Food for Thought

By Melissa Norris and Megan Staczek   The coronavirus pandemic has shown the investment management industry that its people can successfully work from home (WFH), regardless of function. But everyone is wondering what’s next. People are asking questions such as: Will this change be permanent? Will firms be more open to people working remotely – either permanently or partially? What are the impacts of a workforce that is in some form working from home?   While there are many benefits and challenges to telework (see the addendum to this article below), we’re taking an even broader view of the current situation with the following

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to capture what I’m hearing in the market since the abrupt shift to WFH in mid-March. Our pre-coronavirus definitions of work life balance have clearly been disrupted and upended. It’s not that we all had the perfect work life balance before, but we had a semblance of structure that defined our days. We had boundaries that allowed us to carve-out a little personal time and space when we weren’t expected to be “on” and before parenting or care-giving roles kicked in.   Technology gave us the gift of 24/7 as we pursued

While both non-compete and non-solicitation clauses are fixtures in the asset management industry, we’ve noticed some new trends regarding these contractual agreements. In general, it seems to be getting harder for firms to enforce them. It’s also interesting to note that many firms don’t take action to hold former staff to agreements regarding the solicitation of their current employees. (See this article that explores this topic.)   Non-Compete Clauses   The application of non-compete (NC) clauses, also known as “non-competes” (NCs), varies widely across the industry although they’re more consistently found within the hedge fund community. NCs are not necessarily utilized more

Please check out Melissa Norris' recent interview with Michael Hoeppner, communications expert and CEO of GK Training, as he dives into what it takes to successfully navigate group video conferences.     In this video, Michael answers a variety of questions, including:   What are the best ways to approach the "Hollywood Squares" format of large-scale group VCs? How can someone become the “conductor” or point-person in a group VC format? How do you break down the virtual wall and be natural on screen? How can you successfully interject without being rude when someone else is talking? What is the best way to overcome the shortcomings of not being in a physical