Expanding Opportunity Through Inclusive Investing

Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Investment Decisions

Officewide Initiatives

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office uses several office-wide initiatives to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion across financial services and investment partnerships.

360-Degree Review of Financial Services Partners

Since 2017, financial and investment firms seeking to do business with the Illinois Treasurer have been asked to disclose how they promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Each year, the Office conducts a 360-degree review through its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Assessment. This review looks at diversity across:

• boards or ownership
• executive leadership
• workforce
• supplier networks
• community activities

The assessment also uses information already reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including workforce roles by race, ethnicity, and gender.

MWVD Business Liaison

Since 2017, staff in the Division of Stewardship and Sustainable Investment have been dedicated to supporting Minority, Women, Veteran, and Disabled-owned investment firms.

This team works with firms to:

• explain business and transaction needs
• answer questions about certification
• identify ways firms can better prepare for opportunities with the Illinois Treasurer’s Office

For more information, contact MWVD@illinoistreasurer.gov.

Financial Services Pipeline

Since 2016, the Illinois Treasurer has been an active member of the Financial Services Pipeline Initiative. This initiative works to increase Latino and African American representation at all levels of the Chicago-area financial services industry.

The initiative focuses on:

• talent pipeline development
• recruitment and hiring
• employee development and retention

In 2020, the 7th Annual Financial Services Pipeline Intern Career Conference brought together more than 250 interns and students from 14 member firms and 8 nonprofit partners across Illinois.

Advancing Equity in Banking Commission

The Illinois Treasurer and Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin brought together financial institution CEOs from across Illinois to form the Advancing Equity in Banking Commission.

The commission was created to discuss and develop solutions to address systemic and structural racism in the banking industry. The first convening took place on June 19, 2020, with CEOs and senior executives from leading Chicago financial institutions.

ILPA Diversity in Action Signatory

The Illinois Treasurer is a signatory to the Institutional Limited Partners Association’s Diversity in Action Initiative.

Through this work, the Office supports efforts to build a more diverse and inclusive private equity industry. The initiative encourages venture capital and private equity firms to adopt long-term practices that advance equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Examples include:

• setting goals for recruiting, hiring, and retaining women and people of color
• assigning senior-level responsibility for equity, diversity, and inclusion work

Learn more through the Driving Inclusion in Alternatives Initiative.

Diversity in Asset Management

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office uses several strategies to increase the use of Minority, Women, Veteran, and Disabled-owned financial firms in asset management and related investment work.

Preference for MWVD Asset Managers

The Treasurer’s Office has policies and procedures in place that allow qualified MWVD-owned asset managers to receive preference during investment selection processes across investment divisions.

Garcia Rule

The Illinois Treasurer follows a requirement designed to support intentional recruitment of diverse candidates. Before making a final selection in any investment manager search for a program overseen by the Treasurer, the Office must interview at least one diverse candidate.

Growth in Assets Managed by MWVD Firms

The Illinois Treasurer increased assets managed or distributed by MWVD firms from $18.1 million in June 2016 to $6.7 billion as of June 2025. This includes MWVD-owned or operated asset management firms and mutual fund sub-advisory relationships.

Examples of asset management firms include:

• Ariel Investments
• Garcia Hamilton & Associates
• Ramirez Asset Management
• Sit Investments
• Brightwood Capital Advisors
• Palladium Equity
• Valor Equity

More information is available through The Vault.

Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund

The Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund (ILGIF) is an impact investment fund that aims to invest about $1.5 billion to attract, support, and retain technology-enabled businesses in Illinois.

As of June 30, 2025, $353 million in ILGIF funds had been committed to MWVD-operated firms.

How ILGIF Supports Diverse Firms

Investments made through ILGIF fund managers have supported more than 462 diverse-owned portfolio companies.

Through ILGIF, the Treasurer’s Office also helps seed and anchor new minority-operated venture capital funds. This supports the broader goal of building a more diverse and inclusive group of investment managers and entrepreneurs across Illinois.

Examples of venture capital firms include:

• Moderne Ventures
• Brightwood Capital
• Agent Capital
• Chingona Ventures
• Palladium Equity Partners
• Vamos Ventures
• Builders VC
• Impact Engine
• Vistria Group

Investment Consultant Scorecard

Investment consultants play an important role in identifying and selecting external investment managers. Because of that, the Illinois Treasurer uses an Investment Consultant Scorecard to evaluate how well consultants support the goal of increasing the use of diverse-owned investment firms.

The scorecard is a customized evaluation process that measures consultant capabilities and performance in this area.

For more information, view the Scorecard Guide.

Considering Inclusive Practices in Investment Evaluations

The Illinois Treasurer believes investment managers who take equity, diversity, and inclusion seriously are better positioned to understand the people, markets, and economic factors that shape long-term performance.

A strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion can:

• Support innovation
• Improve problem-solving
• Attract and retain talent
• Strengthen how firms respond to risk and opportunity

For that reason, the Treasurer considers a firm’s actions to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion as part of the qualitative and quantitative evaluation process for both public and private market investments.

MWVD Broker/Dealer Utilization

Managers of separately managed investment portfolios for the Illinois Treasurer are required to direct a set share of total commission dollars to MWVD broker/dealers, with preference for Illinois-based firms when possible.

This requirement is intended to increase opportunities for qualified broker/dealers. See below.

Diversity in Broker/Dealers

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office uses several strategies to increase opportunities for Minority, Women, Veteran, and Disabled-owned broker/dealers.

Preference for MWVD Broker/Dealers

The Treasurer’s Office has policies and procedures in place that allow qualified MWVD-owned broker/dealers to receive preference across investment divisions.

Growth in Assets Brokered by MWVD Firms

Total assets brokered by MWVD firms increased from $603 million in Fiscal Year 2014 to $42 billion in Fiscal Year 2025. This represents a 69-fold increase.

More information is available through The Vault.

Commission Requirement for Investment Managers

All managers of separately managed investment portfolios for the Illinois Treasurer are required to direct at least 30% of total commission dollars to MWVD broker/dealers, with preference for Illinois-based firms when possible.

This requirement is intended to expand opportunities for qualified firms.

Growth in Utilization

The use of MWVD broker/dealers has increased steadily over time. In Fiscal Year 2015, only 6% of assets were brokered by MWVD firms. By Fiscal Year 2025, that share had grown to 70%.

Examples of Broker/Dealer Firms

Examples of broker/dealer firms include:

• Cabrera Capital Markets
• Loop Capital Markets
• Great Pacific Securities
• Drexel Hamilton
• MFR Securities
• Mischler Financial Group

Economic Impact on MWVD Broker/Dealers

Investment Services Sought

The Illinois Treasurer seeks a wide range of financial services and products from MWVD firms, including the following: 

• Broker/Dealer Services
• Investment Management Services
• Banking Services

Broker/Dealer Services

• U.S. Treasuries
• Supranational bonds
• U.S. agencies
• Commercial paper
• Foreign bonds
• Municipal bonds
• Corporate bonds and notes
• Repurchase agreements

Investment Management Services

• Fixed income
• Cash and cash equivalents
• Public equities
• Real estate
• Private equity
• Venture capital
• Securities lending
• Private debt

Banking Services

• Custody and safekeeping
• Depository services
• ACH transactions
• Lockbox services
• Cash and check processing
• Credit and debit card processing

Other Investment Services

• Investment consulting
• Linked and time deposits
• Bond arbitrage
• Third-party research
• Treasury consulting

Expanding Opportunities for MWVD Businesses

As set forth in Section 30 of the State Treasurer Act, 15 ILCS 505/30, the Illinois State Treasurer has an aspirational goal to use minority-, women-, veteran-, and disability-owned businesses, also known as MWVD businesses, in at least 25% of the total dollar amount of:

• Funds under management
• Purchases of investment securities
• Other contracts

Treasurer Frerichs supported the passage of Senate Bill 2363, which was signed into law on August 19, 2018. The law formalized this 25% goal and strengthened the Treasurer’s ability to expand opportunities for qualified MWVD firms.

The law also:

• Requires an annual report on MWVD utilization
• Allows procurement preferences for MWVD firms
• Requires review of Community Reinvestment Act ratings

Current Procurement Procedures

The Illinois Treasurer includes detailed questions about diverse ownership in its Requests for Proposals, or RFPs. These questions give the Office a better understanding of which businesses are competing successfully and where barriers may still exist.

Current RFPs include statements like this:

Respondents receive a diversity score based on their answers to the Diversity and Inclusion questions in the RFP. Higher scores may be awarded to firms that are minority-, women-, veteran-, or disability-owned or managed. Higher scores also may be awarded when a greater share of subcontractors are minority-, women-, veteran-, or disability-owned or managed.

Improving Data Collection and Utilization Tracking

The Illinois Treasurer has worked to improve how diversity information is collected and tracked. This has included stronger communication across internal departments and better follow-up with contractors.

As a result:

• more contractors have responded to requests for diversity data
• the Office has more accurate information about active contracts

Fiscal Year 2025 Assessment Results

In Fiscal Year 2025, the Illinois Treasurer again sent a diversity assessment to all contractors with active agreements, including vendors working under certain statewide master contracts.

The assessment results showed:

• 117 contractors received the assessment
• 85 contractors provided MWVD information
• 19 vendors identified as MWVD businesses, either through direct confirmation or verified state registration

Fiscal Year 2025 MWVD Spending

During Fiscal Year 2025, the Illinois Treasurer paid $2,498,775 to MWVD vendors through contractual services and related appropriations.

That amount represented more than 10% of the Office’s total appropriated contract and purchase spending of $24,386,667.87 for the year.

This total does not include $13,421,819.02 in program management fees earned by MWVD contractors during Fiscal Year 2025, because those payments were made directly through fees rather than appropriated funds.

MWVD firms interested in working with the Illinois Treasurer’s Office can explore both procurement and investment opportunities.

For non-investment opportunities—such as RFPs, RFIs, invitations to bid, and related solicitations—please visit our Procurement Opportunities page. You can also view our Focus on Inclusion Flyer for more information.

For investment opportunities, MWVD firms should email MWVD@illinoistreasurer.gov with an overview of their business capabilities. Firms should also complete and submit the following forms so the Illinois Treasurer’s Office can identify potential opportunities:

• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Assessment (XLS automatically downloads)
• Capabilities Questionnaire

MWVD Investment Firms and Contractors

• FY 2025 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• FY 2024 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• FY 2023 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• FY 2022 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• FY 2021 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• FY 2020 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• FY 2019 Annual Report on MWVD Utilization
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – A Track Record of Success (2015-2020)