A New Idea Takes Shape

In the early 2010s, Vietnam’s stock market was experiencing rapid growth, but one dimension remained largely unmeasured: the role of female leadership in corporate performance.

It was within this context that Intelligent Financial Research & Consulting (IFRC) introduced a groundbreaking concept—the Vietnam Women CEO Indexes.

Launched in 2013, the index series became the world’s first benchmark tracking publicly listed companies led by female CEOs on Vietnam’s two main exchanges, HOSE and HNX.

At its core, the idea was both simple and ambitious:

To transform gender representation into a measurable, investable financial strategy.

From Observation to Innovation

The origins of the index can be traced back to a striking observation.

By the end of 2012, researchers identified just 38 companies—about 5.23% of all listed firms—led by female CEOs.

While this figure appeared modest, it carried a deeper implication. Compared with global benchmarks at the time, Vietnam’s share of female CEOs was already comparable to or higher than markets like the U.S. S&P 500.

Rather than treating this as a social statistic, IFRC treated it as an investment signal.

The result was the creation of a new index family—one that did not track market size, sectors, or factors, but leadership itself.

How the Indexes Are Built

The Vietnam Women CEO Indexes are structured as a multi-layered index family, designed for both research and investment applications.

The series includes:

• All-Shares Index
  • Covers all listed companies with female CEOs
  • Available in both capitalization-weighted and equal-weight formats
• Top 10 and Top 25 Indexes
  • Focus on the largest and most liquid companies
  • Selected based on free-float market capitalization and liquidity

These “tradable” versions are specifically designed to serve as:

• Underlying assets for ETFs
• Structured financial products
• Portfolio benchmarks

The methodology follows international standards, combining transparency with systematic rules.

In effect, the index transforms an abstract concept—gender diversity—into a quantifiable investment universe.

A Rapid Expansion

If the index began with a modest sample, its growth over the following decade tells a different story.

• From 38 companies in 2012,
• To approximately 110 companies by January 2024, representing around 15% of listed firms

This expansion reflects not only changes in corporate leadership but also Vietnam’s broader social and economic transformation.

Female leadership, once underrepresented, has become an increasingly visible and influential force in the country’s capital markets.

Performance That Defied Expectations

What began as an experimental idea soon gained attention for a different reason—performance.

According to IFRC data and market analyses:

• Female CEO-led companies have outperformed traditional benchmarks over time
• In some cases, returns were significantly higher than the VN-Index

A notable example comes from 2017, when:

• The IFRC VNX Top 10 Women CEO Index delivered more than 76% annual performance, ranking among the best-performing indexes in Vietnam that year

Although performance varies across market cycles, the broader conclusion remains consistent:

Leadership-driven indexing can generate competitive—and sometimes superior—returns.

Understanding the Performance Edge

While the index does not explicitly explain why female-led companies outperform, several patterns emerge from market observations:

• Strong emphasis on long-term strategy
• Disciplined financial management
• Resilience during economic uncertainty

Research on Vietnamese firms further supports this perspective, showing that female CEOs are positively associated with firm performance indicators.

In this sense, the index captures not just companies—but a distinct leadership style embedded in corporate behavior.

From Vietnam to a Global Concept

The success of the Vietnam Women CEO Indexes did not remain local.

Vietnam became the testing ground for a broader idea: that leadership-based indexing could be applied globally.

Following its success, IFRC expanded the concept into a global family of Women Leadership Indexes, positioning Vietnam as both:

• A pioneer
• And a proof point

The message was clear: gender-focused indexing is not just a social innovation—it is a financial one.

A Broader Market Impact

Beyond performance, the index has contributed to a larger shift in how investors view markets.

Traditionally, indexes answered a single question:

• How is the market performing?

The Women CEO Indexes introduced a new dimension:

• Who is leading—and how does leadership affect returns?

This shift aligns with the growing importance of:

• ESG investing
• Diversity metrics
• Sustainable finance strategies

In this context, the index serves not only as a benchmark—but as a tool for reshaping investor behavior.

Closing Thought

The creation of the IFRC Vietnam Women CEO Indexes marks a turning point in index innovation.

It demonstrates that:

• Markets are not just collections of companies
• They are reflections of leadership, structure, and decision-making

And in Vietnam’s case, it reveals a compelling insight:

That leadership diversity is not only socially meaningful—but financially measurable.