Insights

Your once-a-month insider on talent + alternative investments.

The Locke-Down is a once-monthly newsletter for our closest contacts on topics related to talent and alternative investments. The newsletter covers 3 simple things:

What we’re hearing in the market,

What we’re reading, and

What we’re up to.

We are in the market, daily, and want to share our insights. We want to hear from you. What information would be valuable? We’re always available. Get in touch with us.

What we’re hearing

PE is dialing-back acquisition goals, bolstering IR and sourcing – many PE firms have dialed back ambitious platform goals for 2025 given the slow deal-making environment. That said, we’re seeing an uptick in IR and BD hires to bolster fundraising and deal-sourcing capabilities.

Asset-backed Finance is still hot – we continue to see new starts and team-builds in private asset-backed finance (ABF). “Investment Grade” ABF for insurance capital is leading the trend, but opportunistic ABF is also growing.

Strategic hires are moving slowly – economic uncertainty has led some firms to slow play senior hires. We are not seeing hiring freezes, but some timelines have stretched out.

What we’re reading

Or listening to, in this case – Dry Powder Podcast: NAV Loans Under the Microscope w/ 17Capital’s Pierre-Antoine de Selancy (Spotify)

What we’re up to

Private ABF team build – In April, TLG hired a Principal as the first Private ABF investor for a ~$10bn AUM alternatives firm. The ABF strategy will be incubated in firm’s opportunistic credit strategy and target mid-teen returns. More on that hire and team build to follow.

Sincerely,

The Locke Group

(FT.com) Fund houses buy up ‘alts’ specialists to move beyond equities and bonds
Following Oak Hill’s acquisition by T. Rowe and CarVal’s acquisition by AllianceBernstein, FT calls attention to fund managers’ drive to acquire private equity and private credit businesses. Higher management fee revenues and the demand for alternative strategies from private wealth channels are cited as driving forces.

Not included is First Eagle’s announced acquisition of the credit manager Napier Park, which follows earlier acquisitions of THL Credit and Newstar. The First Eagle acquisition highlights the driving force private equity sponsors are playing in asset management M&A and growth strategy.

How a growing asset manager made its first ESG hire.

Read and share this case study here (PDF). 

Mandate and Challenges

Our client is a growing asset manager with a long history of value investing, including a top-ranked equity Global Value team which identified the need to integrate ESG factors into their investment process. TLG was engaged exclusively to identify and attract an ESG Analyst who would develop a new ESG framework, identify governance priorities, and integrate ESG factors into the Global Value team’s investment process.

Framework – as ESG factors are achieving mainstream consideration, many investors still do not have a framework for their integration. Our client needed to meet candidates with experience developing a framework from scratch.

Consensus – the effects of ESG factors on investment performance are still being debated. Our client needed candidates with strong leadership qualities, including the ability to engage skeptics and build consensus within the Global Value team and beyond, including the C-suite and other investment teams.

Turnaround – TLG was awarded the mandate after a retained search firm was unable to generate adequate results, including strong engagement from short-listed candidates. TLG needed to provide a fresh look and prompt turnaround.

Solution

TLG has mapped the market of ESG investment talent and developed relationships with relevant leaders in asset managers, consultancies, and ESG data providers. At the outset, our filter yielded a long list of 76 potential candidates who were not previously engaged.

We customized our screening interviews to capture our Client’s needs for experience in ESG framework development, positive leadership traits including consensus-building and advocacy, and genuine interest in the opportunity.

Success

Diverse short-list – TLG short-listed 13 profiles, 11 of which were selected for interviews (85%). 6 of those 11candidates are diverse (55%).

Finalists – 3 highly engaged finalists were identified 5 weeks from engagement.

Placement – with our help, the Company landed a passive candidate they were targeting from start to finish. Also a diversity candidate, she was pre-closed by TLG and accepted the offer within 24 hours of delivery. She starts in March.

Sean Locke is Managing Partner and Founder of TLG | slocke@locke-group.com

The Locke Group (TLG) is a specialist executive search firm which has served the financial industry since 2003. As a boutique, we are deeply invested in our clients – our care for their experience and the experience of their candidates is second to none – and we possess both the strength and flexibility to deliver results which help to power their business.

How a top asset manager found its investment data strategy leader.

Read and share this case study here (PDF).

Mandate and Challenges

Our Client is a leader in active investment management with long record of excellence and a growing global presence. They recognized the need to hire an Investment Data Strategy leader as a part of ongoing efforts to enhance their research process and improve investment performance.

They needed to define a brand-new leadership position, set a recruitment strategy, and attract a diverse slate of candidates. The right candidate required broad market and alternative data knowledge, experience setting data strategy across multiple asset classes, and the leadership qualities to build consensus among senior leadership and front office investment personnel.

Solution

Together, we agreed to search for a Director of Investment Data Strategy with comprehensive responsibility for data sourcing and strategy across investment products. The individual would partner with investment leaders to understand their data needs, advise, and set both short- and long-term strategic goals. We designed a search plan which targeted two distinct candidate profiles:

.Content and Data product leaders from major market data providers, and
.Data Sourcing and Strategy leaders from competing fund managers.

Success

Diverse short list – TLG provided a short list of 11 candidates, including 5 diversity candidates (45%), 4 candidates from major data providers and 7 candidates from competing fund managers.
The data providers stood out – each candidate from major data providers performed well (including the 2 finalists for the position), seeing multiple rounds of interviews. Diversity of client experience proved more valuable than more narrow in-house experience.
Successful hire – Our Client hired their top choice, a Vice President from FactSet’s Content & Technology Solutions division. He started with the Company in November 2020.

Tom Hudson is a Partner and Head of TLG’s Quantitative Services practice | tom@locke-group.com

The Locke Group (TLG) is a specialist executive search firm which has served the financial industry since 2003. As a boutique, we are deeply invested in our clients – our care for their experience and the experience of their candidates is second to none – and we possess both the strength and flexibility to deliver results which help to power their business.

How a Factor Funds team met more diversity candidates and hired a female fund manager

Read and share this case study here (PDF)

Mandate and Challenges

Our client is a global asset management company with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. While we were partnering on an investment mandate, the Company approached us for help with a second search. They sought a Portfolio Manager to support the construction and management of their growing Factor Funds business. Recognizing the team and larger business area were male-dominated, the Company further sought to hire a woman for the role. After conducting their own search for more than 6 months, they were not any closer to securing a qualified diversity candidate.

Solution

In our assessment, the Company did not need to retain a search provider, so we recommended a contingent solution. We offered to supplement their pipeline with diversity candidates at no up-front cost. TLG has a living market map of quantitative fund management teams and relationships with many of their leaders. We offered to query our industry network while suggesting the team expand their target profile to include candidates from academia. We targeted candidates from both sectors.

Success

• Augmented pipeline – TLG interviewed and introduced 8 diversity candidates, including 6 women. 6 of the 8 worked in investment roles, while 2 were professors from major universities.
• Added exposure – 5 candidates were selected for interview and 3 completed onsite interviews with a slate of senior leaders and investors. The added exposure to several qualified diversity candidates was a major point of success for the hiring team.
• Placement – the Company ultimately hired from TLG’s pipeline. A professor from a top-10 Finance department, the candidate was referred to TLG by a Client contact who had co-authored research with her. She had built a career in academia but, in the end, desired to apply her knowledge in the industry. Via the TLG network, she found a great fit with our Client. She started with the Company in August 2020.

Tom Hudson is a Partner and Head of TLG’s Quantitative Services practice | tom@locke-group.com

The Locke Group (TLG) is a specialist executive search firm which has served the financial industry since 2003. As a boutique, we are deeply invested in our clients – our care for their experience and the experience of their candidates is second to none – and we possess both the strength and flexibility to deliver results which help to power their business.