Ordinary, perhaps, but last month Barry Fink started an extraordinary new job, in which jumping out of airplanes and skiing off cliffs are not reassuring habits. Fink is the new chief operating officer of American Century Investments, and the good folks who’ve turned over 106 billion of their hard-earned dollars to ACI to invest and manage probably think it’s just fine that the guy running things there day-to-day does not have reckless tendencies. Deliberation is what’s called for.

     “Right now, I’m just trying to get up to speed,” Fink says. “Get to know the people. Get to know the company’s culture.”

     There are lots of people to get to know. Of American Century’s 1,800 employees, 850 of them will be under Fink’s direction. 

     Ingram’s asked Barry Fink about his new post and about the changing landscape of investment management.  

 

What are the immediate challenges you face as Chief Operating Officer at American Century Investments?

“We’re in a complicated business. It used to be much more straightforward. Individuals came to us with their money to invest and we worked with them to choose the right funds for their unique needs and goals. Now there are so many more and varied investment vehicles, and so many more distribution channels. It’s a much more crowded industry.

“I’ll be responsible for finance, legal and compliance areas of the company, as well as direct retail operations and support, information technology, fund accounting, internal audit and solutions and planning. Then there’s the whole area of third party, or financial intermediary, services.”

 

Please explain more about third party, or financial intermediary, services.

“It used to be that all of our investment products were sold directly to the customer, the investor, without a middleman. Now many of our products are sold to customers through intermediaries—financial advisors who offer a range of investment vehicles to their clients from a wide range of fund managers like us.” 

Obviously, your company is a major employer in Kansas City, but beyond that, what’s the role of American Century in the life of the community?

“In many ways, the actual physical location of a company doesn’t matter as much as it used to, the Internet and the ease of transportation have reduced or eliminated the importance of geography as a factor. Many companies could do what they do from almost any city. But in many other ways it matters greatly where a company is headquartered. The geography and culture of a community helps inform the culture and personality of the company located there. I think companies that grow up in one place have a stronger sense of themselves. They seem to be more stable and confident. American Century is a good example of that. It has deep roots in Kansas City. The Stowers family and the company have been major benefactors to the community, to its culture and its charitable organizations. That won’t change.

What motivates you, personally and professionally?

“For me it’s the same thing, personally and professionally. I want to make a difference—a positive difference. I want to do the right thing for our clients and for our employees.”