As one might imagine, these were not small payroll numbers. "They don't do client work. Some would call them overhead," Thomasson says. But, he adds, "They are absolutely important to helping us scale the business."
Today, Oxford has tripled its year 2000 revenues and boasts more than $13 billion in assets under advisement with the same head count-120 employees-that it had ten years ago. Had the firm not made the transition to professional management, all this would have been impossible.
Culture Crisis
Overhauling a firm's structure is challenging in any environment. Oxford restructured in 2001 and 2002, years that presented new types of problems for advisory firms. Many advisories struggled early in the new millennium after the tech bubble burst, and Oxford wasn't spared.
Things were tense. "Ten years ago, we weren't behaving that friendly to each other," Thomasson recalls. "We had to create a culture crisis and get real issues out on the table."
Sources recall that, to clear the air at an offsite meeting, Thomasson asked each of the firm's top dozen or so executives to name two things about everyone else in the room that really bothered them.
"Perhaps we did [that]," Thomasson says, adding that at the firm's annual offsite meetings, "we've done some interesting things" over the years.
In reality, the cultural crisis was inevitable when the firm turned from a small entrepreneurial company to one with a board of directors and a sophisticated governance structure. "People had to change," Stroman says, and there had to be a willingness and spirit to trust each other and let go of certain responsibilities.
Another move Thomasson made was to expand the firm's ownership. There were four partners a decade ago and there are 14 today. "When you work with Oxford, you work with an owner," he says.
Ready To Grow
When Mark Green joined Oxford as chief investment officer in 2006, the firm had emerged from its growing pains. Green's strengths lay in big picture issues like asset allocation, not security selection.
Having worked in banks and family offices, Green was familiar with their shortcomings. "Usually, the growth in the family tree outstrips the growth in families' assets," he observes.