Vanguard just lured a BCG partner as its head of strategy, and it highlights one of the hottest new hiring areas at trillion-dollar asset managers
Vanguard in January tapped consulting firm BCG's former head of asset and wealth management as its new chief strategy officer.
In a move not previously reported, Brent Beardsley replaced Ann Combs, who retired at year-end.
The role of chief strategy officer is increasingly important for large asset managers, executive recruiters told Business Insider.
Vanguard just tapped a partner at a powerhouse consulting firm to head up strategy for the asset management firm.
In a move not previously reported, Brent Beardsley in January joined $5.3 trillion asset manager as its chief strategy officer after spending more than 17 years at BCG, where his roles included global head of asset and wealth management.
Beardsley replaced Ann Combs, who retired at year-end, a Vanguard spokeswoman confirmed.
Beardsley is leading a team responsible for corporate and business line strategy, which includes its innovation center.
While strategy heads are common at most companies large and small, the asset management industry (with the exception of heavily diversified firms like BlackRock) has only begun to add the role in recent years, executive recruiters say.
"An asset management company used to be a pretty rudimentary business to run, with focus primarily on manufacturing and distribution," said Arnaud Tesson, the head of US asset management at executive recruiting firm Egon Zehnder. "Now, it has become more complex, the environment is more complex and senior needs are changing."
The asset management industry is facing increased pressures, as volatile markets pushed billions of capital out in the last few months and demand for lower fees continued to eat into revenue. Vanguard, however, has largely weathered those storms, pulling in $234 billion last year - the most new money for any asset manager, according to Morningstar.
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"The asset management industry was traditionally not very strategic, but now firms realize the need for a long-term approach that takes the outside world into account," Tesson said. "We see increasing interest in building out or strengthening strategy teams, starting with a head of strategy and then everything under that. The industry hasn't developed those people, so they often have to import them from financial services or other industries."
Tesson said he sees more interest from asset managers of all sizes for a head of strategy. Last week, for example, multi-family office Proficio Capital Partners, which manages $1 billion, hired a former Wellington Management vice president for its first chief strategy officer.
Another executive recruiter cited the headwinds facing asset managers, including market volatility, fee pressures, and changing investor preference, as catalysts for the uptick in the strategy roles she's seen.
"If firms aren't considering strategy, they're burying their heads in the sand," she said.
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