President of Franklin Templeton Canada reflects on how the year has changed him, and the dramatic pivot to technology
It’s not always a word that’s associated with the wealth business but empathy has been a much-needed virtue in 2020. Duane Green paused and nodded when WP asked him whether the events of the past year had changed him as a CEO.
After reflecting on the firm’s acquisition of Legg Mason and its impact in part one of his interview with WP, in part two the president of Franklin Templeton Canada looked back on the market drawdown in March and its consequences. Green said he learned that there was no such thing as over-communication in employing empathy in your management style.
He said: “I really care a lot about the folks I work with and I’m proud of the good work that they do, but on the same token I want to make sure they're okay. And I want to make sure they're safe, and they feel taken care of.”
No one knows, he added, what someone is going through once they click off a Zoom call. Everybody has been dealing with various stressors or anxieties the past nine months and Green suggested the next pandemic will be mental health as the next generation, in particular, is affected.
“I do worry about that going forward,” Green said. “But you just learn that you really have to be transparent, and you have to have empathy. You have to try to continue to communicate as best you can, through different means and formats.”
As a business leader, he said there wasn’t one playbook to deal with COVID-19 and that, from a purely money management point of view, he welcomed the volatility after a decade-long bull market. As an active management shop, the markets provided the ideal conditions for good performance.
The organization houses a number of independent and autonomous investment management groups. Green explained it has intentionally built in a structure where these are wholly owned. It means that while they are part of the overall growth strategy, each has its own mindset.,
He said: “They all react differently to volatility in the market but, generally, you need that when you're looking either from a value standpoint or growth standpoint. In a continuous up-market, you could be an index-hugger, ride along and look pretty darn good. This is where we actually show that we know what we're doing and this is what we’re paid to do.”
With portfolios in the safe hands of Franklin’s investment professionals, when the bottom fell out of the market in March, Green’s priority was how they were going to interact with clients and ensure relationships were maintained and even strengthened. The shift in technology was quickly ramped up. Work-from-home was called and within days, Green and staff were remote.
If anything, since then the firm has ramped up its business and efficiency. And he doesn’t expect the profession to swing all the way back to how it was, believing that many aspects of the way wealth professionals are now doing business will remain.
He explained: “At the end of the day, though, it's still a relationship business and it always will be, whether it’s with our institutional plan sponsors or retail advisors. I’m a sales guy at heart - I'd rather be sitting having a coffee with you but [Zoom] is going to work just fine, too. At a pinch, to be honest, it’s pretty efficient.
“We’ll be able to take the best parts of how we've operated and continue to work, especially from a work-life balance standpoint.”
