DECEMBER 9, 2024 | PIONLINE.COM | $50 AN ISSUE / $350 A YEAR
Money Management
Western’s woes seem confined for the moment Big outflows for strategies ex-CIO Ken Leech allegedly shortchanged B y DOUGLAS APPELL The SEC’s investigation of former Western Asset Management co-CIO Ken Leech — for allegedly crediting a disproportionate share of winning Treasury futures and options trades to strategies in which he had the greatest personal interest — has prompted an exodus of institutional and retail clients from the firm. For the moment, however, disgruntled investors appear to be focusing narrowly on the strategies Leech allegedly shortchanged, rather than concluding that Western’s very bad news cycle is making the firm’s brand toxic. Still, that could be a fine distinction, as the core and core-plus strategies regulators depicted as a dumping ground for Leech’s less successful trades over an almost three-year period through October 2023 accounted for roughly 30% of the fixed-income manager’s assets under management. What regulators referred to as Leech’s “favored” strategy — the Macro Opportunities fund he founded and presented as the purest SEE WESTERN ON PAGE 52
The Best Places to Work in Money Management
Pension Funds
2024 winners cite the key reason for their success: their employees Hard work and dedication celebrated through parties, spot awards and much more B y CARYL ANNE FRANCIA And in the blink of an eye, another year of striking investment deals and generating returns is in the books for money management firms. In their written responses to Pensions & Investments’ Best Places to Work in Money Management survey, many employers praised their staff’s dedication and hard work for fostering the success of their business. It’s clear that these organizations are equally passionate about helping their employees continue to learn and grow. Take first-time winner Missouri State
Employees’ Retirement System, for example. Aside from providing pensions for beneficiaries, the Jefferson City-based public fund offers competitive compensation, meaningful feedback and professional development opportunities to its employees, noted Executive Director Abby Spieler. But another thing she said that makes MOSERS a great place to work are the “small things throughout the year that increase engagement,” which she has put extra emphasis on in the past few years. One act of kindness included an employee who allowed the staff to borrow his rolling popcorn machine for colleagues to enjoy. When the Kansas City Chiefs played in — and won — the Super Bowl, the pension fund hosted a tailgate party, and also encouraged staff to wear their favorite team’s attire for a group photo. SEE WINNERS ON PAGE 46
IBM reopened its plan one year ago. So far, it’s alone.
In this year’s report
B y ROB KOZLOWSKI
For a list of winners, see Page 13 Profiles of the 113 winning firms begin on Page 14 Managers are beefing up policies for parental leave. Page 3 Sonya Mughal celebrates 30 years at Bailard. Page 3 Graphic: How managers’ benefits stack up on insurance. Page 3 Firms find value in bolstering women’s benefits. Page 17 Survey methodology. Page 41 For the full report, go to PIonline. com/BPTW2024
One year after IBM reopened its defined benefit plan, other employers with similarly frozen plans are discussing their options but as yet have no plans to reopen them. However, some workers RELATED are becoming more vocal n Southwest is about their desire for tradi- launching a cash tional defined benefit plans, balance plan for as seen in the recent ma- pilots. Page XX chinists strike against Boeing Corp., in which the reopening of the frozen DB plan was a sticking point. In February, the National Institute on Retirement Security released a report showing 82% of Americans surveyed believe all workers should have a pension and 65% of agreed that pension plans are better than 401(k) plans at achieving retirement security.
SOUND BITE MERCER U.K.’S BENOIT HUDON: ‘Consolidation in the DC space makes absolute sense — that’s the direction Australia went, with about a dozen super trusts.’ Page 4
SEE IBM ON PAGE 54
Asset-based finance has fans Is asset-based finance the next big thing? KKR’s Daniel Pietrzak thinks investors are ready to pounce. Page 3