Morningstar’s Post

21 Years on the FORTUNE Top 100 Companies to Work For List and I've been fortunate to be here for 16. I believe being private and employee owned is a huge element of Baird's secret sauce. 80% of our 5000 associates have ownership and that broad participation creates the foundation of our culture. Watch our President and CEO Steve Booth, Noreen Gallagher in Fixed Income, and Joanna Arras in Baird Capital share why ownership is more than a dividend check in our series, the Baird Difference. #wearebaird #sam #fortune100

🌟 Reflecting on a Year of Growth and Looking Ahead at Bloom Equity Partners 🌟 As we step into 2025, I’m honored to join Bloom Equity Partners during such an exciting period of growth and transformation. The firm’s remarkable achievements in 2024—strategic investments, portfolio successes, and an expanding team—lay a strong foundation for even greater impact in the year ahead. Highlights from 2024: ✅ The bold partnership with GRC International, positioning the company for growth across the UK, Europe, and North America. ✅ Soutron Global’s acquisition of MINISIS, expanding its reach and redefining standards in library, museum, and archive management. ✅ RightCrowd’s record-breaking growth, tripled sales, and groundbreaking SmartAccess suite launch. ✅ The successful sale of Viostream, showcasing Bloom’s ability to drive substantial value creation. ✅ A new headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, reflecting Bloom’s continued expansion and commitment to collaboration. I’m excited to build on this incredible trajectory in 2025, working alongside such talented colleagues and innovative portfolio companies. Together, we’re driving meaningful impact and unlocking potential across the software industry. #PrivateEquity #Growth #Innovation #ValueCreation #2024Reflections #BloomEquityPartners

During our webinar with Fix The Broken Rung, we discussed the crucial roles that allies, mentors and sponsors play in creating a more equitable industry. Panelist Hao Tian shared some personal insight into the importance of allyship in her own career; “I do think allyship is very very important in the financial world. I personally experienced the power of allyship through my Return to Bay Street journey because the program is a really tailor-made program. While not all conversations lead to job offerings, building allyship throughout the way is very helpful. You get more people advocating for you, probably behind the door, and that actually increases your chance to getting in a new role, or getting promoted. I think that’s the power of allyship.” — Hao T., Director of Sustainability Advisory, CIBC Capital Markets VersaFi’s Return to Bay Street Program helps women re-enter the finance sector after a period of leave, or after immigration. To date, it has brought 124+ women back to the finance sector. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eRyxCsTV

What a year it’s been for Finatal. We’re starting 2025 on the back of an extraordinary 12 months that has redefined what success looks like for our business: 📈 30% year-on-year growth – achieving our biggest and best year yet 🌍 Huge international momentum across our offices in London, Frankfurt, and New York 👥 Growing to a team of over 100 exceptional colleagues focused on delivering success for clients and candidates 🎯 1,400+ placements made, continuing to connect world-class talent with leading private capital firms and their portfolio businesses   Paul Blant, Group Managing Director, said: "We’ve worked incredibly hard over the last year to build success for a record number of clients and candidates, making a record number of placements across a record number of markets. Reflecting on our growth as a business, we have continued to surpass our targets, fuelled by the drive and expertise of our incredible team. We’ve seen colleagues hit an all-time high of personal bests in their careers, and I am very proud of what has been accomplished. We are grateful to the clients and candidates who have trusted us to help grow their businesses and achieve their ambitions. We’ve got great momentum to build on and we look forward to continuing to support and advise the private equity industry in 2025."   Our thanks go to all who played a part in our journey in 2024. We’re excited to raise the bar for 2025. #international #growth #success #privateequity #privatecapital #perfectlyplaced

At Edge 2024, Ledgy brought industry leaders together, exploring the challenges faced in the equity environment throughout the IPO journey. I am very grateful for the transparency of our speakers, as it enabled us as an audience to learn from their experiences 🙌 There were many valuable insights shared, but there were two key points that stood out for me: 🧭 The strategic planning needed for effective equity implementation at scale. During a company’s transition from private to public, there are natural pressures on hiring and retention as the motivations for key individuals in the business change. Having the correct data and systems in place to aid the evolution of your equity plans, will reduce the administrative burden significantly. 💭 Sometimes I question if we hear enough about the positive impact equity can have for both businesses and individuals. I was pleased to hear Elena Petrou describe the positive impact that a company-wide equity award had for a large group of employees at Aviva. A feel good story that demonstrates the benefits of equity, to both businesses and employees. It aligned well with our mission – to empower every team globally with equity. Overall, I am increasingly optimistic about the opportunity we have at Ledgy, given the reinforced need for a global equity platform that works for private companies to IPO and beyond 🚀

💐Personal news💐 After 9 productive and fascinating years at BlackRock, I have decided it’s time for a new career chapter. I am very proud of what we accomplished with my teammates and partners during these turbulent years, and thankful for all the hard work and camaraderie that went into it, as well as for the myriad of insightful exchanges about markets and the global economy with top investors and decision-makers along the way. Having had these opportunities makes me deeply grateful to BlackRock's senior executives for their leadership, trust and mentorship. When I joined BlackRock after 17 years in the public financial sector, first at the French Treasury, then at the International Monetary Fund, one of my key motivations was to understand from the inside how financial markets work. I cannot say “mission accomplished”, as being a student of the markets is a never-ending process. But I am often asked, 'what surprised you most?', so to close this chapter here are my top eye-opening takeaways: 1. “Markets” are actually people. Lots of individuals making investment decisions day in, day out, based on all sorts of considerations including preconceptions, emotions, hopes, theories that may be well-founded or not. As a result, narratives have tremendous influence on market behaviour, acting like signals moving entire schools of fish in sync. And these narratives sprout from many, many other things than macroeconomics. Ultimately, macro fundamentals do matter, but “ultimately” can be a very long time indeed. 2. Markets are far from perfect, but most of the time they work, better than any alternative I can think of, as a machinery to allocate the world’s savings to generate returns as efficiently as regulations, markets plumbing and industry structure allow. This in turn allows companies to invest and grow, and countries to take care of their citizens through thick and thin. Many people lament that markets fail at delivering other public goods. But that’s like blaming a toaster for failing to fry an egg. Moreover… 3. Most market participants invest other people’s money. Thus, any aspiration to direct “markets” to finance one or another worthy goal has to be measured against the potential adverse impact on the millions of legal beneficiaries of the capital in question. These include average citizens saving for a life goal or for rainy days, pension plan members, insurance policyholders, or even, in the case of sovereign investors, entire populations. All of them have legitimate return expectations and their own priorities. Public policy can supersede those, but shouldn’t do so lightly. I look forward to sharing the details of my next chapter soon. Until then, Happy Summer!

💡 Ever wondered what it’s like to step into the fast-paced world of M&A at a global investment bank? I had an opportunity to find out! 💼 I recently finished AmplifyMe's M&A Finance Accelerator simulation, in which I had to assume the position of a junior analyst right away. Working alone, I created a financial model and conducted a valuation exercise for a possible client. This experience has significantly improved my abilities in financial statement analysis, valuation modelling, and financial modelling, providing me with useful insights into the needs of M&A. I'm grateful to AmplifyME, UBS and Alessia Di Salvo for this amazing learning experience. 🎯 Key takeaway: This type of real-world exposure is vital for anybody wanting to enter into the financial industry. It's not only about studying theory; it's also about implementing those ideas under duress and in real-world situations! I'm looking forward to implementing these abilities as I pursue a career in finance.

Today is my two-year anniversary as the CEO of Malk Partners and I wanted to share some thoughts. Malk's mission is to steer capital to more responsible investors and companies, and this driving force has been at the heart of everything do, what motivates us when we wake up in the morning, and how we engage with our clients. This mission guides everything we do. I want to say thank you to our clients. We know we need to earn your trust everyday. Thanks to our loyal, long-term clients as well as our newer clients. Our mission can only be achieved partnering with you and supporting you to embed great ESG practices at your firms. We recognize we serve clients with a wide spectrum on ESG strategies, with some including ESG excellence as a founding principle of their firms and some adopting ESG practices for the first time. Regardless of your current state, we appreciate your trust on your journey. I also want to call out the progress we've made as a firm. We are partnered even more closely with our clients to grow our recurring revenue services, especially in Annual Portfolio Company Monitoring and Fund Advisory (annual reporting, policies, training, fundraising support, AGM meeting preparation, etc.). In the past two years, we have diversified our business with a significant increase in recurring revenue services giving us resilience across the private market investing cycles. We have developed an innovative and client-centric ESG data solutions along with our strategic partner, Integrum ESG. The Malk-Integrum ESG data platform takes the 15-year experience of Malk Partners serving private market investors and their portfolio companies and translates that into an AI-based ESG data solution that automates ESG scoring and benchmarks vs. private and public company industry peers. For our clients who have adopted the Malk-Integrum ESG solution, we thank you and will continue to innovate these distinctive capabilities with you. We have accelerated our pace of innovation across-the-board. We will soon release our DD3.0, our next-generation due diligence service, we are rapidly growing our Fund Advisory bundles to strengthen and simplify the service and budgeting process for our clients, and we are scaling our ESG Value Creation services, where we are innovating on how portfolio companies can turn ideas or gaps into value creation over the hold period (e.g., supply chain transparency to grow revenue in developed markets, building DEI programs to enhance employee value propositions and retention, etc.). The past two years has been a period of massive innovation at Malk. Last, but certainly not least, I want to say thank you to the entire Malk team. The innovations we've delivered would not have been possible with your passion, commitment, energy, and collaboration! I love engaging with you everyday and how we hold each other accountable to achieve our mission. Onwards and upwards!!!! #esg #Malkclients #innovation #Malkstars

Ever felt like the only one in the room? For many from underrepresented backgrounds, this is a familiar challenge. The journey through cultural differences, the pressure to be a perfect representative, and the scarcity of relatable role models can affect our performance and career growth. Join us for our final Circle of the summer, where we are joined by Tongai Kunorubwe, CFA, Head of ESG in the Fixed Income Division at T. Rowe Price Tongai brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices in investment management and will share his journey and offer strategies on how to leverage being the only one in the room to your advantage. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights from a leader in ESG and learn how to turn your uniqueness into a strength. Register here: https://bit.ly/3PNcKZW __ Our circles are aimed at professionals looking to take the next step in their career. Hosted monthly, the group mentoring sessions are led by senior figures from financial and professional services who share their personal experiences, and discuss the tools required to navigate the barriers faced throughout their careers. EnCircle Team: Justin Onuekwusi, CFA, Rebecca O., Marina Ebrubah, Yvonne Y., Daniel May, MBA, MA, Alix (Landais) Timothy, CFA Nneka Opara, Batsi Kashora, CFA, MBA. EnCircle sponsors: Man Group, State Street, Barrington Hibbert Associates, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) EnCircle supporters: Diversity Project - Investment Industry, #Talkaboutblack#Talkaboutblack#Talkaboutblack #BuildingFutureLeaders #encirclementoring #mentorship #businessmentorship #assetmanagement #mentoringcircles #careerprogression #careergrowth #representation #networkingevent #assetmanagement #networking

The DEI Disconnect: Why Your "Bro Culture" Is Costing You Investors (and Impact) Let's face it: impact investing isn't just about making money. It's about aligning your capital with your values, driving positive change, and building a better world. But here's the harsh truth: if your firm is still clinging to an outdated "bro culture," you're not just missing the mark on DEI – you're actively repelling the very investors who share your passion for impact. Today's impact investors are savvy. They're not just looking at your portfolio; they're scrutinizing your culture, your values, and your commitment to diversity and inclusion. And let's be clear: a firm that's dominated by one demographic isn't going to cut it. Here's why: • Limited Perspectives: Homogeneity breeds blind spots. If everyone in your firm looks and thinks the same, you're missing out on critical insights and innovative solutions. • Missed Opportunities: Diverse teams are better at identifying and investing in companies that are truly driving social and environmental change. • Reputation Risk: Investors are increasingly wary of firms with a reputation for exclusion. A lack of diversity can signal a lack of authenticity and commitment to impact. So, if you're serious about attracting and retaining impact-driven investors, it's time to ditch the "bro culture" and build a truly inclusive firm. This means: • Diversifying your team: Hire people from different backgrounds, with different experiences and perspectives. • Creating an inclusive culture: Foster a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute. • Walking the talk: Make DEI a core part of your investment strategy and decision-making processes. The bottom line? DEI isn't just a "nice-to-have" for impact investors – it's a non-negotiable. If you're not prioritizing it, you're not just hurting your business, you're undermining your mission. #ImpactInvesting #DEI #DiversityandInclusion #ESG #VentureCapital #SocialImpact.