Grew points to issues with the technology when large language models, including generative AI, create misleading outputs. Any technology innovation needs “skilled operators,” she said.
“The most interesting thing about the most skilled operators is they know their own limitations. And they know the limitations of the tech in this instance, that sits in front of them, too. They’re the people I want in the room,” she said. “They’re the ones that get excited ... But they’re also the same people who say ‘yeah, yeah, but…’ and that has been the most interesting thing for us.”
Grew thinks that generative AI “is one of the most interesting advances that we have seen,” and she points to big upsides with faster coding and information aggregation. “But I’m not taking out the skilled operator,” she said.
Grew says Man Group spends approximately $120 million on technology every year, including employee costs. It had $175.7 billion in assets under management as of March 31.
“The spend that we make is incredibly focused on making us capable at every point in the organization. It’s about taking friction out. And it’s about enabling us,” she said.
Focus on ESG
That data focus is also part of the firm’s work on climate impact and responsible investing. Amid the backlash to ESG in parts of the U.S., Grew says there is a different level of uptake and interest in Europe and coastal America.
“When we think about data, and the ability to make smart decisions, capable decisions, risk-based decisions, there are going to be metrics which are enhanced and capable of having a financial impact, for example, on an issuer,” she said. “We’re not going to suddenly disregard those, either. But are we comfortable with clients who have no interest in ESG, decarbonization, climate impact, whatever it may be? Sure.”
And amid the tech spend, Grew is thinking about the competition for talent. “The war on talent when it comes to quant, data, tech continues to be hot, no doubt,” she said.
Grew admits that in the past Man lost employees to big tech companies as well as multistrategy hedge funds. But in recent years, some employees have returned from Big Tech.
“That opportunity to work on many things, not just a very narrow thing for technologists is something they enjoy. So when a when a developer or a technologist or a quant, when a data scientist come to us, the field of opportunity is broad,” she said.
But even for a firm with a quant focus, discretionary investing continues to be an important part of Man Group.
One of Grew’s first moves as CEO was to retire the firm’s GLG and GPM brands — something she says it was the right time for — to create a broader discretionary division.
“Quite simply, this is about clients being able to navigate the organization in a much simpler way … when you use up precious time explaining what different sub brands mean, rather than talking about content, that’s a less good use of time,” she said, adding that now the firm is clearly defined by its discretionary business, systematic business and solutions business.
Workplace dynamics
Grew has spent time thinking about where she works. She spoke with P&I from Man Group's New York office in the "speakeasy" room, which is hidden behind a bookcase and in a nod to the city’s history resembles a Prohibition-era bar with leather chairs and metal, ceiling tiles.
“We think carefully about these things because these little things matter,” she said. “It’s not lots of money. It’s not about flash. It’s about being thoughtful about people feeling great about place, their work.”
While some financial services firms have demanded workers return to the office fives days a week, Grew has taken a more flexible approach.
“There’s no doubt we have low footfall on Fridays. We just do. And I’m OK with that,” she said. “We give people huge responsibility. They’re very, very good. I trust people to do a good job and to know what they need and to ask us if they need more.”
Grew points to the differences between roles, giving the example of developers working on projects who may not need to be in the office.
“To force them (developers) to do something doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. But you’re not going to see my traders, my execution desk, sitting at home very much,” she said. “So there's a recognition of that flexibility between functions and between deliveries.”
Grew is the first woman to be at the helm of Man Group and she’s committed to surrounding herself with people who are “brilliant and are diverse, have challenged me and made me think about things in a different way,” she said. “And when I sit in a room with those people, I have a high conviction that we’re going to come out of the room with the best answer, the better answer that we can, because of that difference.”
Grew understands the power of seeing someone that looks like them in a leadership position.
“If I am making a bit of a difference, just by turning up to work every single day, I’m turning up to work,” she said.
