Important Information
This information is provided for general educational purposes only without regard to your particular investment needs. This material, including any attachments or hyperlinks, should not be taken as investment or tax advice of any kind whatsoever (whether impartial or otherwise) on which you may rely for your investment decisions, nor be construed as an offer, solicitation or recommendation for any investment strategy, product or service. Investors should consult their financial and tax adviser before making investments in order to determine the appropriateness of any investment discussed herein.
Material authored by any particular Artisan Partners individual or team represents their own views and opinions, which may or may not reflect the views and opinions of Artisan Partners, including its autonomous investment teams or associates. Statements are based on current market conditions and other factors, which are as of the date indicated and are subject to change without notice. While this information is believed to be reliable, there is no guarantee to the accuracy or completeness of any statement in the discussion.
All investments are subject to risk, which includes potential loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
This material may reference index or other information that is subject to copyright by its respective service provider, including the following: MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein. The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used to create indices or financial products. This report is not approved or produced by MSCI. Frank Russell Company ("Russell") is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company. Neither Russell nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the Russell Indexes and/or Russell ratings or underlying data and no party may rely on any Russell Indexes and/or Russell ratings and/or underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of Russell Data is permitted without Russell's express written consent. Russell does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication. The herein referenced S&P index ("Index") is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI") and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use. Copyright © 2024 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"). None of S&P DJI, Dow Jones, their affiliates or third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and none shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein. Source ICE Data Indices, LLC, used with permission. ICE Data Indices, LLC permits use of the ICE BofAML indices and related data on an "as is" basis, makes no warranties regarding same, does not guarantee the suitability, quality, accuracy, timeliness and/or completeness of the ICE BofAML indices or any data included in, related to, or derived therefrom, assumes no liability in connection with the use of the foregoing, and does not sponsor, endorse, or recommend Artisan Partners or any of its products or services.
© 2024 Artisan Partners. All rights reserved.
Evolution of a Crisis Response—Part 4: The Perspective Shifts
This is part 4 in a series discussing Artisan Partners’ response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Read part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here.
Leading a large organization during a global crisis gives you a front-row seat to clients’ and shareholders’ evolving thought processes and concerns. We started receiving questions from our clients in early March. At first, their focus was primarily on our business continuity plan—whether we have a formal plan and structure in place to allow us to continue business as usual and whether we were prepared to deploy it should circumstances warrant. Clients asked questions like: Could our employees work from home if necessary? Would our systems and existing technology support a remote workforce? As discussed in prior posts, business continuity planning has long been part of our normal operations, so we were pleased to readily answer these early questions in the affirmative.
Over the ensuing weeks, the questions’ tenor shifted a few times. Within a week, the focus was no longer on whether we could support a remote workforce, but whether we already were. And if not, why not? Amid a pandemic, this is an understandable train of thought. At the most basic, human level, we’re all in this together and need to do our part to mitigate the crisis’s reach and long-term impacts. From that perspective, it wasn’t surprising to see questions proceed from can we do our part to are we doing our part.
The next shift was to questions about how long we could sustain our remote working arrangements. Were we working with our vendors and business partners to ensure their own continuity and ability to provide necessary services for an extended period? As to how long we can operate the way we currently are, the answer is basically indefinitely—barring, of course, some drastic and unforeseen change. As I discussed in the second and third posts of this series, we have been pleased thus far with our ability to respond rapidly and flexibly and believe we have the tools in place to operate effectively given the current reality. Given that reality will likely continue shifting, we are regularly evaluating our current status and are prepared to pivot as necessary.
Finally, the most recent shift in client questions: Are we currently able to invest new money on our clients’ behalves? A multi-faceted question aimed at not only market liquidity considerations, but also our firm’s ongoing viability and ability to provide the requisite services to implement portfolios, maintain and manage them, etc. From our standpoint, naturally, this is an encouraging evolution as it speaks to the faith and trust our clients have in us as a valued partner.
I think there are a few interesting observations about this month-long (and probably ongoing) evolution. First, the remarkable consistency of the questions across our client and prospect base. Of the dozens of questionnaires we received in March, the majority were similar in tone and scope. In my view, this consistency speaks to the level of responsibility and care many clients are taking to faithfully steward capital during a particularly challenging market period.
Second, the fact that clients are asking about our ability to put more capital to work has made me proud of our associates and the firm’s track record of doing well and doing right by our clients and partners. Amid an uncertain and historically volatile period, there is probably no greater compliment to an asset manager than receiving requests from clients to manage additional assets on their behalves.Contact the Editorial Staff
Have a question or comment? We welcome your feedback. Comments will not be made public, but will be read by a member of our editorial staff.
Thank you for your question or comment.