The IA Culture Framework

Measuring culture

IA Culture Framework

The IA has launched the fifth edition of its Culture Framework, a comprehensive toolkit produced in partnership with Latham & Watkins for IA members, supporting them in embedding a purposeful and safe culture within their firms.

It continues to be widely acknowledged by both investment management firms and the regulator that culture has a real impact on a company’s long-term reputation and sustainability. It is the underlying culture that influences the way people think, act and make decisions, which in turn shapes a firm’s ability to attract and retain the best talent, develop a truly inclusive culture, or future proof in an ever-evolving climate – all key considerations for the work of Investment20/20 and our members.

The purpose of this Framework is to apply a practical lens through which firms can constructively approach this important subject in operational practice.

The Culture Framework is divided into two halves:

The theory and the practical

The first half captures rich insight and knowledge on a variety of topics, including defining culture, key cultural influencers, and measuring and monitoring culture. The purpose of these sections is to inform firms on how to practically approach these topics, drawing on recent insights, trends and real-life case studies. Firms will likely switch between these sections depending on where they are in their culture journey, and what areas they want further support on.

The remaining section provides practical support through the cultural self-assessment framework. This practical framework captures a series of questions for firms to address, which align with the topics in the main body of the Framework. Functionality allows users to directly input their 'evidence' into the framework, producing a 'current state of play' report which can help firms to identify what areas may need further work.

The Framework, which was initially published in 2019, continues to be updated on a yearly basis as this discussion and focus evolves. This year, to ensure greater accessibility, the Framework has been revamped onto an interactive content platform to enable it to be as user-friendly as possible.

This IA member-only benefit can be accessed via the IA’s website here, using a member login.