We Are All In This Together

For two years, we have all lived with the human toll, sadness, challenges and frustrations that define a global pandemic. For the two of us, nothing before has ever come close to the magnitude and stress of this all-encompassing and incredibly complex experience. While we are optimistic that the worst may be behind us, each of us knows in our minds and hearts that the risk of a continued pandemic will most likely always be a part of our lives in the future.

Over the same two years, we have witnessed hatred and random violence based on race, religion, gender and national origin skyrocket uncontrollably throughout the globe. Politics, political parties, and governing institutions have become incredibly confrontational and polarizing in too many geographies, and it has become far too convenient for leaders to prioritize their personal positions while losing sight of the goals and needs of those they were elected to serve. Compounding matters, inflation and increasing interest rates are creating everyday financial pain and uncertainty on top of an already incredible level of volatility in every market. This is a lot to navigate. And now, just when you think your “angst” level couldn’t get higher, war has broken out again in Europe, with a maniacal aggressor causing the death of civilians and combatants in a battle that seems to have no objective consistent with humanity, freedom or a rational world order.

We are writing this note to acknowledge that life today is about as complex and challenging as it has been at any time in our not so short lives. So many of us are facing difficult emotional realities that we just want to reach out, give each of you a virtual hug of encouragement, communicate that we feel your pain and share our heartfelt belief that, while it will not be easy or quick, we will indeed all find the right path forward by supporting each other and standing strong together.

We have no specific playbook or highly focused bullet point list of “things to do to quickly return our world to its natural order.” It is extremely frustrating (especially to one of us who loves to generate lists) that today’s complex issues aren’t conducive to any specific action plan. What we can offer instead is something very simple and straightforward that we believe will help us get through all of this:

All we ask is that each of us at Jefferies do our very best to respect each other and be there for our clients, family, loved ones and friends. We all need to recognize the varying degrees of trauma and stress under which many are living and working, and extending a gesture or words of support to help each other get through today and the days that follow.

As we have tried to share with you many times over these last two years, no person at Jefferies should feel that they are alone in any battle. We have helped many of you during this time in a variety of circumstances, and if you are in need, please reach out. Whether it is your inner emotions, tangible challenges faced by your family or truly anything that isn’t going right, your partners at Jefferies and the Firm itself all have your back and are here to support you and to take action as needed. You can bring any issue to us directly or you can take advantage of the many support resources we provide. With any crisis or challenge, we have always said that the key is to focus on the moment and whatever the right course is, and to get past what isn’t going the way it should. This perspective is even more vital now. Only by staying together and supporting one another can we continue to build for the future and the long term. Remember, seeking help and support is not a sign of weakness, but rather a badge of honor.

We will continue to do our best to lead Jefferies in a way that recognizes all that is going on around us in the world and how we as people and a tribe can do the right thing and contribute to making the world better. This note is just a reminder that, if we do not take care of each other, we will not be able to do the important work of serving and helping others.

With the same uneasiness and exasperation that you all feel, but with great confidence that together we will overcome all,

Rich and Brian