Dana Investment Advisors No. 1 workplace for money managers

Dana Investment Advisors CEO Mark Mirsberger is happy to see his firm top Financial Planning’s Best Workplaces in Money Management ranking for the second time in two years.

But he doesn’t need an award to know how good he and his colleagues have it.

He just looks at the turnover rate for his firm’s 60-person team, which would be zero in the past year if it weren’t for retirements.

“There are many instances of employees who have been at other places, and they have said to me — and I think they’re genuinely being honest — that you don’t realize how special this is,” Mirsberger said.

READ MORE: The 18 best places to work in money management

It’s not just employee loyalty that has made Dana Investment Advisors the two-time No. 1 champ. 

To compile the full list, we worked with the HR researcher Best Companies Group and asked money managers throughout the country about their employers — their leadership qualities, benefits and other attributes. Separately, we evaluated the firms’ policies and practices.

Using all that data, we ranked the top money management workplaces in the U.S. by their ability to provide a desirable employee experience. And Dana Investment Advisors once again earned the top slot. 

Paying health premiums and sharing profits

Dana Investment Advisors has long been recognized as offering generous workplace benefits. The Waukesha, Wisconsin-based money manager pays for all its employees’ health insurance premiums. It also has a profit-sharing system that funnels 15% of the money the firm makes back to employees, within certain limits set by the IRS.

“We’ve gotten to the point now where, after salaries, the next two things we budget for are paying for all of the premiums of our employees’ health care, dental, life. That’s a lot,” Mirsberger said. “And then it’s making a generous 15% profit-sharing contribution.” 

All that tends to put the firm’semployees on sound financial ground.

“Even administrative people, over the past 30 years, they’ve gotten to where they have very generous 401(k) balances these days,” Mirsberger said. “I can say we’ve created a bunch of millionaires”

Hard work, yes, but that doesn’t mean there’s no play

Of course, Dana Investment Advisors’ appeal extends beyond its perks. Mirsberger said employees show a general willingness to step in and lighten each other’s responsibilities when needed.

“We expect people to work hard and do the job,” he said. “That being said, there’s compassion, there’s understanding. There’ll be times that I have to carry more of the load, or someone else has to carry more of the load, because someone else is dealing with life.”

“Life” can include managing illnesses, helping an aging parent or sick child, taking maternity or paternity leave or time off to tend to pets. The key to making it all work is having team members who are willing to fill in for each other.

“We’ll have people who are working from home, even when they’re not feeling good, because they’re covering for somebody else,” Mirsberger said. “They understand what they have to do because they see, ‘So and so’s down. So I’ve got to step in and I’ve got to block the left tackle here and protect my quarterback.'”

Of course, it’s not all hard work. The Dana Investment Advisors office has virtual golf, football and soccer simulators, a massage chair and plenty else to keep employees occupied and entertained should they find themselves needing to relax.

A family culture: Origins of Dana Investment Advisors

Mirsberger traces the firm’s high expectations but accommodating stance to its founder, Mike Dana, who started what became Dana Investment Advisors in 1980 Elm Grove, Wisconsin. The firm started by managing portfolios for local businesses and their employees and later moved on to working with corporations, endowments and foundations.

Mirsberger said the firm now manages three exchange-traded funds and three mutual funds. Its latest Form ADV, filed in March with the Securities and Exchange Commission, lists nearly $5.8 billion in client assets.

“I’ll always give Mike Dana credit for the culture and the family environment that he created,” Mirsberger said. “And I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family environment, and so it’s easy for me to adopt and to perpetuate that.”

Mirsberger said he likes to think one of his biggest contributions is instilling in employees a belief that none of them can win unless they all win. Mirsberger said he likes it when new recruits come in with some experience playing sports, although the firm obviously hires people from all walks of life.

“I love competitive people. I like athletes just because they get teamwork, they get hard work, and that it takes practice and it takes diligence,” Mirsberger said. “They seek to win. They seek to please. I’m an athlete myself, and so I’ve always thought that that’s a great trait from a teamwork perspective.”