ACT Signatory Journey: ‘Having 40+ fund buyers increasingly using this Framework is helping to drive change across the industry’

Image: David Coombs

Rathbones Asset Management became an ACT Signatory in 2022. Since then, it has developed dedicated workstreams to monitor progress on cultural and DEI initiatives, and integrated ACT into the multi-asset range’s investment process. 

Here, David Coombs, head of multi-asset at Rathbones, shares the driving force to signing up to ACT on a company and personal level, the best practice it has highlighted within the firm and the impact ACT is having on the industry through fund buyers. 

How important is industry-wide collaboration on culture and governance? 

If we work as an industry, we are more likely to make change by widening the net for talent. Improving the industry and the diversity within the industry should improve the outcomes for clients over the long term. Broadening the pool for talent as well as retaining talent will widen the diversity of thought. 

Are clients asking about culture and ACT Signatory status? Or do you proactively share your Signatory status with clients? 

Both. We proactively share our ACT signatory status on our website and on our email signatures, but clients also ask about it. We have several clients who regularly request our full ACT framework responses too.  

Rathbones was one of the founding signatories of the ACT Framework in 2022. Why was it important as a business to commit to reporting in line with ACT?  

Clients continue to ask questions around diversity, inclusion and culture. We also wanted to review our culture and ensure we could be leaders in our industry when it comes to retaining and developing talent and we needed a framework to do that.

ACT is now used as part of the investment process on the £8.2bn Multi-Asset Portfolio Funds range. Can you explain the journey of how and when this was integrated?  

Within the multi-asset portfolio range, we have a schedule of principles on stewardship. This ensures we have a process behind each ESG risk. When analysing companies, we like to see diversity in businesses, and we monitor this at a board level, as we deem not having sufficient diversity as a business risk. In order to hold businesses accountable, we also need to hold a mirror up to ourselves and understand what improvements we need to make internally first.  

Within Rathbones Asset Management, we have recruitment targets at a long list and short list stage as we understand the benefits and value of diversity of thought, particularly when making investment decisions. 

You are chair of the ACT Global Leadership Council and have been instrumental in ensuring the ACT Framework is a collaborative tool. Why was this important for you and the team to be so deeply involved? 

We understand the need for a cultural shift within the asset management industry, and we wish to be a driving force for this change, starting within our own business. We want there to be equal opportunities in the city and I feel proud to be part of this movement. 

Speaking personally, coming from a working-class background and being a non-graduate myself, I understand only too well the barriers to social mobility in our industry. I want to highlight there are talented individuals who maybe did not follow the normal prescribed routes into the City but have so much to offer. 

Rathbones currently has six working groups linked to the three pillars of ACT (Action, Challenge, Transparency) and all departments and levels of seniority are feeding into driving cultural change. How does this look in day-to-day practice?  

Within Rathbones Asset Management we have one DEI working group, Project Patchwork. It was formed in 2023 and includes representation from all key areas of the business. The aim is to focus on DEI issues specific to the funds business.

Patchwork meets formally once per month. We’ve broken the group down into workstreams – smaller groups of members who focus on key strategic projects to support our main priorities in this space. Each of the workstreams (there are currently seven) is aligned to one of the ACT pillars and leverages the best practice guidelines of the ACT framework.

Each workstream meets regularly to drive both tactical and strategic change. Once a month all the workstreams come together at the Patchwork meeting and report progress. Our current workstreams include: Talent, Culture and Training.

Patchwork has a regular slot at the company townhall meetings, where members of the group talk about culture, and our priorities and goals to support DEI. Patchwork also produces an internal newsletter, runs a DEI case studies video series and is involved with other inclusive initiatives including the RAM Sports and Social club. Project patchwork includes representation from all departments within RAM.   

Signatories report in line with ACT on an annual basis. Can you share the best practice it has highlighted and areas where you have needed to improve (and how you acted on that)?  

The ACT framework has highlighted the benefits of having a DEI working group comprised of people from across the business that are passionate about driving change in this area. Our working group, Project Patchwork, is open to all levels of employees and operates with a flat structure, where all members are free to share their views and take the lead on projects. It means that we quickly and efficiently identify areas for improvement and implement meaningful changes. The support of senior leaders is also important, and we have seen the benefit of having Tom Carroll, CEO of RAM, as the accountable executive for DEI within RAM.

Patchwork launched several successful initiatives including a mentor programme, interview training for senior managers, a quarterly newsletter, a RAM Sports and Social Club and a RAM DEI video series where individuals across the business discuss personal experiences in relation to inclusivity. Patchwork conducts an annual cultural assessment to ensure that any emerging cultural issues are identified early. 

In terms of areas for improvement, the framework identified the need for us to increase transparency around our DEI initiatives. While we were taking a lot of positive actions, they weren’t always being communicated as well as they could be. We’re addressing this internally by increasing communication including the newsletters and both the video series mentioned earlier. For our clients we’ve increased the breadth of both the qualitative and quantitative data we disclose – we now report on both the ACT framework and the Asset Owner Diversity Charter questionnaire. We will soon be publishing our Inclusion policy on our website and will look to increase our transparency further as we move forward.

How would you say using ACT has improved business and investment outcomes?  

The feedback we’re receiving from our clients is positive - they are pleased with the responses that we’re now providing to them. Internally, our debate and discussion have widened – we're getting a broad diversity of opinion which leads to better analysis, particularly when it comes to our macroeconomic views. Of course, it’s difficult to prove a link between our culture and our investment or business outcomes mathematically and we won’t see the full extent of the improvements for several years. But we’re pleased with our progress to date and will continue to monitor the feedback from across Rathbones Asset Management through employee surveys and cultural assessments.   

What are Rathbone’s current cultural priorities?

Within Rathbones Asset Management (RAM), our main priorities to enhance corporate culture and support DEI are focused on attracting and retaining diverse talent within the business:  

• Attracting diverse candidates: In 2024 RAM implemented a recruitment target that seeks to achieve 33% diversity among candidates on long-lists and at least one candidate from a diverse background on short lists. In 2025, interview training was provided for all hiring managers within RAM, focussing on reducing unconscious bias and ensuring a consistent, transparent process. In 2025 RAM will also be taking part in the broader Rathbones Group graduate scheme, with a view to launching our own scheme for the asset management business specifically in 2026. 

• Retaining diverse talent: We aim to foster a culture that embraces diversity and where all employees feel comfortable and supported. Recent initiatives launched to support this goal include a RAM-specific mentoring scheme that was rolled out in Q1 2025. The scheme saw almost 20% of employees apply to be mentees and nine mentor-mentee pairs successfully matched. In 2024 RAM launched a RAM Sports & Social Club in 2024 to bring colleagues together outside of work for inclusive social activities. Also in 2024, a RAM DEI ‘case studies’ video series was launched to show real life examples of work-related scenarios, in order to encourage open discussions between peers and showcase internal resources available – topics covered in 2025 will include addiction, office humour, returners.    

Our priorities are decided based on feedback that we receive from employee surveys and cultural assessments, the results of which are analysed by senior leadership and shared with employees. RAM’s DEI working Group, Project Patchwork, is responsible for putting our priorities into motion. The group has separate workstreams focused on key initiatives and includes representatives from all RAM departments. The group provides regular updates to senior management. 

How would you summarise ACT and the impact it is having on the industry?

There are approximately 40 senior fund buyers on the Stewardship Council, which demonstrates that this is having a significant impact on them and therefore the funds they interact with. 

Allowing these fund buyers to have a framework to assess ESG risks is helpful as it’s more qualitative than a factor like performance, which is very quantitative. So, having a framework that all fund buyers are using is helpful and will help to drive change across the industry.