At Nine Mile, we are all about seizing opportunity.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” At Nine Mile, we don’t build ships, we make markets, but the message is clear, we want to inspire our people to set sail and explore the vast and endless sea of opportunities that lies before us in the financial markets. Our opportunity is endless, and our people have an unwavering commitment to explore every opportunity this complex and vibrant opportunity provides.
Words by Gordon
5 minute read
Our culture of exploration
Our key cultural pillars are based on having the smartest people in the industry, taking on and solving complex problems, instilling a bias to action to take advantage of our learnings, and continually growing as a result. These pillars help guide us on our trajectory of growth as a business and ensure we are iteratively developing our ability to reach our ambitious goals with people at the core.
Image 1. Nine Miles cultural pillars for success
At the heart of our business is an iterative process that drives our success. This model consists of four reoccurring steps that work in balance with one another, allowing us to continually hire the best and brightest people, solve complex problems in the financial markets, act on our findings, and grow and learn from the process.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Hire the best and brightest minds
We believe that we are only ever going to be as good as the people that are driving our business forward. We need to find the best and brightest individuals to join our team. We look for individuals who are not only talented and skilled in their respective areas, but who are also driven, passionate, and committed to our mission. We must share an alignment in values with any individual we hire, and our recruitment practices are carefully constructed in order to select people who are going to thrive within our culture.
Step 2: Seek out and solve complex problems
Once we have attracted the right talent, we let them go to work on what they do best, solving complex problems in the financial markets. Our team tackles challenging problems that requires resilience and ingenuity to come up with effective and creative solutions to real world financial challenges in order to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients. We analyse data, identify trends, and uncover new opportunities for growth and success.
Step 3: Instil a bias to action
In order to take advantage of the solutions that our team uncovers, we need our people to have a bias to action. We want our team to be brave and to act upon their findings, they must efficiently consider risk and uncertainty and be empowered to act with confidence. We operate in a dynamic and multifaceted environment that requires our people to be brave. This bravery is grounded in empowering our people to access sound research and analysis and is the only way to truly capitalise on the opportunities that we identify.
Step 4: Grow and learn from the process
Finally, we believe in constantly growing and learning from the iterative process. We take the lessons we learn from each step of the process and apply them to the next iteration. We constantly question our work and focus on ensuring our people are thinking from a growth mindset. We demand open feedback, reflection and continuous improvement. We should be excited by the struggle that accompanies the complex challenges we face. By continually learning and growing, we are able to refine our approach, identify new opportunities, and stay ahead of the curve in the financial markets.
The opportunity
ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs ecosystem, reports that “The Global ETFs industry had 11,119 products, with 22,860 listings, assets of US$9.229 Tn, from 671 providers on 81 exchanges listed in 64 countries at the end of December 2023”.
(https://etfgi.com/news/press-releases/2023/01/etfgi-reports-global-etf-industry-gathered-us856-billion-net-inflows)
This is an increase from approx. 4,493 products in 2012 (147% increase in just 10 years).
The continued rising popularity of ETFs on the global scale matches our ambitions as a business as we are focused on creating continual exciting opportunities to be able to solve the challenges that await us. Our team of talented professionals are dedicated to exploring and leveraging the vast and endless sea that is the global ETF landscape and beyond.
What is next for Nine Mile?
We will continue to prioritize innovation and technology, while keeping people and culture at the core of our operations. We believe that this approach has been key to our success thus far, and will continue to drive our growth in the future. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead, and look forward to sharing this journey with our clients, partners, and team members. Together, we will navigate the endless challenges and opportunities within the financial markets, as we aim to continue to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients. We are on a journey of exploration and discovery, and we invite you to join us. Whether you are a potential client, vendor, or employee, we are excited to collaborate with you.