THETRADETECH DA I LY
What does diversity mean for institutions
such as Man Group?
Alison Hollingshead: Diversity is certainly a
focus for Man Group. For us, it’s about ensur-
ing that we have a meritocratic environment
where everyone has the opportunity to reach
their full potential. Diversity can bring benefits
in terms of business outcomes, and it’s not just
about gender, it’s much broader than that. I
think that finding ways of attracting diverse
talent has been a big challenge in terms of
actionable objectives that companies can do.
For me, it’s really important that it is not about
positive discrimination, but making sure that
you find and keep the best talent. To do that
you need to broaden the pool of talent that
you hire from and understand the different
needs of those different populations. As such,
this year Man Group launched its ‘Paving the
Way’ campaign, which seeks to encourage a
more diverse pipeline for the company and the
investment industry more broadly.
On a personal level, I’ve been with Man
Group for almost 15 years and during that
time I’ve gone from being a young, single
woman, to a working mother of three little
boys. I know that finding a work-life balance
is a real challenge, but I do feel as though I
have been supported and encouraged at Man
Group. We believe in flexible working, and
I work from home where possible to juggle
my kids’ schedules and ensure I don’t miss
any sports days or class assemblies! Last year,
we introduced enhanced parental leave for
all employees globally, regardless of gender.
This is another important initiative because it
can help promote equality in a tangible way.
There are lots of fathers that are now taking
that time off, and that’s been really encour-
aging. I believe initiatives like this can truly
make a difference.
In what ways can diversity create opportuni-
ties for buy-side trading firms?
AH: There is lots of research that supports
the potential positive business outcomes
that come from a diverse workforce. The
performance accelerator, including the
performance of female portfolio managers
and companies that have more than just one
or two women on their boards, is well-doc-
umented. Diversity is good for firms and it’s
good for the industry. It’s not just a social
impact, it can really impact profitability.
Diversity in terms of trading, specifically,
tends to bring a mix of skills and approach-
es, and that balance can be really healthy.
Historically across our industry, investment
management and trading roles have been very
male-dominated, and I think you do see some
different attitudes to things like risk-taking
when you get more women and also people
from different backgrounds on the trading
desk. As trading gets more electronic and
data-driven, softer and more people=facing
skills can really be a differentiator, so getting
interview
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH 2019
more of those attributes onto your trading
desk can be beneficial.
How can financial institutions entice a more
diverse workforce?
AH: Man Group’s ‘Paving the Way’ initiative
has been key in terms of focusing on the
next generation and addressing the ‘pipeline
challenge’. If you’re interviewing for a role
or trying to promote internally, often there
are no, or perhaps only a few, women in that
new key theme around monitoring the trend
in terms of best execution, transaction cost
analysis (TCA), venues analysis. How do you
ensure that you are navigating the new liquid-
ity landscape in the appropriate way? How
do you build the right skillset on your trading
desk to be competitive and efficient in the
current environment?
The more classic technology discussion
is always a key theme at TradeTech. I’d say
alternative data, artificial intelligence (AI),
“Initiatives like internships, graduate
schemes and returner schemes, are a step in
the right direction in terms of opening the
door to a more diverse talent pool.”
talent pool, which can be challenging if you
aren’t being presented with diverse candi-
dates that you can genuinely compare with
more traditional candidates. When it comes
to addressing that pipeline challenge, it’s
important to get people from the business to
truly understand that people with back-
grounds different to theirs may actually have
a lot to bring to the company. At the same
time, allowing those potential candidates to
come in and see what the business is really
like can also be encouraging.
Externally, there is a perception that the
investment management and trading industry
is not a particularly friendly environment for
women. I don’t personally agree with that,
but I understand that it can be difficult to un-
derstand something if you don’t experience it.
So, I think initiatives like internships, gradu-
ate schemes and returner schemes, are a step
in the right direction in terms of opening the
door to a more diverse talent pool.
What do you think the main themes will be at
this year’s TradeTech conference?
AH: The new liquidity landscape, or market
structure post-MiFID II, is really what the
industry is talking about at the moment. The
proliferation of new venues and innovations
in trading protocols, analysing and discussing
how that has changed the trading world I
think will be a key theme. This leads into a
quantitative trading, as well as the evolution
of the order management system (OMS) and
execution management system (EMS), partic-
ularly in the multi-asset space, will be heavily
featured in discussions this year. Of course,
we will also be talking about Brexit, as well as
diversity and inclusion.
Which panels are you particularly looking
forward to seeing this year?
AH: There are a couple of sessions I want to
make sure I don’t miss this year! The buy-
and sell-side panel on the first day around
evaluating liquidity providers looks really
interesting, and it plays to that key theme of
evaluating the liquidity landscape. (Evalu-
ating the difference between key liquidity
providers– how to build an effective plan to
determine who is best to use, when and why?
– 11.00, Day One) That session also has some
great speakers, so I’m looking forward to
hearing what they have to say.
There is also a discussion panel around OMS
and EMS, and what the right combination
could be for your trading desk. (What OMS
and EMS combination does your desk need to
thrive in a market with increasingly complex
order flows, multiple venues, and aggregated
trades? – 15.05, Day One) Man Group is doing a
lot in that space now and I work on upgrading
the front-office trading technology, so for me
personally that will be an interesting session.
“As trading gets more electronic and data-driven,
softer and more people facing skills can really be a
differentiator, so getting more of those attributes
onto your trading desk can be beneficial.”
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