To comply with changing international privacy requirements, ICI informs its visitors that we use cookies on our web site. ICI only uses cookies to allow subscribers and members to more easily use our site and to record site utilization. No personal or private information is gathered or stored. More details, including how to disable cookies, can be found on our privacy and cookie policy page. If you disable cookies, you will see this message on future visits to our site. Please click the enable button to consent to accepting cookies.
  • ICI Global
  • Independent Director's Council
Sign In  |  Forgot Password?
Advanced | Tips
  • Home
  • Policy Priorities
    • Fund Regulation
    • Retirement Security
    • Trading & Markets
    • Fund Governance
    • Taxes
    • ICI Comment Letters
  • Research & Statistics
    • Industry Research
    • Investor Research
    • Retirement Research
    • Statistics
  • Government Affairs
    • Financial Services
    • Retirement Security
    • Tax
    • Testimony
  • Industry Operations
    • Fund Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Valuation
    • Fund Distribution, Fund Clearance, and Settlement
    • Operations, Transfer Agent Servicing, and Recordkeeping
    • Portfolio Security Operations
    • Resource Centers
    • Technology, Business Continuity, and Information Security
  • News & Media
    • Media Contacts
    • News Releases
    • Blog: ICI Viewpoints
    • Speeches & Commentaries
    • Opinions & Responses
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
  • Publications & Resources
    • Resource Centers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Fact Books
    • Research Publications
    • White Papers
    • Annual Reports
  • Events
    • ICI Events
    • ICI Global Events
    • IDC Events
    • Past Event Highlights
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Event Contacts
  • About ICI
    • Mission & History
    • Board & Leadership
    • Membership
    • Annual Reports
    • ICI Education Foundation
    • Business Continuity
    • Careers
    • Contact Us

TOPICS

401(k)
Bond Fund
Bonds
COVID-19
Commodity Investments
Corporate Bonds
Cybersecurity
Equity Fund
Equity Investing
Europe
Events
Exchange-Traded Funds
Federal Reserve
Financial Markets
Financial Stability
Fixed Income
Fund Governance
Fund Regulation
GMM
Global
Government Affairs
ICI Global
IDC
IRA
Index Fund
Interest Rate
International
Investment Education
Investor Research
Money Market Funds
Mutual Fund
Operations and Technology
Policy Research
Proxy Voting
Retirement Policy
Retirement Research
Savings
Shareholder
Target Date Funds
Taxes
Trading
Treasury

ARCHIVE

  • 2021
    • January
  • 2020
    • December
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • June
    • May
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November

Home Viewpoints

Print this page

Fund Industry Leaders Encourage Cultural Stability and Willingness to Embrace Change

By Olivia Caverly

May 31, 2019

The mutual fund industry is being driven by change, a theme that dominated the panel “Facing the Future: Leadership Perspectives,” on the second day of ICI’s 61st General Membership Meeting, held May 1–3 in Washington, DC.

The panel—moderated by Sarah Ketterer, CEO and cofounder of Causeway Capital Management, and featuring Martin Flanagan, Invesco president and CEO, and Joseph A. Sullivan, chairman and CEO of Legg Mason—highlighted why firms should be encouraging a positive workplace culture, which will enable them to embrace the fast pace of industry change.

Facing the Future speakers

A Strong Team Culture Makes for a Successful Firm

Employees are the “engine room of performance,” Ketterer told the audience. So what can firms do to not only hire, but also retain top talent? Both Flanagan and Sullivan agreed that the key to a successful firm is cultivating a strong firm culture. This means making it an environment where employees enjoy working and where they can grow professionally and personally. “That's what drives the engagement and the talent,” said Flanagan. “What I’m most proud of at Invesco…is the culture of the firm. It’s [a] culture that cares about clients, people want to work at the firm, people stay at the firm, and that attracts talent to the firm. And when you have that, good things happen.”

Sullivan believes that the industry is moving away from the notion of creating “star managers” and moving toward encouraging a teamwork mindset. “I think investors increasingly want a depth of talent behind the investment strategies in which they invest,” he said. “Where we’re strongest within our affiliates is where we have teams.”

Embrace the Opportunity Within Change

In his years in this industry, Flanagan has never seen it change this rapidly and in so many different ways. There is now a need to constantly evolve, while focusing on client needs and demands. “What we can do for our clients, the combination of things that are coming together, it's at a level that we've never seen before,” said Flanagan. For example, today’s IT department isn’t just a back-office function that serves the needs of staff. Instead, they are a customer-facing team that serves the needs of clients. Sullivan agreed, saying, “You have to be able to develop a mindset of constant innovation and constant iteration.” But both industry leaders agreed that this isn’t an easy task, and many might be afraid of experiencing “change fatigue.” The key, however, is to remind people that industry change is positive and benefits the industry as a whole. Change “gives great opportunity for people to develop, to grow, [and to] to make a difference in their career,” said Flanagan.

Another positive outcome of change in the industry? It attracts younger talent. “As some younger people come into the industry [and] as we bring in more people from technology into our industry, that is their mindset. They’re more comfortable constantly iterating, evolving, and adapting, maybe more than some who’ve been at it for a while,” added Sullivan.

Facing the Future

What’s next for the fund industry? Though Sullivan believes “the only thing we know for certain is that it will look a lot different,” he also said the industry will become more open to joint ventures and partnerships, as a way of providing options. These partnerships will allow firms to quickly adapt to new challenges and opportunities. As for Flanagan, he believes the industry is going to keep “embracing technology in a powerful way” so that clients can continue having better and better experiences.

Learn More

Watch this discussion at ICI’s GMM video page. Find more meeting highlights at the GMM highlights page. 

Olivia Caverly is a media relations associate at ICI.

Permalink: https://www.ici.org/viewpoints/19_view_leadership

TOPICS: GMMOperations and Technology


top
  • About ICI
  • About IDC
  • About ICI Global
  • Privacy and Cookie Policy
  • Apply for User Account
  • Business Continuity
  • Contact ICI

Copyright © 2021 by the Investment Company Institute