Hedge fund industry players unsure about returning to offices – AIMA

About 67% of hedge fund managers, institutional investors and industry service providers were working entirely remotely and 25% were mostly working at home as of June 1, according to a survey of 240 respondents conducted by the Alternative Investment Management Association.

The remaining 8% of the 67,000 employees worldwide at the respondent firms were working entirely or mostly from a disaster-recovery center.

As for returning to work in their offices, 49% of those surveyed said they expect that 50% or more of staff will return to the office in November. Some 1 in 5 respondents don't expect that any of their employees will return to their offices until Jan. 1, 2021, at earliest.

However, about 75% of respondents said they expect to be able to host visitors in their office buildings starting in the fourth quarter this year. Three-quarters of survey takers said they likely will not travel outside their country for the remainder of 2020, and two-thirds said they expect their companies will adopt a more liberal work-for-home policy going forward.

The five areas of greatest concern for the respondents whose entities are contemplating a return of their employees to the workplace universe in order of response were concern about travel to work via public transportation; a second wave of the spread of the COVID-19 virus; overly restrictive measures implemented by federal and local government authorities; safety of key staff; and other risks relating to sick employees in the office.

About 63% of AIMA survey respondents were from hedge fund managers, 30% work for service providers and 7% were asset owners, AIMA researchers said in a report about the survey.

By geography, 45% of respondents to AIMA's survey universe were from Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 37% from North America; and 18% from the Asia-Pacific region.