Wellness, development among priorities of managers enhancing future of work

To attain excellence in an ever-evolving industry, money managers have to constantly improve their offerings — not just for clients but employees as well.

At employers named to Pensions & Investments’ 2024 Best Places to Work in Money Management program, many focused on health, wellness and mentorship for the benefits, programs and workplace perks they have added — or will start offering next year — for staff.

Even as repeat winners of the program, some firms said there’s always room for improvement — and it’s apparent in conversations with staff and results from engagement surveys. As part of the Best Places program, employees anonymously fill out a feedback survey, in which they may share areas they think need improvement.

As part of his job as chief human resources officer at StepStone Group, Rich Kasnia has traveled to the firm’s offices around the world to engage with staff in person. To make the workplace even better, employees are encouraged to “give us more feedback because we’re going to go fix this,” he said.

“We’re about to make it better and actually be able to do it,” he added. “That’s been fun, and some of our benefit offerings will change in the coming year because of that.”

One thing StepStone employees worldwide can look forward to in 2025 is the ability to buy their organization’s stock at a 50% discount. The La Jolla, Calif.-headquartered firm is also one of the employers that said it will roll out access to digital health platforms such as Carrot Fertility and Maven Clinic, both of which provide assistance and service for family planning, fertility and menopause.

Ranked No. 5 among Best Places winners with 500 to 999 employees, StepStone managed $169 billion in assets as of June 30.

At First Eagle Investments, employees are increasingly volunteering for a spot on the New York-headquartered manager’s Engagement and Inclusion Council, which expanded at the start of 2024. The 35-member council promotes connectivity at the firm through events and initiatives, such as a new speaker series where employees listen to leaders such as CEO Mehdi Mahmud talk about themselves and what’s going on at the company.

“People are continually asking to join because they want to be part of creating this positive impact on the organization, both internally as well as externally,” said Sakkara Pama, head of talent development at First Eagle.

Ranked No. 1 among winners with 500 to 999 employees, First Eagle managed $138 billion in assets as of June 30.

Similarly, NISA Investment Advisors started its own series hosted by CEO David Eichhorn, who welcomes attendees to share feedback related to the business and submit anonymous questions he will answer.

But in a festive twist, these monthly meetings come in the form of informal birthday breakfasts where celebrants enjoy a gourmet buffet, get to know each other and receive a gift “that is befitting of a company proud of its community — St. Louis swag,” noted Susan Gerard, head of marketing and communications at NISA.

“When we kicked off this particular program this year, it was with the knowledge that birthdays are inherently random, thus practically ensuring we would have a diverse group of attendees who may or may not know each other to interact in other forums,” she added.

Named a Best Places to Work winner five times, the St. Louis-based investment manager managed $438 billion as of June 30.

New facilities to welcome employees back

Nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced many employers to work from home, some winners have made moves to upgrade or relocate into new facilities.

In New Jersey, Lord Abbett, Newark, said it redesigned a new workspace over the past year, while Jacobs Levy Equity Management, Florham Park, welcomed staff into a newly built office space. On the West Coast, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System finished the expansion of its West Sacramento headquarters, which features a pedestrian plaza with public amenities.

Jacqueline Ashworth, the Atlanta-based head of human resources for New York-headquartered Voya Investment Management, said her regional office has been redone since the pandemic. She said that for employees, the firm has “tried to make the office space nice when they come back” — complete with a cafe, too. About 65% of the asset manager’s total 1,021 employees works in the office at least once a week on average.

For 2025, Voya will move to a new space in New York, which will have updated technology, collaboration rooms and space for events such as town halls and leadership lunches.

“There are a lot of activities that we can try to do on-site as well when different people are traveling or in town,” noted Ashworth, adding that this gives way for exposure opportunities employees wouldn’t otherwise have at home or elsewhere.

Ranked No. 7 among winners with more than 1,000 employees, Voya managed $333 billion as of June 30.

Some Best Places winners are honing in on employees’ wellness.

For 2024, Satori Capital added a benefit of up to $500 to be used for a “building biologist.” This specialist visits employees’ homes and assesses the health of the environment, including for mold.

“And so not only are we nurturing our employees’ well-being in the office through things that we have — like catered lunches every day (and) we have a chiropractor and masseuse — but we’re also considering how can we support them and their family beyond our walls,” said Cami Miller, vice president of stakeholder relationships at the firm, which has offices in the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex.

In 2025, Satori will also be opening a new office in Fort Worth that will feature an immersive “recharge room” with a night sky on the ceiling, a built-in tree on the wall and a vibrational sound bed. Employees can “take 20 minutes and just recharge, relax their mind and feel like they’re stepping into a completely different space — but all within our walls,” Miller added.

Ranked No. 4 among winners with 20 to 49 employees, Satori managed $1.3 billion in assets as of June 30.

Voya employees in 2024 were introduced to Lyra Health, a digital platform that provides access to therapists, psychiatrists and self-care resources. Ashworth said staffers receive 10 free sessions to support their mental health. Additionally, the investment manager started offering free membership for FOLX Health, which provides healthcare and wellness services for the unique needs of employees in the LGBTQIA+ community.

In Boca Raton, Fla., employees in Polen Capital drove the creation of — and named — the newest employee resource group “Thrive.” The focus is on wellness and is inclusive of physical, mental and financial aspects, said Chief People Officer Rachel Trock.

The group organizes 15-minute post-lunch walks near the office so employees can get fresh air and move around. Thrive also reminds employees of wellness benefits that the firm offers but may have forgotten about such as individualized coaching and an annual learning stipend.

“It’s hard to retain all this information” during employee orientation, Trock said. She added that “I’ve noticed such a change where people don’t feel as much or any stigma to talk about mental illness, anxiety and depression. That would have been quite taboo a long time ago.”

Ranked No. 4 among winners with 100 to 499 employees, Polen managed $65 billion in assets as of June 30.

Leveling up and building ‘long-lasting relationships’

Some Best Places to Work winners have unveiled new development-focused initiatives, including formal programs for fostering mentorship.

Launched at the start of 2024, First Eagle’s 12-month mentorship program is open to all employees who want to be a mentee, mentor or both, and people may choose to meet remotely or in person, Pama said. Participants are offered a detailed calendar of topics that can be covered during the program so they don’t feel like they have to come up with topics on their own.

The firm also organizes two workshops — the first for mentors and mentees to assess how the professional pairing is working, and whether there are additional areas to focus on. The second workshop is for thinking about mentorship outside the professional environment, like giving back to the community.

The program is currently wrapping up with a reflection, giving participants a chance to share what they’ve learned throughout the year and decide if they want to move forward with their current relationship — or switch things up and get to know someone else at First Eagle.

“Some people view this as a way to get to know each other (or) to learn about other departments and parts of the business. Others use it purely for career development,” Pama added. “It’s really what you want to get out of it.”

For 13 years, Artemis Real Estate Partners has facilitated its summer enrichment program to introduce rising college sophomores and juniors to the industry.

But new for participants in 2024 was a service day, noted Amanda Khazem, the program lead for the initiative at the Chevy Chase, Md.-headquartered manager, which managed $10.4 billion as of June 30. Students engaged in activities with older adults at a senior housing property in Virginia, and assembled personal hygiene kits for the nonprofit Horton’s Kids.

New to NISA was a development fair where employees spent an afternoon going through a structured walk through of the firm’s operating model — complete with a map. “Attendees got to learn how work flows across our organization, (and) attendees were then able to freely ‘walk the model’ at their leisure,” Gerard noted.

Each department had a table that provided materials that described their work, their roles and required skills. In addition to scanning a QR code for more information, attendees could speak with a representative of the department. Members of the human resources department also presented information on the firm’s philosophy and other resources.

Participants had the option of entering a raffle for development opportunities as well as sign up for a one-on-one conversation with a member of NISA’s management committee.

The fair was attended by about a quarter of the firm’s staff, which rated the event a 4.2 out of 5 in a survey and made creative suggestions for follow-up events, such as a scavenger hunt.

For the onboarding of new staff, Polen Capital’s diversity and inclusion committee created an initiative that also helps employees become more familiar with a different part of the business.

On day one, “there’s a lot to navigate — a lot of benefits forms you have to fill out, figuring out where the restrooms are, figuring out the Polen way of doing things” — so the program Polen Pals pairs new hires with someone who carries the values of the firm and has had a long tenure, Trock said. Notably, these partners do not work in the same team to give them exposure to other areas of the business, she added.

New hires may opt out of the program, but those who participate are asked to maintain a six-month commitment.

“We certainly hope that these relationships sustain longer than that, but by six months, it’s logical to assume that you’ve gotten onboarded and acclimated … We do our best to pair people with folks in the same office so that they can meet in person, and hopefully it leads to long-standing relationships — but so far, so good,” Trock said.