Attentiveness to charity a good recruitment tool

A strong, companywide commitment to philanthropy, community service and volunteerism is nearly ubiquitous among recipients of Pensions & Investments' 2019 Best Places to Work in Money Management awards.

All but two of the 76 winning money managers, consultants and asset owners in P&I's eighth annual program said their organization sponsors and/or actively supports community initiatives and 76% provide paid time off to employees for a wide range of charitable endeavors in response to the survey, conducted by Best Companies Group, Harrisburg, Pa.

From packing backpacks with school supplies for kids in need to serving food in homeless shelters, matching employee charitable contributions, companywide service days/weeks/months/summers, and international service trips to improve the lives of people in desperate need, this year's group of P&I Best Places to Work winners is devoted to giving back.

In addition to improving the world outside their offices, money managers are finding that a philanthropic culture is an increasingly important factor in employee recruitment and retention.

Quantitative equity manager Bridgeway Capital Management Inc., Houston, Texas, explicitly incorporated volunteerism and philanthropy into its business through the creation of the Bridgeway Foundation at the time of its launch in 1993. The company donates half of its investment management profits to non-profit groups through the Houston-based foundation.

The foundation's mission is to be a catalyst for hope and reconciliation, a cause the firm's 39 employees fully embrace, said Tammira Philippe, CEO and president.

"Giving back is part of our culture and something that everyone shares," said Ms. Philippe, stressing that "we try to filter our emphasis on giving back into the discussion at the beginning of the recruitment process, and we are attracting extraordinary people.

"There will always be companies that will offer more money; I want to hire people who share our values of community service and won't be easily pulled away," Ms. Philippe said.

Bridgeway Capital employees have many opportunities to support causes of their choice with a paid day off each quarter for volunteer work as well as more paid time off to participate in service trips for which Bridgeway pays 50% of expenses for the employee and his or her family. The firm also matches employee contributions to charities of their choice.

Bridgeway Capital ranks fourth in the small-employer category for firms with between 20 and 49 U.S. employees in this year's Best Places program.

The firm managed $8.3 billion as of June 30. The size of the foundation could not be learned.

Active U.S. fixed-income manager Income Research & Management Inc., Boston, also is attracting attention from potential recruits for its philanthropic work, said William A. O'Malley, CEO and co-CIO.

"Charity is a big part of our culture, and the word is out about us on social media. We're finding that it's a good recruiting and retention factor," Mr. O'Malley said.

Members of the firm's investment and operations teams get to know each other on a deeper level and cement relationships while volunteering together to serve meals at a homeless shelter or at the end of a weekend 5K run, he said.

"This helps our investment clients because the continuity of our employees increases the chance of good returns over the long run," Mr. O'Malley said.

Employees are given two paid days off per year for volunteer work and can apply for a company grant on behalf of their chosen non-profit organization. The firm also matches employees' charitable donations.

During the firm's annual Week of Giving in late June, Income Research & Management's 170 employees can volunteer at between 20 and 30 events, Mr. O'Malley said.

After the Week of Giving, Mr. O'Malley said Christmas in the City, a charity that provides toys for underprivileged Boston kids, is the employees' second-favorite annual charity activity.

Income Research & Management's relationship with the non-profit group began eight years ago when Mr. O'Malley read a newspaper story lamenting that Christmas in the City wasn't getting enough toy donations. He forwarded the article to the firm's employees and within a couple of days, hundreds of toys had been collected and donated. Employees also volunteered at the annual children's toy party.

"This charity is close to my heart. From that little tiny seed came one of our most successful, beloved events," he said.

Income Research & Management is second among large employers with between 100 and 499 U.S. employees on P&I's Best Places list. It managed a total of $76 billion as of June 30.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. is focused on helping its hometown, Cincinnati, become a great place to live with a strong economy, flourishing schools, adequate housing and better medical resources.

Fort Washington also finds that potential recruits are attracted by the firm's largesse, which totaled $550,000 to more than 50 charities in Cincinnati and the Midwest in 2018, said Maribeth S. Rahe, the firm's president and CEO.

Community service is a significant component of the firm's Fresh Network, an internal community of younger employees, many of whom who are active volunteers, Ms. Rahe said.

Fort Washington's philanthropic efforts have a special focus on strengthening medical research resources in Cincinnati.

The firm is a premier sponsor of Ride Cincinnati, a bike race that raises money to fund cancer research at University of Cincinnati's Barrett Cancer Center. Fort Washington's team leader for the event is a cancer survivor, Ms. Rahe said.

Fort Washington has funded 37 cancer research projects at the center over the past 13 years, but Ms. Rahe said more dollars need to be raised through charitable activities so the Barrett Cancer Center can qualify for further grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, with a workforce of 145 people, managed $60.6 billion as of June 30. It is a six-time winner in the Best Places program.

Another firm based in a midsize city, multiasset manager Baird Asset Management, stressed that its "individual and company support for the community we work in is in our DNA. It's a very big part of our culture and philosophy and is part of the way we attract and retain great employees," said Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and CIO of the asset management company, who also is president of sister company Baird Funds Inc. Both companies are based in Milwaukee as is their parent company, Robert W. Baird & Co.

Employees are granted two paid days off per year for volunteerism, and Ms. Stanek said the company tries to "meet employees where they are to find out what is important to them and to support their charitable organizations."

These groups include Pathfinders, a shelter for young people in crisis; The Guest House of Milwaukee, which serves the city's homeless population; and Feeding America, which provides food packages to food banks.

In celebration of the company's 100th anniversary this year, Baird designated a period of 100 days of giving, rather than the usual annual week of giving. The parent company's $47 million Baird Foundation, Milwaukee, also awarded 100 individual volunteers with $1,000 donations to their selected charities, Ms. Stanek said.

Baird Asset Management ranked fifth this year among medium employers with 50 to 99 U.S. employees. It has been recognized every year in the Best Places program since it began in 2012.

Multiasset manager Voya Investment Management LLC, New York, is finding that its extensive philanthropic program is making a favorable impression on its investment management clients, said Christine Hurtsellers, the firm's Atlanta-based CEO.

The Voya Foundation, New York, provides financial support to 3,900 non-profit entities and in 2018, 72% of Voya Investment Management's employees donated a collective 42,000 hours to charities of their choosing.

"Clients see what we do and recognize the authenticity. In an increasingly competitive industry, it's a competitive edge," Ms. Hurtsellers said.

In addition to providing employees with 40 hours a year of paid time off for volunteerism, flexibility to volunteer during work hours, and dollar-for-dollar matches up to $5,000 for employee donations to eligible non-profit organizations, the entire asset management division effectively closes for its annual day of service in early May.

Ms. Hurtsellers said each of the Voya Investment Management offices in New York; Atlanta; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Windsor, Conn., plan their own charitable events on the day.

Skeleton crews remain in each office to deal with contingencies and complete projects such as packing food boxes, packing school backpacks or writing letters to veterans, Ms. Hurtsellers said.

As for everyone else, Ms. Hurtsellers said: "I want people to get out of their offices and work on projects like building houses for Habitat for Humanity or Covenant House, a national agency that helps homeless youths. I want people to get to know each other."

Voya managed $214 billion as of June 30 and ranks third in the major employer category for firms with between 500 and 999 U.S. employees. The size of the Voya Foundation could not be learned.

Among some of the most successful charity projects reported by other Best Places winners is Wrap Up London, a coat donation drive run by employees based in William Blair Investment Management LLC's London office, said Laura Coy, director of philanthropy, who is based in the firm's Chicago headquarters.

The program is in its ninth year and this year collected 21,000 coats at London Underground stations to give to homeless people in Britain's capital city, Ms. Coy said.

William Blair, a multiasset manager, managed $56 billion as of June 30 and counts 323 employees in the U.S. It has been recognized seven times in the Best Places program.

A group of 10 employees of Crossmark Global Investments Inc., Houston, embarked on the firm's annual service trip to Haiti.

This year, the team built houses in poor areas on the island in conjunction with local partner Mission of Hope, said Adrienne C. Moreno, regional associate and chairwoman of the firm's philanthropy committee.

"Philanthropy opens doors for people to go out and volunteer. It's not an end goal for us. It's a journey, and it comes from our own desire to give back," Ms. Moreno said.

Crossmark is a value-based investment manager whose 46 employees manage $5.1 billion mainly for faith-based organizations. Crossmark also was recognized in 2018 as a Best Place.

"Community service is ingrained" in the culture of Fiduciary Investment Advisors LLC, especially among the younger employees of the Windsor, Conn.-based investment consultant, said Mark T. Wetzel, president.

Twenty of the company's 83 employees recently ran the Hartford Marathon to benefit Connecticut Children's Medical Center in relay teams of four people. Mr. Wetzel said there was friendly rivalry between the firm's operations and manager research relay teams.

Fiduciary Investment Advisors had $87 billion under advisement as of June 30, and has placed five times in the Best Places program.

The critical cultural tenet for multiasset manager PPM America Inc., Chicago, is a focus on community, said Mark B. Mandich, president and CEO.

"You have to do it, not just talk about it," said Mr. Mandich, who by way of example, described the company's summer of service project. Employees went to work on an urban farm in the under-resourced Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

PPM partnered with Sweet Water Foundation, which has a mission to transform vacant spaces and abandoned buildings in the city into economically and ecologically advantageous community assets.

PPM employees worked alongside community residents on 10 workdays over eight weeks during the summer, pulling weeds, uprooting dead trees and spreading mulch to control weeds to prepare the soil for future food crops to benefit the local community.

PPM's 260 employees managed $125.1 billion as of June 30. The company also was recognized as a Best Place in 2018.