Credit Suisse equity analysts in April revealed that a proprietary benchmark basket of 270 companies with progressive pro-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender polices (LGBT), outperformed the MSCI All Country World Index by 3% a year over the last six years. The same LGBT basket delivered a 140-basis point outperformance annually over a custom basket of companies in North America, Europe and Australia.
The findings are intuitive. Teams of mixed gender, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation boost the likelihood that a given company will understand market trends and customer preferences, while working efficiently with cross-border teams. By contrast, homogeneity could stifle innovation.
Frozen
Meanwhile Deutsche Bank has frozen plans to hire 250 technology-focused staff in North Carolina, citing the state’s controversial law that eliminated LGBT protections.
The move achieved a rare feat for an investment bank by earning left-wing acclaim.
While its aims are laudable, Deutsche might do well to remember that gay marriage remains illegal in Germany, while same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in North Carolina since 2014. Should North Carolinians no-platform the German bank as a result?