WASHINGTON, June 12, 2020 – The Diverse Alternative Investment Industry today issued the following call to action in support of building a system to ensure African American and LatinX businesses gain greater access to institutional capital to create stronger, more vibrant diverse communities:
“This is a time of grief and anger for Americans of all races and backgrounds. Now we must turn our anger and pain into action. While the pain we are feeling is still quite raw, each of us is actively engaged in conversations internally with our teams, as well as externally with our investors and the companies in which we invest. We believe that social justice and economic justice must go hand-in-hand, and the only way we can achieve economic justice is by creating permanent, structural, and perennial investments into communities that have been neglected for far too long.
Philanthropic dollars from firms and corporations are necessary but not sufficient. We need to build entirely new investment pathways to ensure that African American and LatinX-led companies have greater access to institutional capital. This will level the playing field and create a permanent foundation to help our communities achieve the health and wealth that other communities take for granted. As a group, and as individuals, we have long invested our time and money to help our communities. Now our work continues with even greater urgency.”
Robert F. Smith
José E. Feliciano
Frank Baker
Robert L. Greene
A.J. Patton
Tracy V. Maitland
Damani Barham
Maria Jelescu Dreyfus
Mellody Hobson
John W. Rogers
James H. Simmons III
Howard Sanders
Ivelisse R. Simon
Marcus Bodet
Carlos Betancourt
Kevin Kang
Jihan Bowes-Little
Marc F. McMorris
Christopher Melvin, Jr.
Lorn Davis
Oscar Decotelli
Eric L. Holoman
Omar Simmons
Kola Olofinboba
Derek K. Jones
Ronald E. Blaylock
DC Moore
Craig Fowler
Jarrid Tingle
William Heard
Troy Dixon
Ajai Thomas
Willie E. Woods
Colin Meadows
James Tieng
Avinash Amin
Adrian Mendoza
Michael Duran
O’Kelly E. McWilliams, III
André Rice
M Guen
Ted Yun
Melvin Lindsey
Simeon Iheagwam
J. Dennis Jean-Jacques
Tony W. Lee
Marcos A. Rodriguez
Martin Hunt
Ravi Sarin
Afsaneh M. Beschloss
Caroline Lovelace
Vincent Williams
Ray Whiteman
Ojas Vahia
Al Foreman
Joseph J. Haslip
Erik S. Miller
Jay Ferguson
Jose Minski
About the Diverse Alternative Investment Industry:
Comprised of some of the top-performing investment management firms in financial services, leading members of the Diverse Alternative Investment Industry have come together in support of a plan of action that will result in thriving businesses and communities of color free of the structural impediments that have existed for generations.
Media Contact:
Alan Hughes
ahughes@naicpe.com
917-993-3842