Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East
    • 2023 ESG Investing
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. MONEY MANAGEMENT
December 14, 2015 12:00 AM

First Place | Bridgeway Capital

A caring culture with employees who are in it for the long haul

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: Bridgeway staffers went on a mission to El Salvador, left, to help provide drinkable water to remote areas.

    “Think the power of long-term relationships.”

    That's the advice of John Montgomery — founder and CEO of Bridgeway Capital Management, a two-time winner of the Best Places to Work in Money Management — to other money management firms.

    “If you don't lay off people every five years, then people get a chance to build a long-term relationship,” said Mr. Montgomery.

    The firm saves part of its profits to a “rainy day fund.” During an industry downturn, instead of laying off staff to get costs back in line, “we rely on strong balance sheet and continue to build the firm,” he said.

    Von Celestine, chief financial officer of the Houston-based firm, said getting through the Great Recession as a team has helped the firm to reinforce its culture and partner commitment. “The care we have and the people” makes Bridgeway a special place, Mr. Celestine said.

    Bridgeway employees, all known as partners, laud the firm's caring culture. “Working at Bridgeway is like being part of a well-functioning family,” one partner wrote in the Best Places to Work survey, “politics or positioning is non-existent.” Said another: “All my colleagues are smart, silly and caring!”

    The firm sees a high level of collaboration among and across teams. Interviews with job candidates have to be done by all partners from the whole firm, and new hires are assigned a “buddy” — outside the person's team — to make sure he or she feels included.

    Mr. Celestine thinks the extensive interview process can show the candidate all parts of Bridgeway, and “it's important to let him come in to have the support of the entire firm to be successful.”

    The caring culture of Bridgeway goes beyond its own benefit.

    “A philanthropic spirit is built into the fabric of the company,” one partner wrote in the survey.

    The firm donates half of its investment advisory fee profit to non-profit organizations through its Bridgeway Foundation. The foundation's mission is to “work toward the prevention of oppression, genocide and human right violations.”

    For the past five years, the foundation focused on helping put an end to the violence associated with the Lord's Resistance Army, an African rebel group that has been accused of murder, abduction and forcing children to participate in hostilities.

    Partners are encouraged to make a difference by taking part in “mission trips.” This year, mission members went to Latin American countries to work on providing drinkable water in remote areas. The firm pays half of the cost of these trips.

    The volunteer work has been going on for 10 years.

    “Our mission and vision motivate me tremendously. I would not leave this company just for this reason alone,” one partner wrote in the survey.

    Mr. Montgomery said of the service trips: “We learn more about another culture. It makes people more humble, which is a good thing in business, and it's a much more natural way to know each other.”

    Cultural exchanges happen inside and outside of Bridgeway. Half of the partners at Bridgeway were not born in the U.S., and this often results in some debate in their break room. Mr. Montgomery said Kai Liu, a research analyst whose family is originally from China, often ends any political debate with a simple statement: “The bottom line is, we live in a country where we can criticize the government.” Mr. Montgomery said this has gotten him to rethink some things he had always taken for granted.

    Another example of Bridgeway's diversity is that, unlike many other money management firms, half of the firm's portfolio managers are women. Mr. Montgomery said this happened naturally throughout the years. “Diversity attracts diversity,” he said.

    Related Articles
    POLL: What makes an employer a Best Place to Work?
    34 managers selected for 2015 honor
    Fourth Place | Dana Investment Advisors
    Second Place | Cassaday & Co.
    Fifth Place | Balentine
    Third Place | Cardinal Investment Advisors
    POLL: What makes an employer a Best Place to Work?
    Fourth Place | Dana Investment Advisors
    Second Place | Cassaday & Co.
    Fifth Place | Balentine
    Third Place | Cardinal Investment Advisors
    Recommended for You
    Ashmore taps Ng for new head of Asia ex-Japan
    Barry Silbert
    Institutions seek out non-correlated assets after 2022 losses in stocks and bonds
    Ariel poaches 5 emerging markets value equity managers from AllianceBernstein
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    Sponsored Content: Research for Institutional Money Management

    Reader Poll

    January 25, 2023
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    The Future of Infrastructure: Building a Better Tomorrow
    Fulcrum Issues: Equity Returns and Inflation — Choose Your Own Adventure
    What Matters Most in Considering a Private Debt Strategy
    Why pursue direct lending in the core middle market?
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    Are Factors a Thing of the Past?
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East
      • 2023 ESG Investing