How Asset Allocators Are Planning Life Back in the Office

After two months of sheltering in place, states are reopening in piecemeal fashion. But what that means for allocators is a work in progress, as investment fund leaders cobble together guidance from state governors and health officials. 

Many investment teams are still hunkering down indefinitely. But some pension programs, such as the New York Common Retirement Fund (NYCRF) and the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM), are awaiting final touches on operational plans for when their workers can return. 

In addition to sanitation and social distancing protocols, there are also apps for contact tracing, phased reopenings, and office rotations, as well as closed-off common spaces. In the end, much of it will depend on the perception of safety and security for workers. 

Crush COVID RI

Rhode Island has taken the lead in social distancing measures. While the pension plan’s investment team members may not know when they’re returning to the office—currently slated for review after June 26—the state has already taken several measures to help employees maintain social distance, including developing its own contact tracing app. 

Called “Crush COVID RI,” the pandemic response app was unveiled this month by the state’s governor and is available on app stores—even for non-Rhode Island residents. Among other tools, the resource includes a feature called “My Location Diary” that logs users’ GPS data from the past 20 days. 

While tech companies such as Apple and Google have teamed up to produce their own contact tracing apps, “Crush COVID RI” is the first developed by a state governor, who has mandated that all public employees keep a record of places they’ve visited. State employees are expected to surrender their contact tracing forms, either paper or digital, if they are diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Contact tracing has already raised red flags for data privacy experts, who worry location information could be abused by tech companies that already own and sell prodigious amounts of user information.

But a Rhode Island fund spokesperson said all location data will be stored locally on the user’s device. Data will only be shared from the app when users choose to disclose it, he said. 

Other measures the state pension plan has taken? The state offices also will have the Rhode Island National Guard posted at entrances to clear the 20% of office employees who do go through. The Rhode Island Treasury is reviewing when to reopen every few weeks. 

Working from Anywhere

Of course, many investment teams have been working just fine from home. According to Rhode Island Treasury spokesman Evan England, the seven-member investment team, which is considered fairly tech savvy, generally found it a smooth transition to remote operations. 

Staff members have considered about a half-dozen managers since they went into quarantine, though what they will do when they need to conduct reviews onsite is uncertain.

“It hasn’t impeded immediate operations, nor our ability to conduct business or maintain appropriate due diligence,” England said. “That said, we look forward to returning to normal practices when it’s safe to do so.” 

Others say the switch to sheltering in place has been advantageous. For example, investment chiefs do not have as many conferences to fly to, such as those in the private equity space. 

“It used to be you had to fly to Seattle, New York, whatever. Now, with Zoom, you don’t have to,” said Bob Maynard, investment chief at the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI). “I’m getting more information about the portfolios on a more contemporaneous basis than before.” 

That begs the question: Why bother returning to the office at all? Many critics have derided states they feel have reopened too soon as courting more mass infections. While major metropolises first hit by the coronavirus may have flattened the number of cases, they argue the disease is making its way to more rural and isolated parts of America. 

Meanwhile, a small number of employers outside of the investment fund space have announced permanent switches to remote-first working, particularly tech companies such as Coinbase, Twitter, and Shopify, making a case for the end of the office.

Some Funds Return to Office

But some state funds that have already headed back into the office contend they are taking every step to make the office space as safe as possible, while also allowing workers flexibility to stay at home if they choose. 

At the Oklahoma Police Pension & Retirement System (OPPRS), where staff members were told earlier this month that they could return to their office, employees are required to wipe down common areas, such as break rooms, and follow social distancing protocols. Each of the 11 members on the team also has their own office room to return to.

“The legislature went back into session,” Ginger Sigler, executive director at OPPRS, said earlier this month. “And so long as they feel that they can go back to work, then I feel as a state agency we should follow.” 

At the Alaska Permanent Fund, which reopened offices the Tuesday after Memorial Day, employees have been divided into A and B teams. Of the roughly 45 total workers at the fund, half are permitted to come in on Mondays and Tuesdays, while the other half rotate in on Thursdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays and the weekends, offices are deep cleaned before the next group of coworkers come in. 

Of the 22 employees who could have come in Tuesday, just eight workers came in, though the chief executive said this might also be due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The teams are sorted based on the seating arrangement that will allow the greatest space between cubicles. 

“I think we need to recognize that for everyone who doesn’t need to come back into the office ever again, there are people who hate working from home and have not felt comfortable working from home from the get go, and that’s allowing them a place where they can work and feel productive as well,” Angela Rodell, chief executive at the Alaska Permanent Fund, said on her first day back in the office the Tuesday after Memorial Day.

But even so, workers who have returned are finding the workplace isn’t what it once was. Apart from the social distancing and sanitation protocols, as well as the off-limits coffee pot and common spaces, there is also the quiet to remind employees that a new normal has taken hold. 

“COVID feels very present, more than it does when I’m working from home,” Rodell said. “When I’m working from home, it feels more far away.” 

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