Rebooting the global asset management industry

Rebooting the global asset management industry 55 Such skills are now seen as part of continuous personal development as technology evolves and client needs change (51%). This process uses one or more of four learning tools: classroom learning based on formal teaching; executive coaching that provides opportunities for risk-free conversations with a trusted third party to elicit new ideas or road test them; stretch assignments that take individuals out of their comfort zone with all the necessary support; and network learning that comes from interacting with peers who have advanced up the learning curve (see Insights). One person’s hindsight can become another person’s foresight. The focus on personal development underscores two imperatives. First, to staff, upskilling is vital for retaining their relevance in a changing investment landscape. It is widely seen as a company differentiator: a key consideration when it comes to employees’ decision as to whether to stay with their employer or leave for another job. Second, star culture has long been on the wane with the ascendancy of team culture. In it, gender diversity is a fundamental ingredient for any successful investment firm. Equally important, but often overlooked, is cognitive diversity, or diversity of thought. If two individuals hold similar views, they have little to offer each other. Group-think is an easy trap to fall into and the only way to defeat it is through constructive debate that avoids individual bias and promotes settings that are conducive to serendipitous insights. This is as a part of creating a resilient workforce that can work in the office as well as remotely (39%) and work alone as well as in teams (32%). Paradoxically, technology that can displace human labor also relies on that very labor for its own advance. For now, that partnership is under human control. One person’s hindsight can become another person’s foresight. Insights Employer brand set to play a central role in the war for talent With the first generation of Natural Language Processing AI, we did not achieve our productivity targets. It soon became clear that research analysts and portfolio managers did not have the required skills. Nor were they engaged and energized by NLP, since they were not involved in the decision process resulting in its adoption. So, with GenAI, we have paid attention to two areas. One is upskilling that helps staff to acquire new skills or enhance existing skills to remain relevant when jobs are redesigned by technology. Such skills fall along a spectrum, with tech-related skills such as data analysis, information research, and application development at one end; and human- centered soft skills like critical thinking, teamworking, problem solving, creativity, empathy and resilience at the other end. The second area centers on personal values. Talented people no longer want to flex to fit with their employers. They want to be valued for what they bring to their job and be viewed as contributors, not employees. Equally, they admire a workplace that has a higher purpose of which they can be personally proud. Indeed, this sense of purpose is seen as central to a strong employer brand that also offers an interesting job and balances money and non-money rewards. So, to get the best out of our people, we have replaced ‘check book diplomacy’ with a raft of psychic motivational drivers, like having an interesting job, working with an inspiring boss and having training to acquire new skills. These drivers are effective. Ballooning compensation costs are a thing of the past. A South African asset manager “Staff are caught between today and tomorrow. They worry about job losses but also can see no future without technology.” “An asset manager’s investment philosophies should be ingrained in its management style and staff behaviors.” Interview Quotes