A pack of wolves

When I was a kid, the concept of wolves being dangerous, aggressive animals was instilled in me: they growl, they stalk, they kill. Yet, have you ever heard spine-tingling howls breaking through the night? It is primordially majestic. As I grew up, I found myself seeing wolves as fascinating, widely misunderstood creatures. I had to find my own pack.

Wolves work together to hunt for food, protect their territory and expand their reach. United they stand, divided they fall. Led by two alphas, they know they are only as strong as the weakest of them. Also, they have a set social structure and rules by which each wolf has its own function but everyone, including the alphas themselves, takes care of and raises the pups. It’s all about the team.

I joined Momentum three years ago and the first thing that struck me was the extent of the pack behaviour that presented before my eyes. I was a pup when I found myself a family willing to accept me on board and to teach me how to be a better hunter. Sure, the prey we stalk is investment returns rather than animals and our means of communication are not as cool as howls, but ultimately, we have a very strong sense of teamwork. We know that, if we want to provide our clients with the best services, we have to excel in each single part of the investment proposition, from the actual investment idea to its execution, from marketing and client relations to operations management, from the legal, compliance and financial processes to the human and technological resources.

Each one of us brings something unique to the table: area of expertise, past experiences, approach to problem-solving, intellectual curiosity, cognitive or behavioural characteristics. Our differences are valued more than our similarities, and everyone is incentivised to contribute as much as possible, to speak up, to take on responsibilities and become accountable for a certain area of the overall process. In addition, rephrasing a famous book quote, “help will be given at Momentum to those who ask for it”. From day one I have been told to ask for help anytime I needed it, to not be afraid of showing areas of weakness, to learn from my colleagues and to always be available to them, to return the favour. After all, we share the common objective of providing the best service to our clients and teamwork is embedded in our culture.

We very recently welcomed into our pack a few more wolves to expand our territory and our hunting and defence capabilities. A variety of high-quality professionals, business lines and intellectual property is joining us from what was Seneca Investment Managers, to form an even stronger team. Thanks to strong cultural fit and complementary offering, Momentum’s newly expanded fund management business in the UK now has physical presence in London and Liverpool, providing outcome-based investment services to clients all over the world, with scale, nimbleness and dynamism. It will be our clients who will ultimately benefit the most from it, through now having access to an even stronger platform, but I have to admit I am looking forward to working with the new colleagues, to sharing knowledge with and learning from them, to challenging and being challenged.