PGIM bolsters support for HBCUs with new hire and investment program

Finance industry veteran Timothy Woods hired to lead HBCU Strategic Initiatives

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
PGIM, the $1.4 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) has hired Timothy (Tim) Woods, CFA, as head of HBCU Strategic Initiatives, a new PGIM program.

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Timothy Woods, CFA, Head of HBCU Strategic Initiatives, PGIM (Photo: Business Wire)

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) provide a path to high quality education, lucrative careers and economic mobility for Black students, thereby reducing the racial wealth gap. Yet HBCUs have long faced disadvantages in raising funds and creating robust endowments to support their students compared to their peer institutions across the country. In 2020, the 10 largest HBCU endowments totaled $2 billion, compared with $200 billion for the endowments at the 10 largest predominantly white institutions.¹ PGIM’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is launching an HBCU investment initiative that will provide investment management education and training for select HBCU decision-makers that manage endowments to support their work as stewards.

To provide students with real-world investing experience, the program will help establish and maintain student-run investment funds at select HBCUs, along with support and training, and will establish scholarships for HBCU students to increase education affordability. This new PGIM program builds on Prudential’s decades-long commitment to strengthening HBCUs’ capacity and assisting students through recruiting and financial commitments, including a recent round of more than $3 million in grants.

This PGIM strategy is a new pillar in a developing partnership with Hampton University, in which PGIM is funding technology to support a student-run investment fund and hosted a speaker series featuring a seasoned PGIM investment professional. PGIM is also establishing a partnership with Florida A&M University.

Based in Newark, New Jersey, Woods will report to PGIM’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Kathy Sayko. He will develop and implement a strategy to leverage PGIM’s investment management expertise to support HBCU leadership, faculty and students. Woods will serve as the primary point of contact between PGIM and HBCU leadership and investment teams. He will also be responsible for engaging directly with students and professors to amplify their investments and finance coursework and expertise, and will support student programs aimed at increasing access and exposure to the investment management industry.

“PGIM’s HBCU investment strategy will be a cornerstone of our diversity, equity and inclusion community engagement pillar by driving equitable access to education and experience for the next generation of financial professionals,” Sayko said. “Tim demonstrates a passion for the vibrancy and sustainability of HBCUs and the opportunity to contribute to their achievement of long-term investment goals and overall success. As a deeply experienced investment professional and HBCU alumnus, we are thrilled to have secured the partnership of Tim to advance this program.”

Woods brings two decades of expertise in the asset management industry, having worked as a portfolio manager and equity analyst at Deutsche Bank Asset Management, ClearBridge Investments, and JP Morgan Asset Management. Most recently, Woods was the senior managing director, senior analyst and chief risk officer for small- and smid-cap growth funds at Lisanti Capital Growth in New York. He brings a deep understanding of investment and financial analysis, having worked on funds with a history of top-tier performance and asset growth.

Woods has an MBA in finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science from Florida A&M University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Society of New York.

ABOUT PGIM

PGIM, the global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), ranks among the top 10 largest asset managers in the world² with more than $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2022. With offices in 17 countries, PGIM’s businesses offer a range of investment solutions for retail and institutional investors around the world across a broad range of asset classes, including public fixed income, private fixed income, fundamental equity, quantitative equity, real estate and alternatives. For more information about PGIM, visit pgim.com.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI) of the United States is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom, or with Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom. For more information please visit news.prudential.com.

¹ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/08/04/underfunding-hbcus-leads-to-an-underrepresentation-of-black-faculty/

² PGIM is the investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI); PFI is the 10th largest investment manager (out of 477 firms surveyed) in terms of global assets under management based on Pensions & Investments’ Top Money Managers list published on May 31, 2021. This ranking represents global assets under management by PFI as of Dec. 31, 2020.

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MEDIA

Julia O’Brien

+1 862 754 0005

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Source: PGIM