Monday
The day in Charlotte, North Carolina marked the start of my two‑and‑a‑half‑week US business trip for internal meetings, a conference presentation, and client visits. After my first New York–London trip in the 1990s, a senior portfolio manager told me jet lag was a luxury in a global firm. I took that to heart – embracing my 4 am wake‑up to check Bloomberg Markets, Top News, emails, and Teams. Key updates on the Global Equity Enhanced Income portfolio looked normal: options overlay positions were fine, and NLP‑based dividend sentiment showed no alerts.
It was a mild 15‑minute walk to the Charlotte office, though my “99% pollen‑blocking” mask felt oversold. The warm welcome from colleagues – handshakes, hugs, and smiles – was far more pleasant.
With the full systematic research team in Charlotte, we packed two‑and‑a‑half days with discussions. The first meeting focused on extracting exceptional information across the investment process. Later, we joined a Bloomberg risk‑modelling call on capturing transient factors in portfolio risk. We used AI to summarise key points. After lunch, we held a deeper‑dive research session.
We ended the day with a group dinner, winding down with stories and conversation.
Tuesday
The day began much like the last, walking from the hotel to the office. I had a productive discussion with another senior portfolio manager on our fundamental validation process – from refreshing model outputs to how we manage internal and sell‑side research. We also revisited an academic study showing that text in sell‑side reports contains insights that predict future stock performance better than forecasts or target prices.
After lunch, we held a special two‑hour research session on agentic AI, starting with a whiteboard tutorial on concepts like context windows. A show‑and‑tell followed, including a live demo applying agentic AI to research projects. The session left everyone energised and many of us went straight back to our desks prompting Codex like kids with a new toy.
Wednesday
I had a morning call with our chief investment officer, covering updates from research to portfolio management. I walked him through upgrades to our portfolio‑risk dashboards, including deeper pre‑trade analyses on risk concentrations – from hot industries and style factors to stock‑specific exposures – and new thematic‑risk dashboards powered by news narratives and AI. I scheduled demos with senior Allspring investors during next week’s visits to San Francisco and Milwaukee to gather feedback and further strengthen our risk‑management approach.
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I then regrouped with my senior portfolio‑manager colleague to continue discussing fundamental validation of model outputs, a key late‑stage step. Since I would miss the next day’s portfolio management meeting, I previewed upcoming trade and rebalance proposals; all portfolios looked solid.
After finishing our afternoon research meeting, I headed to the airport for my next stop – New York. After a late dinner, I prepared business attire for the next day. It had been a long but energising day, closing a productive trip with research and portfolio‑management colleagues.
Thursday
I arrived at the Society of Quantitative Analysts (SQA) Annual Conference in mid‑town Manhattan at 8:30 am with a research colleague and co‑author of our paper, Thematic investing as missing factors. I had presented it a week earlier at the London Quant Group. When asked why I share our “secret sauce” with competitors, I often quote Fischer Black on publishing the Black‑Litterman model: the model isn’t proprietary – how you use it is. Sharing our work with the research community is always rewarding, and rigorous external verification is free.
After coming off stage, I checked emails to ensure I hadn’t missed anything from the portfolio management meeting. The day ended with a speakers’ dinner hosted by the SQA chairman, where we exchanged investment ideas and industry stories over wine and a good meal.
Friday
I was excited for a working session with our head of fundamental research, visiting from Milwaukee. We compared how systematic and fundamental research complement each other – after all, we fish in the same pond. I showed how our models could extract information from her team’s work, and she shared more on their valuation approach. The discussion reinforced my view that both teams follow different non‑linear paths to understanding assets.
I enjoyed seeing my consultant‑relations colleague who recently moved from London to New York, and catching up with my insurance‑solutions colleague.
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I then had lunch with three former colleagues, including my former admin who came up from the Jersey Shore. It was wonderful to reconnect and hear how everyone’s children and lives were evolving. After clearing emails, I took the afternoon off to meet my cousin and in‑laws for an early dinner at my favourite Chinatown restaurant – fresh seafood I’ve missed since relocating to London in 2019.
Saturday
I took a bus to Philadelphia to meet my daughter and returned to our favourite Amish brunch spot in Reading Terminal, where I’d taken my daughters for years. The line was still long, but the blueberry pancake, French toast, and fresh coffee made it worthwhile. She still chose orange juice over coffee.
Sunday
I had a long morning catch‑up with another former team member from my previous job. It was great to see him doing well. After a quick haircut, I repacked and reorganised business materials for the coming week, with an early train to Washington, DC the next morning. It was a satisfying end to a highly productive first week – two more weeks of living out of a suitcase ahead.
