NAREIM Survey: DEI vendor due diligence and recruitment

As NAREIM members - and the world - track and monitor diversity, equity and inclusion metrics, attention is turning to the supply chain and vendor diversity.

NAREIM members are asking peers to share insights and best practices covering vendor DEI due diligence as well as the data being requested by investors and collected by managers.

* Data collection - what and how?

* Technology solutions

* Vendor due diligence processes

* MWDBE vendor recruitment, retention and successes

* Repository of LP DDQs on supply chain and vendor-diversity

Answers remain strictly anonymized - to both fellow members and NAREIM. By participating in this survey you share best practices among the entire NAREIM membership.

We ask only investment management firms to participate in this Survey.

Thank you for participating.

Company demographics

Question Title

* 1. Firm: What is your firm's AUM?

<$1bn AUM

$1bn-$5bn AUM

$5bn-$15bn AUM

$15bn-$50bn AUM

$50bn-$100m AUM

$100bn+ AUM

N/A

Question Title

* 2. Firm: What is your firm's operating/ownership structure?

Independent real estate investment manager/private equity firm

Affiliate/subsidiary of an insurance company

Affiliate/subsidiary of a non-insurance financial institution (e.g. investment manager, commercial bank, private equity firm)

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. Firm: How many employees are in your company? If you are affiliated with a parent company, please provide the number of employees within the real estate group only.

Vendor data collection

Question Title

* 4. Data: What types of due diligence questions are you receiving from institutional investors and consultants, as it relates to MWDBE vendor engagement.

Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

We are being asked about whether DEI is a consideration in vendor selection and diligence.

We are being asked which policies we have in place to encourage MWDBE engagement

We are being asked whether or not we have supplier diversity policies

We are being asked to report on how much of our spend is with MWDBE vendors

We are being asked to report on how much of our spend is with non-MWDBE vendors whereby more than 50% of the contracted services are performed by minority, women or disadvantaged employees

We have not received questions relating to MWDBE vendor engagement from LPs

Question Title

* 5. Data: What DEI-related data are you collecting from third-party suppliers and vendors?

Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

We request DEI policies and strategies

We request certifications for MWDBE (minority, woman or disadvantaged business enterprises)

We request DEI Code of Conduct and Code of Ethnics

We request demographic information by gender and/or ethnicity at the vendor ownership level

We request demographic information by gender and/or ethnicity at the contract level

We do not collect DEI-related data from suppliers and vendors

Other data. Please describe

Question Title

* 6. Data: How do you obtain DEI-related data from third-party suppliers and vendors?

Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

We ask them to complete an Excel- or Word-based questionnaire over email

We send out a web portal-generated email asking them to complete a questionnaire within a web portal

We request a listing of documents from vendors via email

We gather key information ourselves (such as from EEO-1 data, certification bodies etc)

Other data sources. Please describe

Question Title

* 7. Data: As it relates to vendor DEI data collection, what percentage of your top 50 vendors provide you with all of the DEI information you request?

75% to 100%

50% to 75%

25% to 50%

1% to 25%

Question Title

* 8. Data: What technology are you using in-house to streamline DEI-related data collection efforts?

Note: The technology does not have to be DEI-specific tools, but can be reporting tools you use for other functional areas and that are being utilized to streamline and aggregate DEI and DEI-vendor data collection. The technology can be utilized at either at the parent or real estate group level. Please name the type of technology and the brand name.

Vendor selection and retention

Question Title

* 9. Vendor selection: Do you utilize the DEI-related data collected from third-party suppliers and vendors as part of your vendor selection process?

Please check all the answers that apply.

No: We currently only request DEI data from vendors and do not expect to use this data within our vendor selection practices within the next 12 months

Under review: We currently only request DEI data from vendors and are evaluating how to use this data to change vendor selection practices within the next 12 months

Yes, partially: We already use the DEI data we collect from vendors as part of our decision making process for vendor selection

Yes, significantly: We already use the DEI data we collect from vendors as a significant part of our decision making process for vendor selection

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 10. Vendor selection: If you have changed your vendor selection and due diligence protocols owing to DEI-related policies - or are currently reviewing them - what have you changed or are considering changing?

For example, do you set goals around MWDBE firms being represented within your final vendor shortlist? Do you require more data from vendors relating to DEI? Etc

Question Title

* 11. Increasing vendor diversity: What initiatives or practices have you implemented that have improved supplier and vendor diversity for your organization? And what has been less successful?

DDQs - share your Qs with NAREIM peers

Question Title

* 12. DDQ repository: NAREIM has been asked to create a repository of DDQs relating to DEI vendor selection and due diligence by fellow members.

Can you share the questions you have been asked by institutional investors?

If yes, please list all the questions you have received below - or send an Excel spreadsheet with the questions to Zoe Hughes at zhughes@nareim.org. We will aggregate all questions into one handy Excel for members to review. Please do NOT name the investor.

For example: Below are a set of Qs received from multiple investors by one manager.

What improvements have you made in the hiring of minority-, woman-, person with a disability-owned businesses (MWDB) in the past year?

Please discuss your firm’s commitment to diversity, including diversity within your vendor relationships.

Does your firm require a Code of Conduct from service providers? If ‘no’, are you considering making this a requirement?

Do you ask your vendors, suppliers and partners to disclose their EEO-1 data publicly?

Does the Firm utilize diverse-owned investment banks for capital markets services, mergers and acquisitions services and/or other advisory services?

NAREIM Survey: DEI vendor due diligence and recruitment

Question Title

* 1. Firm: What is your firm's AUM?

Question Title

* 2. Firm: What is your firm's operating/ownership structure?

Question Title

* 3. Firm: How many employees are in your company? If you are affiliated with a parent company, please provide the number of employees within the real estate group only.

Question Title

* 4. Data: What types of due diligence questions are you receiving from institutional investors and consultants, as it relates to MWDBE vendor engagement.Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

Question Title

* 5. Data: What DEI-related data are you collecting from third-party suppliers and vendors? Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

Question Title

* 6. Data: How do you obtain DEI-related data from third-party suppliers and vendors?Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

Question Title

* 7. Data: As it relates to vendor DEI data collection, what percentage of your top 50 vendors provide you with all of the DEI information you request?

Question Title

Question Title

* 9. Vendor selection: Do you utilize the DEI-related data collected from third-party suppliers and vendors as part of your vendor selection process? Please check all the answers that apply.

Question Title

Question Title

* 11. Increasing vendor diversity: What initiatives or practices have you implemented that have improved supplier and vendor diversity for your organization? And what has been less successful?

Question Title

* 4. Data: What types of due diligence questions are you receiving from institutional investors and consultants, as it relates to MWDBE vendor engagement.

Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

* 5. Data: What DEI-related data are you collecting from third-party suppliers and vendors?

Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

* 6. Data: How do you obtain DEI-related data from third-party suppliers and vendors?

Please check all that apply and provide descriptions of alternative data you may collect.

* 9. Vendor selection: Do you utilize the DEI-related data collected from third-party suppliers and vendors as part of your vendor selection process?

Please check all the answers that apply.