19 May 2009
Key Points:
Jeremy King started his legal career at Clayton Utz in 1998 as a paralegal in the Workplace Relations team. Since 2004, he has worked for Man Investments – the world's largest hedge fund group – as the Director of Marketing, Branding & Communications. He was originally based in Switzerland but moved to New York in 2007.
What does an average day entail?
I travel at lot so am often on the road. When in NY my mornings generally involve telephone/video conferences with colleagues in Europe (given time differences). In the afternoons I work with our sales teams, investment managers, clients and joint venture relationships based in North America. I am also lucky enough to manage a fantastic team of staff. Day-to-day activities include strategic planning, project management, developing/reviewing presentations and other sales literature.
How is your role different to that you had at Clayton Utz?
I joined Man Investments in a blended legal and financial/ business role. Much of the focus was on capital raisings and my exposure to a lot of capital raisings and M&A at Clayton Utz and Colonial First State (where Jeremy spent 13 months on secondment) was very relevant: legal structuring, disclosure docs, corporate governance (eg. running board meetings etc). Structuring the operational and investment management mechanics was something new: eg. clearing, settlement, valuation, custody etc. In 2007 I moved into a new role where much of my focus was on investment writing, marketing and strategy around launching new businesses. These days I am managing our marketing and communications activities full-time.
What are some of the more challenging and/or interesting aspects of your role?
The most challenging aspects of my role are not on the technical side. To really thrive in our culture you need strong relationships across the globe (we are in 15 countries). Building networks, understanding people’s local concerns, communicating and so on - this is where you need to invest a huge amount of energy and time.
I love the branding and marketing aspects of my role. I have been lucky enough to run some very exciting campaigns for diverse businesses: fund of hedge funds, credit managers, a CTA, an environmental capital business, an activist single manager and most recently a manager active in the insurance linked securities industry. This work has included brand development (corporate identity), clarifying the value proposition, describing the investment process, mapping the competitor universe, looking for the differentiating edge, building a visual identity etc. Brand development is creative, technical and human capital dependent – putting them altogether in a collaborative way is a lot of fun.
How would you describe your time at Clayton Utz? What were some of the highlights?
I had an incredibly broad exposure to corporate transactions and in-house work at Clayton Utz. My time at Colonial and in the M&A team helped me learn a lot about how to analyse a business and how it should operate. I also learned a lot of skills that translate into any corporate role: work ethic, relationship building, project management, communication and attention to detail. I met some great people and learned a lot from my colleagues. The collegiate and intellectual culture within the M&A Group stays with me and I am forever grateful to John Elliott and Greg James for underscoring the importance of attention to detail. I’ve also quoted Rod Halstead on many occasions: "I’ve never seen a problem that can’t be fixed."
Considering the current economic crisis, how would you describe the mood in New York at the moment?
I think it was September 17 when Lehman filed for Chapter 11. The subway home that evening was buzzing with news and chatter. Strangers talking openly in the carriage. My apartment building called a residents' meeting to discuss developments. I have seen bankers on the street carrying belongings out of their offices. Madoff is obviously on everyone’s lips. The city is experiencing higher unemployment than it has had in years. People are worried but the NY attitude is resilient and generally "glass half-full".
What are your expectations for the market you are currently working in over the next 12 months? What changes do you expect to see?
We experienced an incredibly challenging 2008 and first quarter 2009 across many strategies. We also saw quantitative directional strategies perform very strongly over the same period. With regulatory pressures impacting markets, distressed pricing in many sectors and strong global macro trends, we are optimistic about the opportunity set for nimble hedge fund managers. We see the markets putting a premium on transparency, liquidity, management depth, continuity of staff, and governance generally. This gives the bigger, stronger and more regulated players a distinct competitive advantage. We would thus expect to see our industry continue to barbell (long, large and established on one end, small, niche and talented on the other – the average players will get squeezed out).
How do you like to spend your time when you are away from the office?
I travel a lot and like to stay close to NY when I can. I am a very keen skier and cyclist. I actually went skiing over Christmas with another CU alumni (Hersh Gandhi) in Whistler.
What are some of the best things New York has to offer?
NYC is full of interesting people, great restaurants, bars, galleries, rooftop parties, live music, theatre. Central Park isn’t bad either. The only challenge is getting out of the office to enjoy them!
