Money managers continue hybrid model, but encourage in-person work through benefits

Like trying to predict future returns on investments, there is no guarantee that the asset management industry will return to a full week in the office. For now, many of the organizations named to Pensions & Investments’ 2024 Best Places to Work in Money Management program continue to embrace a hybrid work model.

Data indicates they’re not alone. In October, 23.8% of workers aged 16 and older telecommuted for some or all hours of work, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure is an increase from 19.8% in 2023, as well as 17.9% in 2022.

In anonymous responses to a P&I survey as part of the Best Places program, employees said one of their favorite things about their organizations is the hybrid work-from-home policy, which many employers adopted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic where lockdowns made remote work the norm.

For some firms embracing a flexible model post-lockdowns such as WEDGE Capital Management, it’s partially because “we found that we were pretty productive during the pandemic,” said Christopher Lewis, general partner at the Charlotte, N.C.-headquartered manager.

After ordering its employees to work from home in 2020, WEDGE announced in the fall of 2022 that staff would be required to come to the office on Tuesdays — with exceptions — but many employees come in three days per week.

Chelsea Kelly, vice president at WEDGE, noted employees’ in-office days depend on their commute preferences.

A five-time winner of the Best Places program, WEDGE managed $7.7 billion in assets as of June 30.

Employers also said they are continuing the hybrid model to keep up with the varying needs of their staff. But they add that how much time an employee works in person really depends on the kind of work they have, what’s on the schedule for the week or what their personal needs are.

Voya Investment Management has a lot of its employees “in the office three days a week, which is really nice because they get the collaboration (and) the meeting,” said Jacqueline Ashworth, head of human resources at the New York-headquartered firm. “Our younger folks have the opportunity to see what’s going on — conversations that they might not hear otherwise. But we still have the flexibility. You’re still two days a week from home — or sometimes more.”

Voya has about 65% of its workforce coming in at least once a week on average. Ranked No. 7 among winners with more than 1,000 employees, the firm managed $333 billion in assets as of June 30.

The hybrid model can promote inclusivity of employees of diverse backgrounds and needs, according to research.

Employees with disabilities were 11% more likely to prefer hybrid work than nondisabled workers, and LGBQ+ staffers were 13% more likely to prefer the model than heterosexual colleagues, according to research from McKinsey & Co. Additionally, between 2018 and 2022, increased opportunities in remote work led to a 11.6% increase in employment for older workers aged 51 to 64 with disabilities, according to an analysis from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The flexibility that comes with the hybrid environment also serves as a benefit for working parents balancing family responsibilities such as WEDGE’s Kelly.

Given her travel schedule for meeting with clients and consultants, she said it can be hard at times to be away from her 1-year-old daughter. With the “trust element” from her employer to be flexible with her work, Kelly might take time to pick her daughter up from daycare and spend some time with her.

“It’s those little benefits on the margin that add up and improve my overall happiness at work,” Kelly added.

With the hybrid model at Stadion Money Management, President and CEO Duane Bernt said that given the small size of the Watkinsville, Ga.-headquartered firm, “there’s a lot of control, respect and trust. You don’t have to worry as much” about policy abuse as the leader of a firm with 42 employees, including working parents like himself who value flexibility. “You tend to respect it because you’re given that freedom and attendance, but you don’t want to lose it,” Bernt added. Named a Best Places winner six times, Stadion managed $2.4 billion as of June 30.

Some people say having flexibility helps attract members of Generation Z, which is more diverse ethnically and racially in comparison with other generational groups. Younger workers aged 18 to 59 were 59% more likely to leave their employer than older ones aged 55 to 64, the McKinsey report noted.

A new employee of WEDGE who had recently graduated from college asked during the job interview about the firm’s hybrid work policy, which was a new question to come up during the hiring process, Lewis said. “From their experience going to college, hybrid — or even remote studies — was just a fact of life,” he added.

Different roles, needs and locations

Prior to the pandemic, there was no hybrid policy at Bailard, said CEO Sonya Mughal. Since then, she “had made it very clear that there would be no mandate to come back three days a week,” but at the California-based firm’s main offices in San Francisco and Foster City, people tend to come in on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

“It all depends on meetings,” added Mughal, noting the office was packed on a Wednesday and Thursday due to a two-day strategy meeting.

Named to the Best Places program seven times, Bailard is ranked No. 5 among winners with 50 to 99 employees.

At Satori Capital, each business unit creates its own hybrid work policy to meet its needs, said Cami Miller, vice president of stakeholder experience.

“The policy is really there to help provide clarity on what is this and what is this going to look like for us,” Miller added. “Among the business units, it might be a little bit different, but we really empower the team to decide what approach works best for them, and that seems to have worked out well.”

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

Some employers also noted that the flexibility resulting from the hybrid model has changed how employees take off for routine health appointments, such as a visit to a doctor.

“Prior to offering this flexibility, someone would really have to take a day off, and a lot of times, it’s not really worth it. It’s a little frustrating,” said Marisa Bernstein, head of benefits at First Eagle Investments. “Employees have said it’s great they can work remotely, be gone for an hour, and then get the rest of their work done vs. taking the entire day off.”

Ranked No. 1 among Best Places employers with 500 to 999 employees, the New York-based firm managed $138 billion as of June 30.

Employees at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. can work remotely up to three days per week, but are usually in the office that number of times. In the summer, however, staffers want more flexibility to enjoy the increased amount of daylight, better weather and the natural setting that surrounds them, noted CEO Deven Mitchell.

“That said, there can be events where, if it’s raining ice, we would advise our employees to stay home for safety reasons, but we have all of the technological ability to do that,” Mitchell added. “Otherwise, it’s just part of the experience of living in Alaska ... but you have a lot of people live in Alaska because they’re motivated by the environment (and) the outdoor opportunities.”

Additionally, in a hybrid setting, some people may work from home in the morning, but commute and finish their work from the office, noted Shannon McCain, the sovereign wealth fund’s chief human resources officer.

Some employees, while not part of their regular schedule, may work from home if there’s a particular project they are working on and are seeking no interruption. “Whatever it is, that might be convenient for them, we allow them to do that,” she added.

Named to the Best Places program four times, the Juneau-based asset owner managed $80.5 billion as of June 30.

To encourage in-person attendance, many Best Places winners run events that promote employee engagement.

On the Tuesdays that WEDGE requires in-person attendance, employees work a half day in between rush hours, so they may avoid traffic. This policy “took the stress and the pressure of some of the inconveniences of going into the office,” Kelly noted.

The agenda for the half day can vary from important meetings to team-building activities such as the firm’s monthly sandwich donation drive, for which employees mass-produce lunches for a local homeless shelter.

“We wanted to make a point to actually make sure people are getting together, doing fun things and having those in-person interactions again — and not just walking, driving to work, going to their office and closing the door — because you can do that from home just as easily,” Lewis said. “We may have stepped up our game — even from the pre-COVID days — in terms of the different activities and things we do on Tuesdays, and trying to get more meetings with different people around the company … (to) make sure we preserve some of that interaction.”

At First Eagle, the human resources team also plans events around its required in-person office days, which are from Tuesday to Thursday, Chief Human Resources Officer Nancy Labiner noted. For instance, the firm this year launched a speaking event series where coworkers can sit, listen and gain exposure to senior leaders such as CEO Mehdi Mahmud.

Alaska Permanent has a satellite office in Anchorage since its headquarters in Juneau is not the easiest to get to.

McCain noted the sovereign wealth fund tries to find ways to better involve its remote staff, allowing them to come to Juneau depending on business needs but also coordinating quarterly events such as a picnic or holiday party. The allocator would schedule these events around times when there is a board meeting, or when staff have a planned trip to meet with managers.

At Resolute Investment Managers, employees work from the office Monday through Wednesday, while Thursday and Friday are designated as work-from-home days, noted Donna Merchant, vice president of human resources at the firm.

Each quarter, remote non-sales staff will travel to the headquarters in Irving, Texas, to spend time with colleagues in person, and the firm will organize town halls for recognizing accomplishments and sharing company news.

Named a Best Places winner six times, Resolute managed $79.3 billion as of June 30.

When people are together in person at Bailard, Mughal pointed to the camaraderie that builds as a great benefit — particularly during the lunch hour at the firm’s community table where people can talk about anything other than work.

“Everybody gets into it, and that’s a mix of people that are very senior in the firm and people that are newer and more junior,” Mughal said. “I feel like that organic way of spending time with people helps” create informal mentorship, she added.

Other perks that some firms noted are available in their office include free membership to the fitness center within their office buildings, as well as free food.

In addition to seeing colleagues, Satori employees can come in and have healthy, chef-prepared daily meals and snacks, Miller noted. In addition to having a masseuse and chiropractor visit every other week, the office is designed to bring in a lot of natural light since “we really want the space to be warm and welcoming,” she added.

Some employers have remodeled their office or acquired new space with updated amenities. Voya’s Ashworth noted that for 2025, the firm’s new office in New York “is going to be redone and really nice” with updated technology, collaboration rooms and event space for business and fun activities.

The benefits of commuting

Aside from free lunch, membership to an on-site gym as well as laundry service, the Dallas headquarters of NexPoint offers free parking, Chief Communications Officer Lucy Bannon said.

“Dallas is a car culture, so the reality is everybody’s driving to work,” she added. “If that’s the case, it makes sense for the employer to recognize that to make it easy for people to park on-site — and so that is all taken care of.”

Named a Best Places winner three times, the Dallas-headquartered alternatives manager had $17.3 billion in AUM as of June 30.

Several winners noted they offer commuter benefits, including Chicago-headquartered RCP Advisors, Denver-based Shelton Capital Management and the U.S. headquarters of RBC Global Asset Management in Minneapolis. Headquartered in Boston, Trillium Asset Management reimburses up to $320 monthly for commuting-related expenses.

Colleagues who commute to and from Bailard’s San Francisco office may consider the journey a perk, especially when they ride together.

“Some of us drive, and in the city, there are about six individuals who live pretty close to where I live, and also Mike Faust,” who is president of the firm’s wealth management group, Mughal said. “Mike will take six people home, and he’ll drop them off, so they don’t have to pay for Waymo, Uber or Lyft — or take the bus.”

“It’s so much fun,” the CEO added. “When I can do it, I do it — but they look forward to getting a ride home with Mike.”