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Neuberger Berman Hails Status As 100 Per Cent Employee-Owned
Tom Burroughes
22 December 2014
International investment house , which had $247 billion of client assets under management at the end of September, has gone back to being a fully employee-owned business as it was when it was founded in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War. The firm has bought remaining common equity not previously owned by its employees, the firm said in a statement last Friday. Effective from 19 December, and completed ahead of the schedule announced in 2011, the process ends with Neuberger Berman portfolio managers and senior professionals, representing more than 20 per cent of the firm’s more than 2,000 employees, now owning equity in the firm. At a time when there is considerable focus on how wealth management firms’ ownership structure should work with the long-term interests of clients, Neuberger Berman no doubt hopes this move will appeal to customers. Neuberger Berman boasted that since 2009, when it retained its independent status, it has clocked up a 97 per cent annualised retention rate of investment professionals at the senior vice president and managing director level – the kind of loyalty it believes clients want to see. It currently has offices in 17 countries around the world in Asia, Middle East, Europe and South America.
“Broad employee ownership more closely aligns us with the interests of our clients than other structures might achieve. Returning to our roots as a private partnership enables the firm to focus all of our resources and efforts on managing money and providing customised advice for clients, which further strengthens our culture,” George Walker, chief executive, said.