FAQ

In the world of finance and trading, investors refer to stocks as "chips" and categorise them based on colour. Blue chips, for example, are stocks of companies that are considered as large, well-known and highly valued companies, while "green chips" refer to companies working in green energy, sustainability or other activities associated with environmentalism.

Pink Chip represents an entirely new financial category in which “pink” refers to the power that women bring to the businesses that they lead.

Though massively underrepresented in leadership roles, numerous studies have shown that women consistently outperform their male counterparts when in charge of a business.

  • Research compiled by Frank Recruitment Group found that 87% of the top 500 companies in 2022 led by a female decision-maker reported above-average profits, compared to just 78% of companies without a female CEO.
  • A 2019 study from S&P Global found that firms with female CEOs and CFOs produced superior stock price performance, compared to the market average.
  • Harvard Business Review looked into what it takes to be a great leader and found that women outscored men in 17 of the 19 key leadership capabilities.

Financial markets are fickle things but, as far as we know, they aren’t sentient just yet. The market bias that Pink Chip is here to reverse stems from the investors on which markets rely.

  • A study from Northwestern found that the appointment of a female CEO garners more media attention than that of a man which, in turn, causes that company’s stock price to drop by 2-3% after the announcement.
  • Peer-reviewed journal Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes published a study that revealed that Wall Street investors placed a lower value on the shares of companies run by women than male-led companies with similar levels of risk and earned profits.
  • Businesses led by women are 63% less likely to receive venture capital funding, according to a study from researchers from Columbia Business School and London Business School.

If you want to read more about this bias, you can explore the following:

Currently Pink Chip indices are educational tools that allow investors to make evidence-based decisions free from the bias that holds female leaders back. These indices are not funds nor financial products that you can directly invest in.

If you would like to invest in female leadership, use the tickers supplied in our company list and invest via your platform of choice. Pink Chip lists are already available in DEGIRO, with more to come. If you’d like to request an index for your market, a platform integration, or express your interest in a Pink Chip ETF, sign our petition or get in touch here.

Thanks for letting us know! Please send us an email with the company name and we’ll have a look to see if it meets the Pink Chip criteria. If they do, they’ll be added to the index.

For now, we’re including companies that have a woman-identifying CEO, are US listed, have a market cap of $2bn or over, and a CAGR of at least 8% over the last 3 years. Less than 10% of listed companies in the US are run by women, so that alone makes these companies ‘exceptional’ - but looking at CAGR over a three year period ensures that we’re including companies with a solid track record. In the future, we may change or introduce other performance indicators.

The holdings in the Pink Chip index meet our criteria for inclusion, which we’ve intentionally designed to be passive and rules-based. Companies in the Pink Chip index must have a woman-identifying CEO, be listed in the US, have a market cap of $2bn or over, and a CAGR of at least 8% over the last 3 years.

There’s a substantial body of research that shows that companies with diverse or women-led leadership see solid or above-average performance and returns. That’s reason enough to invest in women-led companies.

But aside from that, we believe that thematic investing - and investing with your values and ideas - is a valid way to invest. Pink Chip exists so that you can make evidence-based decisions that support women in business.

We did this to further constrain the universe of the index. In the future, we may introduce small and mid-size companies with smaller market cap.

Pink Chip is composed of securities that most investors can actually invest in, so it doesn’t include private companies. However, if you know of an exceptional private company led by a woman, we’d love to hear about them so we can follow their journey to (hopefully) IPO!

Great question! Our goal is to create versions of Pink Chip for markets around the world to empower investors and women in business everywhere. This is just the beginning and we’ll be launching Pink Chip EU, UK, and other markets soon.

There’s already a handful of broad market indices and ETFs that track women-led companies purely on the basis of their leadership or gender equity. Pink Chip includes a performance criteria and focuses on exceptional women-led companies, to constrain the universe of the Pink Chip index and ensure it’s:

  • Distinct from other indices on the market
  • Diverse in its holdings, extending beyond well-known household names
  • Ultimately, a more investable index, yielding a higher alpha.

By implementing these criteria, we not only advance women in business but also empower investors to make evidence-based investments, free from bias.

Our mission is to advance and empower women in business, so our focus is on giving investors the tools they need to invest in women with confidence. 

We recognise that other intersections and marginalised groups are also strong business leaders, and encourage you to explore them! Visit Thematic's website to learn how you can create your own institutional-quality index.