As the firm has grown to roughly USD 10 billion in assets under management, Guinness has made some notable improvements. It added distinct roles for a head of operations, chief financial officer, and chief compliance officer instead of outsourcing certain functions or having one person cover parts of all three. The firm also created an independent risk-management function, which reports to CEO Ed Guinness and should cover 100% of the firm's long-only strategies by the end of 2024. These additions bring the firm closer to industry standard. However, integration is still a work in progress, and it remains to be seen whether further changes are needed and how the investment teams will respond to formal risk assessments.
Other areas of the firm could also use an update. While the number of employees who have firm ownership doubled to 20 since 2022, which tends to help employee retention, portfolio manager compensation could align with client interests more by linking strategy performance to bonuses rather than considering AUM. Additionally, the firm's US mutual fund lineup could be priced more competitively, and the firm's niche lineup of five exchange-traded funds, branded SmartETFs, has gained little traction.