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2025 DEI Annual Report

Progress on our pledge

At SJF, we believe differentiated thinking is necessary for delivering excellent investment outcomes for our clients. Therefore, we are committed to fostering an environment that is diverse, equitable and inclusive to empower intellectually curious professionals to do their best work.

In our 2020 pledge, we formalized and amplified our efforts to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Our DEIThese initiatives are driven by associates across the firm who are enthusiastic about leading sustainable efforts under three pillars: inclusive culture and collaboration, workforce diversity, and community and vendor engagement. We have also committed the necessary resources and created a structure to ensure we can continue to prioritize and execute on initiatives.

Our DEI work is advanced through our DEI Action Team, which consists of associate volunteers from across the firm who work with management to develop and execute on initiatives that further our mission.

We believe it takes the sustained efforts of us all to keep DEI progress going, and that knowledge-sharing plays a key role in fostering DEI throughout our industry and community. Therefore, we remain committed to sharing our ideas, practices and lessons learned from our DEI journey with partners and clients. This commitment falls under each of our pillars and is shared by all members of our DEI Action Team.

We know we are on a continuous journey, and we recognize that transparency and accountability are critical to driving real change. As such, we are pleased to provide our third annual report on progress we have made on our pledge and additional commitments over the past year.

Inclusive Culture and Collaboration

Our commitment

An inclusive culture is imperative to support diversity in any organization. Under this pillar, we aim to foster inclusion at SJF and communicate openly with associates on our DEI progress and efforts. We also seek to positively reinforce inclusivity at SJF through our policies, processes and philosophies. Areas of focus in our inclusive culture work include:

  • Building awareness around DEI issues in the workplace and aiming to further embed DEI into our culture at SJF.
  • Fostering conversation and employee engagement.
  • Increasing communications and transparency both internally and externally.
  • Continually evaluating our internal policies, processes and philosophies to ensure they attempt to address systemic biases and create an environment of equity and inclusivity.

Building awareness and further embedding DEI into our culture

New initiatives since July 2024

  • Associates completed inclusive culture and allyship courses. We also made available a wide range of courses, including micro-learning videos and documents on topics such as disability inclusion, microaggressions and anti-racism.

Ongoing initiatives

  • We provide a training platform that enables associates to engage in self-education so we can build a shared vocabulary, develop new skills and work together to strengthen our inclusive culture.
  • We require new associates to complete unconscious bias training within their first 90 days of employment.
  • We hold DEI interest group meetings to inform associates about our DEI initiatives and provide opportunities for feedback and recommendations for future partnerships and areas of focus.

Fostering conversation and employee engagement

New initiatives since July 2024

  • We have sought opportunities for associates to engage with underserved communities and populations as well as each other. Two new examples include:
    • Kicking off a financial literacy program with a local elementary school designed to provide students with practical knowledge about money, saving and more. Many associates have been and continue to be involved in this initiative.
    • A number of associates volunteered to mentor students at a local all-girls school to help cultivate confident future female leaders.

Ongoing initiatives

  • We invite organizational leaders and other professionals in DEI spaces to present or lead discussions with associates.
  • We have multiple ways to share resources internally, including articles, podcasts, TED talks and personal experiences from associates, to encourage active learning, personal growth and conversations. All associates also receive our “Did You Know” series which help increase awareness of important events, topics and celebrations that may have historically been overlooked.

Increasing communication and transparency

Ongoing initiatives

  • We publish our annual DEI report each June to provide updates on our commitments and progress.
  • Our emphasis on transparency is reflected on our company website, which features a dedicated DEI section and includes our DEI philosophy and access to our annual progress report. We also have a dedicated DEI section on our internal site.
  • We measure progress in fostering an inclusive culture, in part, by asking questions in engagement surveys designed to help uncover sentiments around inclusion.

We were pleased to see that participation in the survey has increased and sentiments around inclusion, belonging and fairness remained strong in 2024. One area of continued focus is fostering an environment where associates are encouraged to seek differing perspectives and be open-minded.

Evaluating our internal policies to create an environment of equity and inclusivity

New initiatives since July 2024

  • We increased the frequency of our associate engagement surveys to help us better understand where we are succeeding and where we have work to do in ensuring that our culture is inclusive

Ongoing initiatives

  • We evaluate annually established policies and philosophies and modify them as need to ensure they reflect a lens of equity and inclusivity, such as providing a meaningful range of family-focused services that holistically support the healthcare needs of our associates.
  • We provide paid parental leave benefits for birth parents up to 12 weeks, irrespective of birth type, consistent with the Family and Medical Leave Act..
  • We offer associates a parent transition month in addition to our paid parental leave to support new parents returning to work with additional flexibility in adjusting to new routines.

Workforce Diversity

Our commitment

We aim to create an inclusive workforce that values and promotes diversity over the long term. We believe having a diverse team of associates can help us achieve outstanding results. Areas of focus in our workforce diversity pillar include:

  • Establishing and growing a program aimed at providing internship and permanent employment opportunities to historically underrepresented groups as well as a student loan forgiveness program for our interns and permanent employees.
  • Refocusing our recruitment practices to ensure we proactively seek a diverse slate of candidates for open roles. If we are unable to source diverse talent for consideration for new roles, we will engage third-party resources to increase our pool of qualified diverse candidates.
  • Fostering and supporting diversity among our own associates. This includes expanding our inclusive hiring practices and broadening the diversity of candidates we reach in our recruiting efforts.
  • Working to further contribute to the representation of historically underrepresented groups in our industry’s talent pipeline. This includes sponsoring educational initiatives for students from historically underrepresented groups, including scholarship opportunities.

Refocusing recruitment practices and expanding our hiring programs to increase internship and employment opportunities, grow the industry pipeline for diverse talent, and foster diversity among our associates

New initiatives since July 2024

  • We updated our hiring philosophy and related interviewing toolkit to ensure our hiring process is inclusive and consistent across all roles. We share a range of microlearning to interview teams to ensure our hiring process remains inclusive and consistent across all roles such as inclusive hiring, managing bias in hiring and unconscious bias.
  • We invite intern candidates from diverse backgrounds and historically underrepresented populations to spend time in Columbus, at SJF’s office and with our associates.
  • We expanded our engagement with The Ohio State University’s Women in Investment group — a sub-group of the Women in Business student organization. This effort is led by SJF associates and tailored to help students explore, learn and excel in the field of investing. SJF associates presented at seven meetings over the course of the academic year to provide a comprehensive overview of business research, analysis and valuation as well as an exploration of career paths.
  • We began a mentoring partnership with a local all-girls school through a program titled “CFO of your own life” which seeks to help the girls discover their potential as a learner, earner and leader.
  • We launched a scholarship program with the United Negro College Fund, Inc (UNCF) to support students confronting economic barriers to college completion and grow the industry pipeline for diverse talent.

Ongoing initiatives

The processes we have developed over the years have proven to drive positive momentum, and we remain committed to continually refining and enhancing them to build on that foundation. These initiatives include:

  • Our five-year average employee turnover rate is less than 7.5%. Therefore, to improve the diversity of our associate population, we continue to ensure we consider a sufficiently diverse slate of candidates in our hiring process. We also collect demographic data from applicants to ensure we meet this commitment.
  • We partner with several colleges and universities for recruitment, mentorship and education, participating in a number of virtual and in-person events. For example, our CEO and members of our investment team spoke at a number of events for college students to spur awareness of and recruitment for our firm.
  • We partner with various local Columbus schools and organizations aimed at encouraging high school students to learn about and consider careers in the financial services industry.
  • Our internship program includes a comprehensive education component, with multiple sessions open to our partner colleges and other diversity programs.
  • Our scholarship and loan forgiveness programs are intended to help reverse the disproportional student loan gap and support long-term financial wellness and equity for underrepresented groups. All interns and full-time employees are eligible to receive a monthly contribution to assist with the repayment of their qualified student loans. Additionally, we seek to award up to two scholarships each year to summer interns who demonstrate our core values of curiosity, ownership, trust and respect.
  • We continue to offer housing assistance and other benefits for our summer interns to make our program more attractive to a broader population.
  • In conjunction with our philanthropy efforts, we partner with several organizations to help build a more diverse financial services industry talent pipeline and broaden our own recruitment efforts. These partners included the African American Leadership Academy (AALA), National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).
We continue to publicly disclose demographic data for our corporate board, mutual fund board, interval fund board and associate populations on our web site. We believe providing this transparency demonstrates our commitment to, and accountability for, improving the diversity of our workforce over time.

Community and Vendor Engagement

Our commitment

We believe we can have a positive impact on our industry and our community through our philanthropic activities. Externally, we can extend our impact by partnering with vendors who share our commitment to advancing DEI and evaluating our partners based on where they are trying to go. Our activities under this pillar are guided by the following aims:

  • Building a more diverse financial services industry talent pipeline.
  • Emphasizing efforts that focus on historically underrepresented groups, with partnerships allowing SJF to have an outsized impact.
  • Supporting organizations that contribute to a vibrant minority business community.
  • Conduct a review of existing vendor relationships to ensure we are doing business with partners who are committed to and hold themselves accountable for DEI progress.
  • Ensure at least one minority-, LGBTQ+- or female-owned or -led firm are included in new vendor searches whenever possible.

To aid our efforts, in 2020, we pledged an initial $1 million over five years to organizations that support anti-racism and DEI efforts. Thus far, we have distributed and/or committed in excess of 90% of our pledged funds to partners and organizations who are aligned with the spirit of our pledge.

Building a more diverse financial services pipeline and focusing on historically underrepresented groups

New initiatives since July 2024

  • We partnered with UNCF, the nation’s largest private scholarship provider to minority group members, to offer up to five undergraduate students a merit-based scholarship toward the goal of helping eliminate economic barriers to earning their college degree.

Ongoing initiatives

  • We continue to engage with and support organizations that source financial services career opportunities for members of diverse and/or historically underrepresented groups.
  • Our CEO, business leaders and associates volunteer their time to speak on panels at industry conferences, openly discussing our DEI initiatives and journey.
  • Our associates participate on the boards and committees of various industry trade associations, both to share ideas and best practices and to develop recommendations and materials to support further industry progress in this space.
  • We share and discuss our annual progress reports with interested parties and collaborate on our respective DEI journeys.

Emphasizing efforts that focus on historically underrepresented groups, with partnerships allowing SJF to have an outsized impact

New initiatives since July 2024

  • We engaged Operation Hope to bring a HOPE Inside location to Columbus, which will offer free, one-on-one financial coaching and education designed to empower individuals to take control of their financial futures — improving credit, reducing debt and increasing savings.

Ongoing Initiatives

  • Our partnership with the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) supports its mission to convene, educate and advocate for historically underrepresented and other diverse professionals. For example, the organization’s 2025 Financial Services Conference was hosted in our home city of Columbus, Ohio, as a direct result of SJF’s support over the past decade.
  • We actively participate in the Columbus Partnership’s DEI Leaders Forum, collaborating with other participants to develop materials and recommendations to assist with the recruitment and retention of Black and minority talent.

Supporting organizations that contribute to a vibrant minority business community.

New initiatives since July 2024

  • We have increased our level of engagement with the African American Leadership Academy (AALA) by identifying promising candidates for the fellows program in furtherance of our commitment to help grow the number of African American leaders excelling in their professions and engaging in community service throughout Central Ohio.

Ongoing initiatives

  • To support our associates’ engagement with charitable organizations, the firm makes annual financial contributions to non-profit organizations that have SJF associates as members of their boards or committees.
  • Our firmwide community service initiative encourages associates to give their time to local non-profit organizations. Our community engagement calendar also helps promote cultural appreciation and increases our associates’ awareness of local volunteer opportunities.

Partnering with vendors who are committed to DEI progress

New initiatives since July 2024

  • None

Ongoing Initiatives

  • We partner with minority-, LGBTQ+-, and female-owned food, entertainment and other local recreation vendors. We distribute our DEI vendor questionnaire to these vendors as part of our vendor selection process.
  • We share our DEI vendor questionnaire with partners and clients wanting to implement a similar survey at their organizations. In 2024, we formalized the distribution of our DEI vendor questionnaire as part of our vendor RFP process. As a result, we have since seen an increase in the distribution of (and number of responses received to) our DEI vendor questionnaire.

Partner Spotlight

Our DEI work is made possible by a number of organizations we partner with. We are grateful to these partners, the excellent work they are doing, and the role they are playing in advancing DEI at our firm, in our industry and in our community.

African American Leadership Academy ( AALA )
The African American Leadership Academy (AALA) is a community-based leadership development program that expands the number of African American leaders excelling in their professions and engaging in community service throughout Central Ohio.

Columbus Partnership
The Columbus Partnership is a non-profit, membership-based organization of more than 70 leaders who represent the Columbus business community and strategically consider how to uphold the shared vision of advancing economic development, smart mobility, public policy, education, leadership development, philanthropy, community branding and downtown development in the region.

Home for Families
Home for Families partners with families and youth to resolve their housing crises, strengthen financial stability and bridge education gaps to prevent future homelessness.

I Know I Can ( IKIC )
IKIC’s mission is to inspire, enable and support Columbus City School students in pursuing and completing a college education.

Kaleidoscope Youth Center
KYC has been supporting LGBTQ+ youth since 1994, offering community education, advocacy and civic engagement, health and wellness services and housing opportunities.

National Association of Securities Professionals ( NASP )
NASP is the premier organization that helps Blacks, ethnic minorities and women achieve inclusion in the financial services industry.

Operation Hope
Operation Hope empowers individuals by providing them with the tools and resources they need to manage their finances, save, invest and start businesses.

Stonewall Columbus
Stonewall’s mission is to increase visibility, inclusion and connection for the LGBTQ+ community. One of its many programs is Lavender Listings, a platform to reach central Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community by listing local products, services and job openings from LGBTQ+ friendly businesses and organizations.

The Ohio State University – Women in Business
Women in Business’ mission is to foster a community of students interested in empowering women by encouraging personal and professional growth in supportive environments through meaningful relationships, engaging discussions, leadership development and philanthropy.

United Negro College Fund ( UNCF )
UNCF expands educational access and opportunities for students attending HBCUs and other mission-driven institutions. UNCF is proud to include the SJF Scholarship Program among the nearly 400 other partnership programs it administers each year.