Reginald Sanders

Carlos Rangel

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) and its chief investment officer Carlos Rangel are very serious about the subject of diversity and have become authorities and leading advocates in institutional investment, endowment, and foundation communities. While most of its peers have begun focusing on DEI in the context of their investment portfolios post George Floyd, the WKKF started its Diverse Managers Program in 2009. The Diverse Managers Program focuses on diversity within the broader investment management industry as well as the utilization of diverse-owned managers in the implementation of its portfolio strategy. In April 2023, WKKF published a “workplace transformation guide” for the industry with a series of recommendations that will expand opportunity and advance racial and gender equity. The work is based on the belief that the lack of a robust pipeline of investment professionals within predominantly white owned firms will result in fewer firms owned and managed by women and people of color. WKKF’s assets are managed by a majority racially and ethnically diverse investments team at the foundation. According to Rangel, “This moment calls for a different type of leadership. That means investing in diverse managers. True to the foundation’s DNA, we continue to use our expertise and influence to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in the investments industry.” WKKF has used its assets to invest in firms and strategies where people of color and women have significant decision-making power. According to the foundation, more than 26% of the U.S. based assets in the WKKF Trust’s diversified portfolio are invested with majority diverse-owned firms in the U.S. Alongside Rangel, respected investment industry veteran Reginald Sanders contributes internally to strategic thinking and investment decisions and serves as an external advocate for the kind of change that has been working for WKKF for over a decade.