The five firms recognized in Pensions & Investments’ Best Places To Work in Money Management for 10 straight years all place a heavy emphasis on communication and personal interaction to maintain their corporate culture.
In a panel discussion at P&I’s inaugural BPTW conference in New York on Dec. 14 titled the Future of Work, executives with the 10-year winning firms spoke of the importance of a strong culture in navigating challenges spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kamal Bhatia, the New York-based chief operating officer at Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Global Investors, with $577.4 billion in AUM as of Sept. 30, described culture as the “operating system” of a company. “You don’t really see it typically but it defines everything you do with your employees, for your clients. And it’s really embedded in everything you do. And you know like any good operating system, it just works seamlessly and wonderfully.”
“Ultimately, in money management it is a business of people. Almost every dollar we manage on behalf of clients is managed by people. We don’t have machines doing it.”
Mr. Bhatia further said that employees at Principal are encouraged to build a peer-to-peer network, noting that last year the firm launched a program focused on global mentoring. Company-provided day care and health facilities also help to support its workforce, he said.
Mark Mirsberger, CEO of Waukesha, Wis.-based Dana Investment Advisors Inc., another 10-year winner, oversees a small firm of 47 workers where “family” is an intentional key element of the culture. “What makes for a good family?” he asked rhetorically during the panel discussion. “People who care about each other. People who encourage each other. People that have each other’s back.” Taking extra care of employees, especially important during the pandemic, allows Dana’s employees to take care of clients, he added.
Paying 100% of employees’ medical, dental, disability and life insurance premiums at the employee-owned firm isn’t cheap, he said, but it is valued by Dana’s workforce.
As a reflection of Dana’s strong culture, he said turnover is non-existent in the 15 years he has served as CEO, save for one retirement. Dana had $7.3 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
At ClearBridge Investments LLC, Vinay Nadkarni, managing director and head of global business development, said entrepreneurship, transparency and collaboration are crucial elements of his company’s culture. He also said that his firm, which had assets under management of $196 billion as of Sept. 30, seeks to have each employee “think like an owner” so that the firm’s success is a “shared success.”
“Amazing things happen when nobody worries about who gets the credit. At a smaller firm, I think that’s a lot easier for us to do.” The New York-based firm has about 262 employees. Mr. Nadkarni added that policies like profit-sharing helps employees feel more connected to the firm’s overall success.
Panelists also spoke about the importance of authenticity is supporting a firm’s culture.
Drew Schardt, head of global investment strategy at Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC of Conshohocken, Pa., said that culture comprises the “key principles that we want everyone to be bought into that define who we are” that help the firm navigate tough business decisions or client relationships. “It’s authentic. It’s genuine. And if it’s not those things, then the virtuous cycle that is culture, which creates success and buy-in, does not work.”
Hamilton Lane had $709 billion in assets under advisement and $96 billion in discretionary assets under management as of Sept. 30.
Fostering diverse perspectives also is key, he said. A diversity, equity and inclusion committee made of senior people as well as strategic partnerships with groups such as Girls Who Invest, for example, help ensure a range of perspectives.
Another panelist highlighted the importance of integrity as a company value.
Mary Ellen Stanek, Milwaukee-based president of Baird Funds and the founder and co-CIO of Baird Advisors, said that at Baird, “we are culture creatures, and it defines how we work together and how we serve our clients. Clients come first. How we win is as important as if we win. And we are definitely in the business to win. Integrity is irreplaceable.”
Baird also applies a “no jerks rule,” she said. “We all know what that means and it means client come first and we treat everybody with respect.”
Baird Funds and Baird Advisors are two groups under Baird Asset Management, which had $137.2 billion in AUM as of Oct. 31.
During the past 18 months of the pandemic, Ms. Stanek said, Baird has emphasized open and direct communication in order to listen to and be mindful of employees’ concerns.
In a separate interview following the panel, discussion, Ms. Stanek cited an example of how Baird rewards its employees for their hard work — all staff, including long-term interns who have been with the firm for several years, will receive a $5,000 cash bonus this year.
