Hong Kong's first wealth management service specifically for the LGBT community is launching an investment fund that will put its money only into businesses with gay-friendly policies - arguing that such policies ensure happier and more productive employees.

Howard Clark-Burton, director of LGBT Wealth, which began operations in February, said the as-yet-unnamed fund will focus on the concept of open, inclusive workplaces in deciding asset allocation.

"Most companies are not open and therefore you can assume 10 per cent of your workforce is LGBT and they are being forced to be in the closet while they are at work," he said. "They are not happy and they will underperform.

"Our fund goes out and tracks down companies that are open, listed on the main stock exchanges in the world, and invests in those companies, knowing they are going to have 10 per cent of their workforce happier than their competitors. They will probably get more performance out of them and hopefully that translates into share price over time."

LGBT Wealth is the first gay wealth management company in Asia and Clark-Burton said its fund was the first of its kind worldwide.

"LGBT wealth management does already exist in America, particularly New York, and in London and Paris, but there's none in Asia, so there was obviously a sector we would open up," he said.

"Hong Kong is one of the places where change starts at grass roots level and moves upwards, and that's a great place for it to start. The fund is one of those things where if you start investing money into a concept, money is one of the biggest and most effective ways to create change."

(HK Edition 10/25/2013 page4)