, we will aim to collect, on a voluntary basis, individual personal information on the diversity of potential recruits and existing employees. Our intention is to issue staff surveys and encourage all existing staff to complete these, if possible. The objective is to be able to provide everyone with the appropriate support groups and help they may need, and employees’ assistance to do that is critical.
All personal data is held securely and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and any Codes of Practice that have been issued by the Information Commissioner or relevant bodies in different countries.
Awards and Recognition
Citywire Gender Diversity
Awards 2020
Citywire Gender Diversity Awards 2020
Natixis Investment Managers was recognized among fund management groups for making progress in the representation of women and gender diversity practices,3 as the winning asset management company for the Regional Leader US (50–100 managers) category.
Most Generous Employees
Most Generous Employees
Natixis Investment Managers was recognized by the Boston Business Journal as having the most generous employees for the 11th time in 12 years
Largest Charitable Corporation
Largest Charitable Corporation
Natixis Investment Managers was named among the top charitable corporations by the Boston Business Journal, placing 54th out of 100 firms.
Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
InvestmentNews’ Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Awards
Natixis Investment Managers was celebrated as a Diversity Champion at InvestmentNews’ annual event held on September 21, 2021, to recognize individuals, advisory firms, industry partners and institutions for their dedication to diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Diversity in Finance Awards 2022 Finalist
FT Adviser Diversity in Finance Awards 2022
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the year for the Natixis Global Scholarship Programme.
Investment Week: Women in Investment Awards 2022 Finalist
Investment Week: Women in Investment Awards 2022
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year for the Natixis Global Scholarship Programme
2 Source: Natixis Investment Managers, as of September 2023
3 In September 2023, the Boston Business Journal hosted its annual BBJ Corporate Citizenship Awards that convened business leaders on the topics of corporate philanthropy and social responsibility. Natixis Investment Managers and its Boston-based associates earned the following accolades: Named a 2023 Largest Corporate Charitable Contributor (54th out of 100 firms with more than $1 million charitable donations to Massachusetts-based organizations in 2022), and the Most Generous Employees distinction (average $895 donation per Boston-based associate in 2022).