Anniversary!
Today is IR+M’s 35th. Seems like yesterday when the two of us were in suits and ties in shared office space, talking on phones while figuring out yields on a Monroe bond calculator, and trying to picture our portfolio positioning by taping together Lotus 123 worksheets from a daisy wheel printer……
Appreciation
If you’re a client, a colleague, or a partner, thank you for bonding with us and helping us build the firm we have today. So many great memories and achievements that we couldn’t have created without you!
We are most appreciative for the many talented, high-quality, engaged teammates who collaborate well, make work fun and perform for our clients, our community and each other. Our long-tenured folks have developed their skill sets and our collective capabilities while at IR+M, growing into leaders, and assuming significantly more responsibility over the years. We have worked to understand each other’s communication styles, to improve our emotional intelligence and to provide and receive kind and candid feedback. Others with new skill sets and perspectives have joined. We couldn’t be more excited about the promise we possess as a collective team.
Evolution
While our core value proposition remains unchanged, we have grown stronger by evolving. In 1987, we started as a bottom-up investment grade corporate bond manager. Over the years, we became an investment firm distinguished by:
- Laser focus on US$ fixed income – our core competency that we won’t dilute
- Asset base in the sweet spot – small enough to effectively add value through security selection and significant enough (200+ people with $92B in AUM) to have first class tools and infrastructure
- Employee ownership – incentives of our 71 employee shareholders aligned with our clients. Long-term perspective and entrepreneurial independence
Since our humble beginnings, we have added expertise in all investment grade sectors and have now been managing below investment grade assets for over 10 years. We embraced DEI and are making solid progress on this journey. ESG was integrated into our investment process and our product menu years ago and continues to evolve. The next group of leaders and experts have been empowered and the helpful outside perspective of Advisory members to our Board has been added.
We pledge to continue working together to leverage our strengths. Together, this month, we embrace a new hybrid schedule with some of our work time in and some out of the office, giving us a fresh platform to build on inclusivity, teamwork and our shared mission – to take our culture to the next level. With this group of Invested, Respectful, Positive and Motivated (IR+M) colleagues, we look forward to making our firm, culture, and results “ever better”.
Thank you again for being a part of our first 35 years.
