'Be Kind to One Another'

“Be kind to one another.” Always great advice, but all the more important in times of great challenge, when it seems like everyone around us is suffering from impacts on the economy, stress, uncertainty and disorientation.

But it’s not always obvious how, day in and day out, to best lift the spirits of and provide support to those around us. Fortunately, at American Century, we are blessed with a tradition of community giving and with employees that always find a way to adapt and make the best of tough situations. I want to take a moment to share my pride in just a few small things we are doing to help pull each other, and the broader community, through these difficult times:

?        At a time when unexpected meeting crashers are giving the world some sorely needed laughs, our team members are fully embracing the fun. From dance parties to four-legged co-workers, it seems like each day brings a new opportunity for laughter, and I’m tremendously thankful for that.  

?        At our global headquarters in Kansas City, we’ve installed LED blue lights illuminating the top of our towers. We want to be sure that our first responders and essential workers see as many signs of appreciation around them as possible, and I want to thank our facilities team for taking the initiative to make this happen.

?        American Century and its employees donated thousands of surgical masks – leftover from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic from a decade ago – to front-line medical workers. We were delighted to discover those masks, and for the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to our deeply appreciated medical providers.

?        During the past 12 months, we have matched over $1 million dollars in charitable giving by our employees, including our matching of disaster relief contributions.  

And of course, all of this builds on our long-standing relationship with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Each year more than 40% of our dividends fund healthcare research—totaling $1.6 billion since 2000. It’s this unique business model that inspires our employees to take extraordinary efforts, every day, to delight our clients.

Thank you all. I couldn’t be prouder of our culture, or more grateful to be surrounded by such a supportive, generous, resilient team.