What Can Hedge Funds Learn from Quinnipiac Hockey?
![anthony-malakian-waters anthony-malakian-waters](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_750_463/public/import/IMG/216/142216/anthony-malakian-waters.jpg.webp?h=373a525f&itok=zNeqXFEa)
Kellen and Connor Jones are twin brothers who were born in Montrose, British Columbia, Canada. They're both amateur hockey players. Odds are, growing up they had never heard of Quinnipiac University, a school of 8,000 in Hamden, Connecticut. But that is exactly where the two have found glory on the ice.
Professional hockey isn't the most ubiquitous sport in the United States. It's even less so at the college level. But even the most ardent hockey fan had to be surprised when they saw that Quinnipiac, a team with no national prominence, had made it to the NCAA National Championship game, where they will play neighboring Yale University tomorrow. The Jones brothers have played a major role in this title run, as both rank in the top 5 on the team in scoring.
Quinnipiac is most known for its polling institute. Every election, rest assured Quinnipiac's name will make it into national headlines. In large part, that was by design: It was free marketing for the school.
As Jonathan Mahler of Bloomberg View notes, Quinnipiac becoming a seemingly overnight success on the ice was no accident, either: The school funneled money and talent into the program in order to make it a national name, or brand.
Finding that talent was key. When you are competing against entrenched schools like Minnesota, Michigan, Boston College, Boston University, North Dakota and Denver, then you need more than money-you need to be able to find talent and you need a differentiator.
So what school officials and coaches did was they went into the elite amateur British Columbia Hockey League to find bigger, more experienced players. As Mahler also points out, the average age of the team is 24. The BCHL is also where they found the Jones brothers, and six other members of their current squad. Furthermore, they invested in building a beautiful new arena to play in.
Finding IT Talent
You can argue that there's no better time to find IT talent than right now. Due to budget constraints, many a bank has cut its staffing over the last few years. Even in recent months, JPMorgan, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Raymond James have laid off workers for various reasons.
Surely, there are some gems in those masses. But it's also true that hedge funds aren't exactly flush with capital to blow on IT; they need that money to put back into investor returns. Thus, why the buy side has increasingly turned to outsourced/third-party solutions in recent years.
So this isn't to say that hedge funds need to go out and fully re-staff their IT departments. But right now is a good time to go hunting for talent in areas they haven't looked before; pick off a specialist here and there that will allow your firm to venture into new asset classes and geographies.
Not only did Quinnipiac have to invest in its scouting capabilities to breach the BCHL, it also had to put a $52 million investment into its new arena to entice talent. Well, while it's not the easiest of markets for buy-side firms, smart investment now in infrastructure and staffing can reap rewards down the road.
Are your Jones brothers out there?
Think that comparing college hockey to financial IT is insane? Want to talk about Quinnipiac's chances against Yale? Give me a call at 646-490-3973 or shoot me an email to anthony.malakian@incisivemedia.com.
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. Printing this content is for the sole use of the Authorised User (named subscriber), as outlined in our terms and conditions - https://www.infopro-insight.com/terms-conditions/insight-subscriptions/
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. Copying this content is for the sole use of the Authorised User (named subscriber), as outlined in our terms and conditions - https://www.infopro-insight.com/terms-conditions/insight-subscriptions/
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Emerging Technologies
This Week: IPC extends Google Cloud partnership, BlackRock/AIA, DTCC and more
A summary of the latest financial technology news.
Waters Wavelength Podcast: Deutsche Bank’s Boon-Hiong Chan
Boon-Hiong Chan from Deutsche Bank joins the podcast to talk about blockchain interoperability.
SocGen pushes data, analytics use cases for SG Markets
The bank is letting a handful of clients experiment with its proprietary data and models to inform their research.
Ace high or busted flush? Digital Asset’s mixed fortunes mirror DLT adversity
The vendor hoped to remodel post-trade using blockchain technology—and it still might—but its bumpy progress raises questions over the future of DLT in finance.
AI could cut time for money laundering checks by 99%
Leading crypto exchange rolling out large language model for enhanced due diligence checks.
Standard Chartered keeps faith with quantum experimentation
The bank is aiming to future-proof itself with the ability to adopt new technology at an early stage.
Waters Wrap: CME, Google and the pursuit of ultra-low-latency trading
CME Group and Google have announced Aurora, Illinois, as the location for the exchange’s new co-location facility. Anthony explains why this is more than just the next phase of the two companies’ originally announced project.
This Week: Genesis/Interop.io; S&P Global; Finos/OS-Climate and more
A summary of the latest financial technology news.