(Bloomberg)—Millennium Management will trial a hybrid working arrangement as it seeks to find a best-of-both-worlds approach for staff in the wake of the pandemic.
Employees at Izzy Englander’s hedge fund firm will be required to come into the office three days a week and can work the remainder from home, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The approach will start on Sept. 7 and apply to most of the firm’s offices globally, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Firms around the world are grappling with whether to bring all staff back to their offices full time after the global spread of the deadly coronavirus showed that many could effectively do their jobs from home. Millennium plans to monitor the viability of its plan and will settle on a longer-term solution at a later stage, the person said.
Millennium, which manages more than $51 billion and employs more than 3,500 people globally, had sent all but a few key people home to work last year as the pandemic spread around the world.
A spokesman for the New York-based investment firm declined to comment.
“We are supportive of flexible working and recognize some of the positive shifts in working patterns over the past year,” Millennium told staff in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. “We will continue to gather information as the circumstances evolve and determine our longer-term solution for the firm.”
Home to one of the world’s busiest trading floors, Millennium’s move signals a cautious return to the office. A growing number of firms, especially in the U.S. where there are an easing of pandemic restrictions, are setting dates for their offices to reopen.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. reopened offices to all employees across the U.S. on Monday, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. aims to return U.S. staff by mid-June, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. Hedge fund peers including Bridgewater Associates and Two Sigma Investments plan to bring employees back to their offices in September and still allow them to work remotely a few days a week.
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