Los Angeles money managers struggle with the effects of wildfires on employees
By Susan McGee and David Barbuccia
(Reuters) – Los Angeles-based property management firms are grappling with the impact of the region’s devastating wildfires on their operations, relocating some office space and supporting workers who have lost their homes.
The Los Angeles area is home to large industry players such as Capital Group, TCW Group and hedge fund Oaktree Capital and Ares Management. Collectively, firms in Los Angeles manage more than $4 trillion of the $132 trillion in assets managed in the United States.
The fires reduced entire neighborhoods to smoky ruins, leaving behind an apocalyptic landscape that devastated suburbs and affluent areas.
“Several members of our team have been displaced and many have lost their homes, including my family,” Kathy Koch, president and CEO of TCW, which manages $203 billion in assets, reposted on LinkedIn in a letter to colleagues in Los Angeles.
TCW says all of its Los Angeles-based employees are safe and responsible. Koch did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a company spokeswoman confirmed that her home was gutted by fire.
Anacapa Advisors, a $60.5 million hedge fund, moved into new and larger offices in Pacific Palisades weeks before the fire, which saw the building burn to the ground in the Palisades Fire, the largest of several fires in Los Angeles County. According to a company spokesperson, the community.
In a letter to the company’s customers, Anacapa’s founder and CIO, Phil Pecksock, said that all of its employees are safe and that the team has successfully implemented its business continuity plan.
Now they are working remotely with “full access to trading platforms and risk monitoring systems.” They are placing orders for more marketing screens and are constantly communicating via Zoom, he said.
Pexok did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. The spokesman said Pexok was working from a second home after moving out of his primary residence.
Other property management companies are taking precautionary measures as Santa Ana winds fanning the region’s flames are forecast to continue into Wednesday, potentially spreading the fire further.
Oaktree Capital, which manages more than $200 billion in assets, will remain open for regular business, said the company’s chief operating officer, Todd Molz. Many of Oaktree’s 700 employees in the area were affected by the fire, he said.
