The TRADE 61 - Q3 2019 | Page 24

[ C O V E R S T O R Y | M AT T M C L O U G H L I N ] Staying of ahead the game One of The TRADE’s previous Rising Stars and head of trading at Liontrust Asset Management, Matt McLoughlin, talks to John Brazier about the firm’s move to multi-asset trading, the importance of ‘softer’ trading skills and how change creates opportunities for those ready to take advantage. I want people to be constantly pushing the boundaries. To be asking how we can im- prove and how we can break the paradigm. Looking at what's new out there and doing something different. To be constantly trying to improve. If you don't have people that want to do that, I probably don't want them in my firm, quite frankly.” This sentiment could be cut straight from the speech of a sports team’s head coach or the CEO of a multi-billion dollar technology giant, but Matt McLoughlin, head of trading at London-based Liontrust Asset Management, clearly believes in the message his words convey: That ultimately, performance is driven by attitude, and that a poor attitude can only derive poor performance. The search for constant improvement is one that Mc- Loughlin has if not instilled then at the least crystallised across Liontrust’s trading operations during his time with the firm. It’s an attitude that leads him to the gym each morning before heading to the office, where, he says, he 24 // TheTrade // Fall 2019