M&G faces sex harassment claims, launches investigation

Fund manager M&G today faced allegations it failed to deal with repeated sexual harassment by a senior manager of junior female colleagues.

The Bloomberg news agency, which highlighted allegations of a culture of harassment at the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, said he fondled two women inappropriately and grabbed and kissed two more at a staff party, largely focusing on junior colleagues and trainees.

The man, not named in the report, is also accused of sending sexually graphic images to one of the women late at night. Bloomberg said the women claimed when they reported his behaviour, nothing was done.

M&G said it had hired law firm Baker McKenzie to investigate the allegations, describing them as “very serious matters which merit a full investigation”.

The report made numerous allegations about the environment at M&G, accusing it of having “a deeply embedded drinking culture”, where some staff and managers go drinking at lunchtime, view pornography at their desks and head to strip clubs after work.

Lloyd’s launched a full review into its culture after Bloomberg’s report.