Boards looking at and reforming their member-nominated trustee (MNT) recruitment process is the “obvious starting point” to improving diversity, Travers Smith head of pensions, Daniel Gerring has said.

Speaking at the PLSA Investment Conference, Gerring announced the launch of Travers Smith's Diversity Inclusion Made Simple Guide, in partnership with the PLSA.

The guide, aimed primarily at trustees of occupational pension schemes, introduces some of the concepts and good practise associated with diversity and inclusion.

Gerring stated: “What this industry is missing out on if it does not change is a great talent pool and a great potential to make impact on member outcomes. I mean that at a trustee level, at an asset manager level, I mean that in terms of other advisers.

“A very obvious starting point would be to have a look at your MNT policy. You might already do selection, you might be completely wedded to an election process, I'm not saying you should necessarily change that. I think you should be open minded and think about it.”

During the session, the panel discussed their experiences in promoting greater diversity and brainstormed the ways that schemes can contribute.

“Regardless of what you decide to do, look at your comms,” added Gerring. “Look at how you communicate the role to people. Think about what is going to turn people off and think about what is going to be more likely to attract talent.

“Likewise, I think that trustee boards should be challenging the sponsor on this. The sponsor after all has the ability to appoint normally around two thirds of the board.

“It comes back to good chairing, it comes back to wanting to listen. If we genuinely listen to people rather than just pretending to listen then immediately we'll make quite a lot of progress.”

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