MEMBER PROFILE
Lindsay Tomlinson, OBE, FSIP
Vice Chairman, Europe, Barclays Global Investors
INTERVIEW BY: MAHA KHAN PHILLIPS • PHOTOGRAPHY: ABI HARDWICK
A
fter 36 years in the investment industry, travelling around the UK by himself, meeting pension funds,
Lindsay Tomlinson has seen it all. “If you coming across other investment professionals pitching their
think the credit crunch is bad, you should business. Ironically, many of them went on to become leaders
have seen what it was like in 1973,” he says. in the industry.
Only weeks into his fi rst job as an actuary He joined Barclays on the suggestion of his friend Roger
at Commercial Union in London, the City Urwin, now a senior fi gure at Watson Wyatt. “Roger said
went down to a three day working week because of a lack of Barclays was a pioneer in quantitative investment
power. Two streets away from Tomlinson’s offi ce, somebody management, and that they were looking for people. I told
threw themselves off a building. “I had only just started, and I him I knew nothing about quants, and he said, ‘don’t worry,
found myself right in the middle of a huge fi nancial crisis.” very few people do’.”
Very few people are fortunate enough to have ringside seats Tomlinson joined Barclay’s asset management division –
to the evolution of the investment management industry, but then BZW Asset Management. Barclays had bought de Zoete
Lindsay Tomlinson has had precisely that. During his 22 years & Bevan and Wedd Durlacher to form BZW to take
with the fi rm that is now Barclays Global Investors (BGI), advantage of the Big Bang, but cultural clashes saw the
Tomlinson has helped spearhead the reinvention of BGI from departure of many senior staff . “I was 35 years old and within
index tracking boutique into the biggest fund manager in the a couple of years I was one of the oldest people in the
world with over $1.5 trillion under management, known for company,” laughs Tomlinson. Nevertheless it worked in his
its quant strategies and big brains. BGI is now the focus of favour: within three years he was promoted to managing
much speculation about a potential takeover after widespread director, and in 1994 became chief executive. Th e fi rm was
interest in the group, prompted by its auction of part of the building its international indexing business at a time when
business – iShares. indexing was considered ‘exotic and racy’.
Tomlinson says he could never have imagined or predicted BGI came into being in 1996, after Barclays bought Wells
the development of his career. As a mathematics graduate Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors (WFNIA) and merged it
from Cambridge University, he became an actuary, because “I with BZW. Tomlinson, who was named chief executive of the
had mathematics skills, and it was one of those jobs that you group, made the unprecedented move of stepping down in
did as a mathematician. But I knew nothing about it, and I favour of Fred Grauer in San Francisco, who had run Wells
had no idea what I was getting into, just that it was the Fargo before the integration. Grauer was jockeying for
professional qualifi cation suited for my background.” position with BZW’s chief executive Donald Brydon.
He joined Commercial Union, but didn’t fi nd it “I got caught between the two, and it was clear I wouldn’t
stimulating. “Th ere was a lot of time serving, something that survive physically or mentally! Fred called me and said, ‘why
wouldn’t happen today.” Four years later he joined don’t you report to me instead of me reporting to you’, and I
Metropolitan Pensions, a pension consultancy based in told him that was a fabulous idea. I think he was really
Chichester. He spent his time valuing pension funds and shocked! Sometimes, you have to fi nd the niche that allows
working on the liability side of the business. As a result, he you to do want you want to do, rather than climbing up the
attended a lot of trustee meetings, and realised that greasy pole to be on top of the tree.”
investment management was an attractive proposition. Tomlinson believes the credit crunch has ‘put on hold’ a lot
“Once you’ve done 20 pension fund valuations you have a of developments in the industry, such as moves towards
pretty good idea what the answer to the 21st valuation would sustainability and a convergence between asset classes. If the
be, then you spend the next month trying to prove it. Th e credit crunch has demonstrated anything, he says, it is that the
investment industry seemed like a really exciting place to be, investment profession needs to represent itself better politically.
where the big issues of the day were being talked about.” When he’s not working, Tomlinson lives in the country
Tomlinson moved to Provident Mutual, which was with his wife. He has fi ve children, most of whom have grown
running a managed pension fund and needed someone to up and left home. He also has fi ve Labradors, “they keep us
represent them to their clients. He spent the next several years busy,” he laughs.
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