Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today on the Money Maze Podcast we discuss the future of cash and bank notes. Throughout its history cash has inspired two persistent forces; fascination and forgery. Whilst the accepted narrative is that the use of cash is on a glide path to extinction, De la Rue’s CEO, Clive Vacher offers his view that such a perspective is both premature and contradicted by a growing population whose access to digital cash and e payments is not within reach. He argues that cash is still on the rise! Clive who has been referred to as “the best turnaround specialist you haven’t heard of” starts with his upbringing and great academic successes and then describes his experience at companies like Rolls Royce and Bae before taking up the challenge of turning around De la Rue whose future had looked challenging. Clive talks of the other business that sits alongside their globally deployed cash-production expertise, namely authentication and anti-fraud protocols. He explains why the authentication division is growing so fast, the theory behind a vaccine passport, tax stamps and their “traceology” platforms. He shines light on why these anti-fraud mechanisms have never been more relevant as counterfeiters have not locked-down and the value of such illegal actions are estimated by the WTO to exceed $2 trillion. Clive explains why he is excited about their future, why the 1000 patents they own have intriguing optionality, and why he has confounded the sceptics so far. Finally he offers some potent advice about dealing with turnrounds, his role model in running a business, who he would like to fly with his helicopter license, and why his most important daily habit is talking to his employees.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In today’s conversation we are joined by Tracy Blackwell, CEO of the Pension Insurance Corporation (P.I.C.). Whilst this company may be below the radar screen for many, it is at the epicentre of an industry undergoing rapid transformation, and undertaking an essential investment activity that is critical to everyone; pensions. The historical importance of pensions is unchanged, from soldiers who served in the Roman armies who were guaranteed an income after they retired to employees in today’s enterprises. Tracy initially describes her journey as a daughter of a single Mother, growing up in Illinois, then moving to Malaysia, then to Business school and from there to Goldman Sachs. She describes rising to head up risk at Goldman Sachs’s asset management division, before her move to the Pension Insurance Corporation  Tracy takes us through an explanation of the fast-evolving £2 trillion market for private defined benefit pensions. She discusses the surprising fact that only four countries in the world have had such schemes and why companies and trustees increasingly recognise that managing the long term liabilities of their current and former employees’ pensions requires different skills from running their core business. She illustrates the immense changes underway in the insuring and management of pensions, describes the key forces at work, and the investable assets that meet regulatory requirements. She also explains the need for regulatory changes and the less-discussed flexibility leaving the EU might offer in this regard. She provides a case study, Philips, as to how the process works, the asset allocation challenges in today’s minimal yielding world, but why this vast pool of assets gives the UK an enormous opportunity to provide long-term financing for some of UK’s infrastructure and housing needs. The discussion refers to the work carried out entitled “purpose of finance”, a thought piece found on their website, and the inter-generational transfer that this pool of assets offers in long-term financing. Finally, Tracy reflects on being an American in the UK, offers advice for young, and why her favourite film is Gone with the Wind.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today we turn to music as an investment theme, and our guest has worked with the greats, from Elton John to Beyonce, and has been in the front row of the music business for nearly 40 years. He is CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd, a FTSE 250 company and the first UK investment company offering a pure play exposure to songs and music i.p. Music and back catalogues have seen growing investor interest and a number of vehicles have, and are being developed to offer investors access to long duration income streams, often via listed entities. Merck talks about growing up in Canada, making it to his first Kiss concert, working for Simon Draper and Richard Branson at Virgin records, before spending nearly 2 decades at Sanctuary music, where his client list featured some of the great musicians of all time. He talks about the changing nature of the music business, from the Bowie Bonds to the astonishing development that today over 90 % of US households have a music streaming subscription. From a discretionary purchase to a utility within a decade! Merck explains the current economics of the revenue splits, and why he believes that the artists have often not received a fair deal. He explains how a $12 monthly music subscription is split. He then details how Hipgnosis has acquired 57,000 songs and spent £1.2bn since listing on the London Stock Exchange three years ago, and why buying the highest quality catalogues of proven songs generates current and new revenue opportunities through song management. He talks about the rights once the catalogues are owned that endure 70 years after the artist’s death and whose revenues can accrue to investors. Equally he explains how owning the song allows you to take as an example, Blondie’s Heart of Glass and not just license it to Tik Tok, but reinvent it with current artists like Miley Cyrus. Merck talks about song selection, helping insert songs into movies and commercials, maximising song potential and how technology is changing the music business. He explains why London was chosen for the listing, reflects on some of the greats with whom he has worked and  concludes that the new world of Music, makes it compelling for investing and for job prospects. And the show closes with the great line….  “If you got the money honey, I got the time, and when you run out of money honey I run out of time”.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In today’s interview we have the opportunity for a detailed conversation with a man who has been at the forefront of advertising and marketing communications for 5 decades. Founder of WPP, its CEO for 33 years, he is now the creator of S4 Capital, an entirely digital advertising and marketing business at the epicenter of a marketing and commercial revolution. Sir Martin describes his youth and upbringing, and the ambition that drove him, which he ascribes to his grandparents who arrived in the UK as refugees. He describes his path to Cambridge and Harvard Business School, working for Mark McCormack at IMG before joining Saatchi & Saatchi. He talks about the advertising world that was ripe for disruption, his decision to buy and build WPP into the world’s largest agency, and the battles and challenges and near-death corporate experiences en route. He describes what lies behind his staying power, ambition, and how S4 Capital was conceived. In a rapid time period, S4 Capital has become a major force in the new world order of digital communications and already has a market capitalisation of £2.6 billion. He describes the strategy around building a purely digital advertising and marketing services business, serving major companies around the world and why the Holy Trinity of first-party data, digital content and programmatic advertising will super charge the next wave of growth in the industry. He talks about growth through acquisition, partnerships and culture and the need today to build strong links directly to the consumer and the shifting emphasis to digital, and away from legacy advertising. He explains the dominance of the major tech companies, their evolution and current challenges, and what is going on in the minds of CEOs and their boards. Finally, there is some advice from one of the world’s great corporate warriors about resilience, determination and the need for speed in surviving and thriving.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn The Money Maze Podcast this week is re-uploading our episode with Sir Xavier Rolet, due to the topics covered last week with Sir Chris Hohn, who invested in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) when Mr Rolet led the firm's transformation (find out more about this episode here).  Rolet talks in-depth about the reorientation he undertook whilst CEO of the London Stock Exchange and the succession of transformatory deals which he engineered, propelling the value of the company from under £1 billion to £14 billion in just 9 years. He goes into a detailed explanation of why “the only asset that creates wealth is equities”, why boardrooms are filled with people ill-versed in technology and innovation, and why France along with other European countries have failed to grasp the opportunity to develop the Googles and Amazons of Europe.  He then discusses why London has a good chance of retaining its pre-eminence as a financial centre, notwithstanding Brexit, because of its global reach in multiple areas of finance. Originally recorded in October 2020.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In this episode we have the rare opportunity to talk to Sir Chris Hohn, founder of TCI, one of the world’s most successful hedge funds and benefactor of the $6 billion children’s charity (CIFF) and now agitator against corporations who are failing to properly address their climate change transition plans.  The conversation starts with an insight into Chris’s upbringing, the sharpened appetite he believes accompanied being a child of immigrants, his journey from school to Harvard Business School and then to the world of investing, first in private equity and then to public equity markets. He discusses key mentors as he was learning the investment business, his early experience investing before launching The Children’s Investment Fund and its evolving investment approach. Chris talks of the work undertaken at his charity (CIFF) which highlighted to him the impact climate change was having on poverty, child destitution and destruction of the planet. This evidence has driven Chris to the creation of “Say on Climate” (www.sayonclimate.org ) given that companies are responsible for 35% of global emissions, yet typically lack climate transition plans. Chris identifies the corporate behaviours that need addressing most urgently,  what corporations must do the effect proper change, and the potential consequences of inaction. He describes the Say on Climate AGM resolution which requires annual disclosure of emissions, the plan to manage them, and how they will be judged going forward. Chris talks about the dangers of passive investing with regard to this issue, the global variations in response, and the environmental downsides of bitcoin euphoria.  Finally, he talks about the examples set by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, lessons for those early in their careers, and sound advice involving following your passion and thinking about who you want to become.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Our guest today is Anne Richards, CEO of Fidelity International, who offer investment solutions, investment services and retirement expertise to more than 2.5 million customers globally. As a privately held, purpose-driven company with a 50-year heritage, they think generationally and invest for the long term. Fidelity International operates in more than 25 countries and with $706.3 billion in total assets, their clients range from central banks, sovereign wealth funds, large corporates, financial institutions, insurers and wealth managers, to private individuals. Anne describes her upbringing in Edinburgh, the decision to study electronic and electrical engineering, spending time at CERN, before going to INSEAD for an MBA. She describes the purpose of Fidelity International and the changing demands of the investing population. Anne discusses the ability of technology to serve clients (of whom they have 2.5 million!), as well as developing a culture that embraces and encourages the “brave/bold/curious/compassionate”.  Anne explains how ESG principles are embedded into all their research work and why their approach to ESG does not necessarily mean divestment is the optimal course. She talks about the decline of public market listings, the importance of research in public and private investing and giving their managers enough room for manoeuvre. Finally, she talks about her drive and hunger to have more women work in finance and gives great advice to “worry less” for those thinking about their careers.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn   Simon Hallett, former CIO of the $80 billion Asset manager, Harding Loevner, describes his journey from Plymouth, England, to Oxford University and then to Finance. Starting at Midland Bank, Simon moves to Jardine Fleming in Hong Kong, and he describes an amateurish investing world that was transforming, and his decision to swap continents and join Harding Loevner, then a start-up in 1989. Harding Loevner’s impressive 30 year track record in managing global equities is examined, with a discussion that covers behavioural biases, the need to restrict portfolio managers’ freedom, to the increasing reliance on quantitative disciplines to enhance the investment process. He describes the challenge of staying with winners and the difficulties of dealing with losing companies, in a portfolio context, and what happens when a firm’s assets halve three times in 30 years during bear markets and the challenge of swimming against the current. He explains why top-down thinking should be strictly limited in building an equity portfolio, why their firm has only 2 Bloomberg terminals and stock-price watching is actively discouraged. He also discusses the merits of being partially owned by Affiliated managers Group, AMG.  He then explains his decision to buy Plymouth Argyle Football club – heart over logic, possibly, but why the management of a football team and player selections have more in common with selecting stocks than you might think. Finally he gives some great advice to “keep your nose clean” and “ stay the course” – applicable for both football and investing.  

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In this Money Maze Podcast edition, we travel north east from the UK, beyond Norwich, and further than Hamburg, to a country of less than 6mm people, a country which has the oldest national flag, dating from 1219, and is consistently reported as having the world’s happiest people. Home to Lego and with some of the nicest people in the world, it’s Denmark of course. The guest on this podcast is a veritable Viking of the investment management industry, Bo Almar Knudsen, CEO of C Worldwide, formerly known as Carnegie. Bo starts by describing a little of it how it feels to be Danish, and of the respect and trust Danes have for their institutions. He speaks of their intrigue with travel beyond their borders which has been demonstrated with Danes travelling and settling around the world over the centuries, and in some ways mirrored in the global portfolio C Worldwide has managed for 30 years. Bo describes his decision to study in San Francisco as well as Denmark, then starting out at Danske Bank before beginning his own journey at Carnegie Asset Management in 1995. Today, his firm manage nearly $20 billion, and have achieved world class investment returns in their core equity portfolio which has made 60x an investor’s initial investment, outperforming the world equity index by 10 times! Bo details their investment approach, the very long term perspective they adopt, and speaks about the challenge of building a culture that encourages open dialogue and recognition of mistakes, but also of avoiding complacency and being patient. He makes an unusual point that the investment industry is one of the great time-wasters, whilst at the same time the challenge is to gain “lasting knowledge” and not be distracted by daily noise. Finally, as one of Denmark’s top veteran tennis players, he shares life lessons he has learnt from studying Roger Federer, why his favourite book is Sapiens by Harari, and his favourite band unexpectedly, is Depeche Mode. So - back to the 80s! To celebrate our upcoming episode with Simon Hallett (Former CIO of Harding Loevner), we are re-releasing our insightful chat with Bo Knudsen. Stay tuned for plenty more inspiring interviews!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Established over 800 years ago in 1209, Cambridge University is one of the oldest surviving Universities in the world and has spawned more Nobel Prizes than any other institution. In today’s conversation we welcome Tilly Franklin their Chief Investment Officer, whose education includes Cambridge, Harvard and LBS. She discusses her academic experiences before her journey through McKinsey, Virgin, Apax and Alta prior to accepting the job at Cambridge University.   Tilly discusses some of the key skills she acquired at these institutions from understanding businesses at McKinsey to learning how to negotiate deals at Apax. She then discusses the goals of the Cambridge University Endowment, its target of achieving inflation +5% , the disbursements that have totalled nearly £1 billion over the last decade, and structuring the team since her recent arrival. She discusses their asset allocation and investment committee, their increasing allocation to private equity, the ownership of real assets which includes a large proportion of property and their search for less correlated assets. She unpicks the dilemma of the Endowment’s long term perspective and occasional agitations for policy change from students and provides a compelling insight into Cambridge’s work on the energy transition and the investment consequences. Tilly then discusses the charity she helped establish, GAIN, GIRLS ARE INVESTORS, a  community set to change the staggering lack of gender diversity in investment management, from the ground up. Finally she discusses why she enjoys her job, what a first time visitor to Cambridge should see, the challenge of raising two daughters against this current backdrop and some great advice to young folks who should worry less about “knowing what they want to do”!                

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn It’s difficult enough to train to become a Doctor and then practice in some emerging countries with fragile health systems like Papua New Guinea. But then to switch tack completely, give all that up, win a place at Harvard Business School and join Goldman Sachs in asset management before going on to launch your own fund in emerging markets, may be considered brilliance or heresy, particularly when you come from Germany, a country that reveres technical expertise and is less enthusiastic about the merits of finance. So in this conversation I am delighted to unravel an unconventional journey and welcome Dr Christina McGuire, CEO of Elephant Asset Management as our guest. We discuss her upbringing and German attitudes to finance, before touching upon her medical journey, her decision to go to Harvard Business school and then join Goldman Sachs. She discusses working and investing in China, the skills taught and culture encouraged at Goldmans, before she explains her decision to go it alone. She describes the investment approach of her firm Elephant Asset Management, where she manages a concentrated, stock-specific, emerging market equity fund. She explains her philosophy and style, detailing geographic, sectoral and company disciplines as well as the significant opportunities created by the post-Covid world for her domestically-focused companies. She describes the due diligence process, the need to eye ball CEO and CFOs and why she believes company visits and sitting in the staff canteen of investing companies are great ways to gauge culture, and sense the mood. Christina also explains why the S&G in ESG are significantly more measurable in the countries in which she invests. Finally Christina talks about how women should really think about asset management as a career, and offers some other great advice for young people thinking about their futures. To celebrate our upcoming episode with Tilly Franklin, CIO of the Cambridge University Endowment Fund, we are re-releasing some past interviews with other inspiring women in finance. In this episode, Simon spoke to Dr. Christina McGuire, who discusses her extraordinary journey from working as a doctor in low income countries to becoming an emerging market equity fund manager.  Are you a young woman looking to break into the investment industry? Discover free resources, news, events and support at www.gainuk.org. To learn more about the charity, listen to our new episode with Tilly Franklin, who co-founded the organisation (alongside running the endowment fund of one of the world's most renowned universities!). The full interview is out tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Helen Watson describes her untypical journey into finance. After attending multiple schools and then being advised to go to secretarial college, Helen finds a job in finance in Gibraltar before moving and being hired by Morgan Stanley in London. From there, starting as a sales assistant, she overcomes initial resistance to win a place on the Morgan Stanley graduate training programme and becomes a broker. She describes the “terrifying” experience of beginning to call clients, and her subsequent route to become the first female Managing Director in their Private Wealth Division in Europe. Her journey then takes her to Rothschild & Co’s Wealth Management business, where she rises to become CEO, a Partner and member of their Group Executive Committee. She talks about the consistent problem of wealthy families losing their wealth within two generations, the underlying causes, and suggestions to overcome this including; candour, communication, clearer planning, good partners and a dose of discipline in staying the course! She discusses the Rothschild & Co investment approach, the importance of preserving real purchasing power, setting the right benchmarks and expectations, as well as managing difficult market episodes. Finally, Helen offers some invaluable insights for women in the work place, advice for progressing, encouraging cognitive diversity in the hiring process and why portfolio and wealth management are well suited for women. Finally, she discusses the relevant topic of the cost/benefit of attending university and why it may be becoming a less inevitable path than has traditionally been thought. To celebrate our upcoming episode with Tilly Franklin, CIO of the Cambridge University Endowment Fund, we are re-releasing some past interviews with other inspiring women in finance.  In this episode, Simon enjoyed an enlightening discussion with Helen Watson, CEO of Rothschild & Co., Wealth Management (UK), who describes her untypical journey into finance.  Are you a young woman looking to break into the investment industry? Discover free resources, news, events and support at www.gainuk.org. To learn more about the charity, listen to our new episode with Tilly Franklin, who co-founded the organisation (alongside running the endowment fund of one of the world's most renowned universities!). The full interview is out tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today’s episode comes from Madrid - Europe’s 3rd biggest city and the highest European capital, and with a different tack for the Money Maze Podcast we are going to explore the changing landscape of education and it ability to better arm you to get ahead in the evolving commercial world. We welcome Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University which is increasingly recognised both for its campus-based, and on-line MBA, as well as its wider educational programmes. He is one of 500 Global LinkedIn influencers and has been portrayed by the Financial Times as “one of the most significant figures in promoting European business schools internationally”. Santiago talks about IE Business School, why its online MBAs have been ranked no 1 in the world by the FT & Economist for 3 consecutive years and why it is now one of the top 10 business schools globally. It is also scores amongst the highest for both the post MBA salaries and  employability its graduates achieve. Santiago talks about IE’s origins, evolution and ambitions, its WOW learning room and why it was so early in the provision of online education. He talks about the merits of a hybrid campus/online approach to learning and why education is now more important than ever before. The conversation moves to teaching leadership, and the problem with the old understanding of what constituted “leadership”. Then the discussion moves on to the need to re-learn continuously given lengthening life-expectations and likely multiple careers. Finally he finishes with some great advice about how Universities need to rethink their model to attract older students, and some of the compelling attractions of studying in Spain.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Maarten Slendebroek is currently Chairman of Robeco’s Supervisory Board, the Dutch investment powerhouse, former CEO of Jupiter PLC , and prior to that, member of Blackrock’s global operating committee. Maarten describes his Dutch/Swedish upbringing, studying Law at the University of Leiden, and from there to finance, beginning as an equity analyst at the emergence of individual European company research. He describes his journey through Merrill Lynch and then Blackrock. Then, in the aftermath of the 2008 Great Financial Crisis how he responded to Larry Fink’s request that he drive Blackrock’s Aladdin platform, initially in conjunction with the UK Treasury, to help analyse pools of complex debt securities. This proved invaluable to Blackrock’s subsequent growth given the troubled asset portfolios held at UK and European Financial Institutions which in many cases were too complex to unravel by the existing management teams. Maarten describes his decision later to go to Jupiter where he became CEO and discusses the challenge of scale and specialisation in asset management. He analyses what is needed to be successful in this rapidly-evolving industry, and the challenge of being a listed asset management company in a market place where investors crave growth. He then moves to Robeco, where he is currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Robeco, “the investment engineers”, has existed for nearly 100 years but now is a leader in active investing underpinned by an early and profound embedding of ESG and sustainable principles into their process. Maarten describes the active v passive, quant v orthodox and growth v value debates. The conversation drills down into factor investing and why Robeco has been recognised by peers and institutions such as Morningstar as an early mover and leader in ESG. Maarten then talks about the post-Brexit Landscape for UK financial services, Europe’s path to Federalism and where he has been investing his own personal money, including a discussion on the UK Value opportunity. He then talks about Mintus, a Fintech venture he is invested in, which is seeking to create exchange-based liquidity allowing for fractional ownership, from real-estate to oil rigs to vineyards. Finally Maarten gives some powerful insights from his experiences, set-backs, those who inspired him, through to advice for young people, the wines he loves and the two people he would chose to spend a day skiing with.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Tony Dalwood studied Economics and Accounting at Bristol University and then Management and Business at Cambridge, where he took his post graduate degree and won a Blue playing Rugby. He then played Rugby for Saracens and Rosslyn Park, before his journey into Asset Management.    He talks of his career, beginning as a value-orientated equity manager, and his transition into the world of private equity, at that stage, an embryonic asset class. He discusses his subsequent roles as CEO of Schroder Ventures (London), and work as Chairman of the London Pensions Fund Authority Investment Panel.   The conversation moves to life as CEO of Gresham House, a quoted company investing in alternative assets. He discusses real asset investing, describing the investment characteristics and approach to investing in Forestry, New Energy, Housing and Infrastructure.  He then talks of today’s narrow equity markets, some of the parallels with the situation 20 years ago, and of today’s equity market disenchantment with the approach to value investing.   Finally he discusses small cap investing in the UK, the challenges facing public markets and the likely composition of portfolios in the future.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Sir Ronald Cohen’s extraordinary story begins in Egypt in 1956 where the Suez crisis has taken place and Egyptian Nationalism is on the rise, forcing his family to leave everything and flee to England, not even speaking the language. Armed only with ambition and hope and hard work,  he gets into grammar school, wins a scholarship to Oxford, then to Harvard Business school and moves on to build one of the largest venture capital  firms in the world, APAX. Over the last 20 years, he has been invited to advise Governments, chaired the G8 task force for impact investment, helping drive the revolution to rethink the way we invest. Along the way he has authored 3 books, the most recent Impact, which has just been released. He has sat on the University of Oxford Investment Committee, been a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School and Vice-Chairman of Ben Gurion University.  He talks about the opportunities created by attending Oxford and Harvard, his journey to help create the UK Venture Capital industry, founding Apax, and the role private equity plays in developed economies, including discussing some of its perceived drawbacks. The conversation moves to entrepreneurship, and his first book,  “The Second Bounce of the Ball – Turning Risk into Opportunity” and the critical role, job-creation will play in the post Covid landscape. This leads to his thoughts on the profound importance Impact Investing must, and will play, and its essential role in the evolution of capitalism.  Specifically he discusses the need to have company accounts properly measure impact and how this sub-sector of the investment management industry is accelerating as evidenced by the growth of the Social Impact Bond (SIB) and Harvard’s impact-weighted accounts. The conversation moves on to discuss how and what Governments should do, the evolution of philanthropy in this environment, and advice for young people thinking about careers and finally his perspectives on an extraordinary journey.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today we have the intriguing prospect of our youngest guest so far on the Money Maze Podcast, allied to one of the world’s oldest academic institutions, Oxford University. Jack Edmondson, nominated in 2019 as Institutional Investor Magazine’s 3rd most wanted Allocator in the world, is a CFA Charter holder, holds an MBA with distinction from the Saïd Business School at Oxford and a first-class degree in history from Durham University. He is an alumnus of both Mercury Asset Management and Mckinsey and is an Associate Fellow at the Said Business School and member of the faculty at the Blavatnik School of Government, both in Oxford. His day job is to help OUEM try to meet its goals as their deputy CIO. Jack describes his background and his work at both McKinsey and Mercury Asset Management and in private equity before moving to Oxford to join Sandra Robertson (CIO) to help build the Oxford University Endowment. Jack describes managing an endowment with its underlying permanent capital and multi-generational outlook, before explaining the investment target of producing a 5% real return per annum. He articulates their investment philosophy, which involves fundamental research, partnering with specific skill sets and talent, and making investments in both public and private equities. He discusses their current asset allocation, the challenge of finding exceptional managers, the active v passive debate and why he believes future returns will be lean, but also where opportunities may lie. Jack discusses thematic investing and the traps of excessive reliance on Macro forecasts to drive investment decisions, before explaining why Oxford as a location offers some distinct advantages over cities like London. He also explains that OUEM manages money for some long-term orientated pools of capital and also the relationship with the University. Finally, Jack reflects with straightforward honesty on investing mistakes he has made and life lessons learnt, as well as offering advice to those starting out in the business.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In this episode we travel to Shanghai to talk to Chingxiao (best known as Ching) about equity investing in China. She starts by giving us a sense of life currently living in Shanghai and reflects on how the Chinese authorities have handled the crisis. She then describes her upbringing and education before explaining her immersion into the world of finance with Barings. The conversation analyses the market capitalisation of the Chinese stock markets relative to GDP and compared with the US, given they are now similar sized economies yet China’s stock market capitalisation is 1/10th that of the US. Ching explains the significant extent to which Chinese companies are under-researched and commensurately the opportunities for strong potential returns and outperformance, and her excitement given the immense developing domestic market. She describes her decision to establish her own firm, Red Gate Asset Management, an equity manager with excess of $1 billion under management, and details the investment process which starts with filtering the 6,000 company universe into a workable subset, from which Ching and her team build a concentrated, long-term portfolio. With a relentless focus on investing with conviction, aiming to own quality growth companies, but bought at reasonable prices, she explains why being “on the ground” matters, and gives an edge. She explains, humbly, how they were selected by one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds to manage China allocations, and the key investment lessons learned along the way. Ching describes the mistakes that she believes has made them better investors, the red lines that prevent them selecting certain types of companies, and the topical issues of regulation and fraud. Finally she offers her thoughts on the Chinese love of gambling and stock market speculation, China’s place on the world stage, advice for young people thinking about finance and why above all else, she believes education is the critical component of success.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In this second episode with Niall Ferguson, the conversation is an honest assessment of why he believes China and its political philosophy and approach are alien to Western values, and represent a clear and present danger. Niall explains how much has changed since Henry Kissinger’s historic mission to China in 1971, why belatedly Western Governments are increasingly recognising this but why the US remains a magnet for human talent, unlike China. The discussion continues on to the dangers posed by Islamification and the response by leaders such as President Macron and why job creation or its absence intensifies the problem. Niall then talks about the cost/benefit of University education, the parallels of this technological revolution with that of the introduction of the printing press and his thoughts on where he wants to invest. A veritable tour de force!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn We are thrilled in this episode, to share a discussion with Niall Ferguson, one the world’s greatest historians, authors and commentators. Niall is a  Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, as well as current or past lecturer at Harvard, Oxford, LSE and visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. In this first of two podcasts, this conversation gives the listener an opportunity to hear how Niall Ferguson analyses the current pandemic when compared with the historical precedents of other catastrophes. He talks about failure of many western Countries to learn lessons from those, many in Asia, who acted with coherent policies, and where the fault lines lie. This gives a taste for his upcoming book Doom & The politics of Catastrophe This conversation then moves to the monetary responses of the financial authorities. He discusses the issue of debasement of money, explosion of debt and the inflationary implications of such episodes, as well as mechanisms to remedy these unsustainable imbalances. Niall assesses the merits of bitcoin, gold and those countries like Italy, for whom the debt trap is immense.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Franklin D Roosevelt wrote “Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, and managed with reasonable care it is about the safest investment in the world “. It’s a good time to discuss the topic of real estate, which is central to so many of us. Whether it’s your home, commercial property, farms and estates, whether it’s to live in or to invest in, whether in the UK or around the world. So this episode’s guest sits at the epicentre of the world of real estate; Mark Ridley, Group Chief Executive of Savills. The conversation begins with a review of current forces in residential property, before discussing the challenges facing UK retail space, supply and demand trends in commercial property and a discussion around new working practices and their implications for office space. Mark discusses the investment opportunities in various segments of the markets, what he sees in current overseas demand, the opportunities in Asia and also in the less liquid segments such as agricultural land. Mark also talks about the real estate asset management portion of the Savills business and his own vision for the firm. Mark discusses the implications if inflation reasserts itself, re-purposing of retail space into residential and why he is positive about property from an investing perspective and as a place to work. Sign up to our newsletter and never miss a release! | Visit our website | Follow us on LinkedIn | Follow us on Twitter

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn When your mother escapes from N Korea, risking incarceration or possible execution if caught, to pursue a better life and harbouring a remote dream that she might eventually make it to the USA, which becomes reality, it may not be surprising  that her daughter, is also motivated to achieve great things. But it takes particular resolve to attend Harvard Business School, become the WSJ’s foreign correspondent and bureau chief, then domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore, Chief of Staff of the Council of Economic Advisers and hold senior policy positions in the Clinton Administration And if that wasn’t enough of a career for most mortals, then to change tack again, join Morgan Stanley and ten years later be their Chief Sustainability Officer, shows formidable appetite and foresight. So this episode’s guest is Audrey Choi and she shares her voyage from daughter of a North Korean escapee to an illustrious career in journalism, politics and finance. She talks about how her ringside seat interviewing corporate leaders and then designing policy, equipped her to then pivot to develop and implement strategic thinking about sustainability within a leading investment bank. She talks about the size of the capital markets opportunity, the pace of adoption, how sustainable investing has produced enhanced risk-adjusted returns and can lower the cost of capital for corporates. Finally, Audrey talks about the change in perception around corporate brands, some of the key skills Audrey wants to see in hiring young people, and candidly recognises that luck plays an important part on one’s journey and the need to respond to opportunities as they appear.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today, with great thanks to Rothschild and Co for allowing us to publish this conversation, we are delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Anthony Scaramucci. Anthony needs little introduction, but he is an entrepreneur, investor and political consultant. Having studied at Harvard Law School, he worked at Goldman Sachs, set up Oscar Capital Management, subsequently sold it and later established Skybridge Capital Management. He was appointed the White House communications director in 2017,was dismissed by Donald Trump 10 days later, is now a Biden supporter and a regular on US television. In this timely, if different conversation for the MoneyMaze Podcast, Anthony describes his political odyssey, culminating in working in the Trump transition team and then being appointed communications director. He speaks about Donald Trump’s modus operandi, before discussing the current election situation. The conversation covers the infamous pre-election debate, the respective economic plans of Trump and Biden and given the age of the contenders, the potential Vice Presidents. Anthony discusses who might win and what the might win control of, before discussing some wider related issues, in a candid, engaging and humorous conversation. Recorded on October 20th, 2020 Simon Brewer is a Senior Advisor to Rothschild & Co’s Wealth Management Division.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today is a first for us, to welcome both a Grande Chancellerie de la legion d’honneur (the highest French decoration to reward the most deserving citizens) and a KBE (Knight of the British Empire, 2015). Sir Xavier Rolet was listed in Harvard’s 2017 Business Review as one of the best 100 CEOs in the world, recorded in Debrett’s as one of the most influential people in finance, was a former Member of PM Cameron’s business advisory group, and previous head of the London Stock Exchange. He describes a career in finance that began with a decade at Goldman Sachs which in turn prepared him to run the European Equity and risk businesses for several major financial institutions. In addition, having been CEO of Lehman Bros France, he offers his views on the reasons for Lehman’s ultimate collapse. Xavier shares his thoughts on the imperative to encourage technology and innovation for those managing businesses and making boardroom appointments, and why he believes Europe’s addiction to debt finance, and discouragement of equity finance has exacerbated its transition to the slow lane of global growth. He talks about the reorientation he undertook whilst CEO of the London Stock Exchange and the succession of transformatory deals which he engineered, propelling the value of the company from under £1 billion to £14 billion in just 9 years. He goes into a detailed explanation of why “the only asset that creates wealth is equities”, why boardrooms are filled with people ill versed in technology and innovation, and why France along with other European countries have failed to grasp the opportunity to develop the Googles and Amazons of Europe. He then discusses why London has a good chance of retaining its pre-eminence as a financial centre, notwithstanding Brexit, because of its global reach in multiple areas of finance. The conversation switches to wine as he discusses Chene Bleu the Super-Rhone he and his wife own in ChateauNeuf du Pape, their top to bottom organic approach and processes, and the challenge for wine makers facing climate change. He talks about racing the Paris-Dakar rally, provides unconventional advice for the young to back innovators, not join mainstream firms and the opportunities that exist in a fragmented but exciting world. This show is full of gems – Formidable!  

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Today’s guest is a Russian-born, Australian-educated management consultant working at the epicentre of the data-driven revolution which is shaking the established corporate and investment orders. Our guests on this show manage businesses and money, and they need to understand where their industry is moving, its likely trajectory and the skills that will be required. In essence, how they should adapt, for as John F Kennedy observed “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” So in this episode, we discuss the evolving world of management consultancy and how their advice to companies is shifting. The discussion begins with Irene’s escape from Russia, her upbringing in Australia and first employment at Pilkington Glass before moving to consultancy, initially at KPMG, then starting her own firm Molten before selling it to SIA partners. SIA partners today consults with 100 of the Global Fortune 500, specialising in the areas of AI, and data-led consulting, known as Consulting 4.0. Irene talks about changing business practices, the essential need for data to inform and improve decision making, from developing models to advise hotels on Airbnb pricing, to helping the French Alpine meteorological service improve predictions of avalanche dangers. She talks about communication in a zoom-altered world, the office of the future and debates whether younger employees can attain “equity” in their working relationships if done remotely. Finally Irene reflects on the resilience she acquired along the way, the qualities she looks for in hires, how firms can retain female employees more effectively and shares some lessons and advice from running her own business.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Many ambitious people aspire to build a truly successful business, and inevitably, only some succeed. Yet to start with a small buy-out which nearly 40 years later has evolved into one of the UK's largest Asset Management groups with over £500 billion in assets, employing 10,00 people and with offices in 50 cities, as well as being a member of the FTSE 100, is quite an achievement. So in this podcast, to discuss the asset management industry and its future, we’ve gone north to Scotland, which as JK Rowling observed, is “one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in the world” and we are delighted to have as our guest the man who built and ran Aberdeen Asset Management, and which post-merger, became Standard Life Aberdeen. Martin describes his schooling and University in Aberdeen, where he studied law and accountancy, and how within a short space of time, in 1983, he and two other alumnae from Robert Gordon's College  agreed to buy Aberdeen Asset Management. He talks about expansion into Asia, growth by acquisitions and integrating firms and cultures, and how a mix of serendipity and strategy played their parts in expansion. He describes the motivation for Aberdeen to merge with Standard Life and the opportunities he believes it offers. The conversation extends to the future of Asset Management, the need for greater differentiation through philosophy and style, fee pressures, active versus passive, and the qualities he believes make for a great fund manager. We then discuss the current outlook and monetary regime, the future of fossil fuels, and the Scottish independence question that won’t go away, despite compelling economic arguments for the status quo. Martin then discusses being Chairman of Revolut, being on the board of Glencore, and his experience when on the board at Sky during the bidding process. Finally Martin talks about dealing with difficulties when they confronted him, and his perfect golfing day.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Sir Ronald Cohen’s extraordinary story begins in Egypt in 1956 where the Suez crisis has taken place and Egyptian Nationalism is on the rise, forcing his family to leave everything and flee to England, not even speaking the language. Armed only with ambition and hope and hard work,  he gets into grammar school, wins a scholarship to Oxford, then to Harvard Business school and moves on to build one of the largest venture capital  firms in the world, APAX. Over the last 20 years, he has been invited to advise Governments, chaired the G8 task force for impact investment, helping drive the revolution to rethink the way we invest. Along the way he has authored 3 books, the most recent Impact, which has just been released. He has sat on the University of Oxford Investment Committee, been a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School and Vice-Chairman of Ben Gurion University.  He talks about the opportunities created by attending Oxford and Harvard, his journey to help create the UK Venture Capital industry, founding Apax, and the role private equity plays in developed economies, including discussing some of its perceived drawbacks. The conversation moves to entrepreneurship, and his first book,  “The Second Bounce of the Ball – Turning Risk into Opportunity” and the critical role, job-creation will play in the post Covid landscape. This leads to his thoughts on the profound importance Impact Investing must, and will play, and its essential role in the evolution of capitalism.  Specifically he discusses the need to have company accounts properly measure impact and how this sub-sector of the investment management industry is accelerating as evidenced by the growth of the Social Impact Bond (SIB) and Harvard’s impact-weighted accounts. The conversation moves on to discuss how and what Governments should do, the evolution of philanthropy in this environment, and advice for young people thinking about careers and finally his perspectives on an extraordinary journey.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn It’s difficult enough to train to become a Doctor and then practice in some emerging countries with fragile health systems like Papua New Guinea. But then to switch tack completely, give all that up, win a place at Harvard Business School and join Goldman Sachs in asset management before going on to launch your own fund in emerging markets, may be considered brilliance or heresy, particularly when you come from Germany, a country that reveres technical expertise and is less enthusiastic about the merits of finance. So in this conversation I am delighted to unravel an unconventional journey and welcome Dr Christina McGuire, CEO of Elephant Asset Management as our guest. We discuss her upbringing and German attitudes to finance, before touching upon her medical journey, her decision to go to Harvard Business school and then join Goldman Sachs. She discusses working and investing in China, the skills taught and culture encouraged at Goldmans, before she explains her decision to go it alone. She describes the investment approach of her firm Elephant Asset Management, where she manages a concentrated, stock-specific, emerging market equity fund. She explains her philosophy and style, detailing geographic, sectoral and company disciplines as well as the significant opportunities created by the post-Covid world for her domestically-focused companies. She describes the due diligence process, the need to eye ball CEO and CFOs and why she believes company visits and sitting in the staff canteen of investing companies are great ways to gauge culture, and sense the mood. Christina also explains why the S&G in ESG are significantly more measurable in the countries in which she invests. Finally Christina talks about how women should really think about asset management as a career, and offers some other great advice for young people thinking about their futures.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In a slightly different conversation for the MoneyMaze Podcast, Anthony St John shares his fascinating journey and set of insights. He is a Parliamentarian, Non-Executive Chairman of Yellow Cake Plc the Uranium holding Company, Chairman of Strand Hanson, an independent Advisory boutique with a strong African orientation, and Chairman of IDH, the health care provider in the Middle East and Africa. At the same time, he is one of 90 hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords, is Lord in waiting to the HM the Queen and currently Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Africa Group and former friend of Nelson Mandela. Educated in South Africa and then the UK, he talks of his arrival in the UK to take his seat in the House of Lords and how he was initially hugely inhibited by a stutter that was reminiscent of the King’s Speech. In our conversation he speaks of his journey from Lawyer, to working in China, Oil Analyst, to Chairman of three companies and also managing his Parliamentary duties. Our discussion covers investing in Africa, cyber security, Uranium and its role in the evolving debate about energy sources, and his relationship with Nelson Mandela. Anthony gives some powerful advice to young people thinking about their future and some additional tips for navigating life’s veritable money and other mazes!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Our guest today is Morgan Stanley’s former chief global strategist and for the last 25 years head of Independent Strategy, a research group who advise Governments, Sovereign Wealth Funds and influential financial institutions about the global investment and geopolitical outlook. His views have long been sought after, are often contrarian but remain typically revered. David’s journey starts with his early years in Ireland, attending Trinity College, then working for ICI in Belgium, before going to INSEAD which provided a springboard for a move into financial services. First at JP Morgan where he rose to become head of strategy and then Morgan Stanley where from its infancy in Europe he became their European and then Global Strategist. David has authored some brilliant & extraordinarily accurate pieces & predictions, Perestroika predicting the collapse of the Soviet Union, Pricing Power to the People about the internet’s revolutionary impact on lowering prices, and more recently his view of the post Covid landscape and a return to National Economics. David describes how his, at-times, controversial pieces of research did not suit large financial institutions and how he established his company, Independent Research, to fill a gap of providing long term, often contrarian, thought-provoking research. The conversation puts the spotlight on China and its geo-political and economic ambitions. Living in Hong Kong for over a decade, David has a ringside seat to comment on the potential “New Cold War”, to discuss why censorship and China’s political model has crushed freedoms of cultural and other expression, and yet why China might also be overestimating its strength. David goes on to discuss implications for the post Covid world. He explains why he expects a changed global architecture to emerge after the pandemic. Big governments, he argues, will supply an increased proportion of demand whilst trying to inflate away debt; Why the world for the Mega Tech platform companies will alter, perhaps in an unexpected way, and why he believes goods will become more expensive as de-globalisation unfolds. Within this, he explains why he sees Europe as a winner. Finally he talks about the big asset allocation decisions he would make and some pithy advice for younger listeners weighing up career options.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn In this Money Maze Podcast edition, we travel north east from the UK, beyond Norwich, and further than Hamburg, to a country of less than 6mm people, a country which has the oldest national flag, dating from 1219, and is consistently reported as having the world’s happiest people. Home to Lego and with some of the nicest people in the world, it’s Denmark of course. The guest on this podcast is a veritable Viking of the investment management industry, Bo Almar Knudsen, CEO of C Worldwide, formerly known as Carnegie. Bo starts by describing a little of it how it feels to be Danish, and of the respect and trust Danes have for their institutions. He speaks of their intrigue with travel beyond their borders which has been demonstrated with Danes travelling and settling around the world over the centuries, and in some ways mirrored in the global portfolio C Worldwide has managed for 30 years. Bo describes his decision to study in San Francisco as well as Denmark, then starting out at Danske Bank before beginning his own journey at Carnegie Asset Management in 1995. Today, his firm manage nearly $20 billion, and have achieved world class investment returns in their core equity portfolio which has made 60x an investor’s initial investment, outperforming the world equity index by 10 times! Bo details their investment approach, the very long term perspective they adopt, and speaks about the challenge of building a culture that encourages open dialogue and recognition of mistakes, but also of avoiding complacency and being patient. He makes an unusual point that the investment industry is one of the great time-wasters, whilst at the same time the challenge is to gain “lasting knowledge” and not be distracted by daily noise. Finally, as one of Denmark’s top veteran tennis players, he shares life lessons he has learnt from studying Roger Federer, why his favourite book is Sapiens by Harari, and his favourite band unexpectedly, is Depeche Mode. So - back to the 80s!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Goldfinger, Goldeneye, the Man with the Golden gun; James Bond escapism or a guidepost to financial survival? From the Phoenicians to today where China appears to have accumulated the largest Gold reserves of any Government in the world, it may be one of the few defences against the money printing and currency debasement of Governments, yet it continues to divide opinion. To help unravel this, the MoneyMaze Podcast is delighted to welcome Evy Hambro, C.I.O. of Blackrock’s natural resources team and manager of the Blackrock Gold and General Fund, one of the world’s largest Gold and precious metals funds. Evy first discusses going to Newcastle University to take a degree in agricultural marketing. Then inspired by work experience, and the backdrop of a family steeped in gold trading and gold investing, Evy describes joining the legendary Gold investor, Julian Baring, on leaving University. Evy gives his thoughts on allocations to the gold complex, the low current weightings versus history, and why the current environment of zero or negative rates creates a positive tailwind for investing in a mix of gold bullion, silver and related mining companies. He speaks about the balance mining companies must strike between the need to explore with the need to return cash to shareholders and avoid value-destructive projects. The conversation broadens into other metals; Silver, Platinum and Iron Ore and how the portfolio has changed over time. Evy addresses the question as to how mining companies need to recognise their environmental obligations and the challenges of operating in a post Covid world. He also speaks about the sustainability agenda that is increasingly key to Blackrock’s corporate DNA. Finally, he discusses how the mining industry needs data scientists as well as engineers as technology revolutionises mining processes, in a manner which will surprise many of us. In conclusion he talks about his charitable commitments, First World artists and why he particularly loves living in the countryside.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Helen Watson describes her untypical journey into finance. After attending multiple schools and then being advised to go to secretarial college, Helen finds a job in finance in Gibraltar before moving and being hired by Morgan Stanley in London. From there, starting as a sales assistant, she overcomes initial resistance to win a place on the Morgan Stanley graduate training programme and becomes a broker. She describes the “terrifying” experience of beginning to call clients, and her subsequent route to become the first female Managing Director in their Private Wealth Division in Europe. Her journey then takes her to Rothschild & Co’s Wealth Management business, where she rises to become CEO, a Partner and member of their Group Executive Committee. She talks about the consistent problem of wealthy families losing their wealth within two generations, the underlying causes and suggestions to overcome this including; candour, communication, clearer planning, good partners and a dose of discipline in staying the course! She discusses the Rothschild & Co investment approach, the importance of preserving real purchasing power, setting the right benchmarks and expectations, as well as managing difficult market episodes. Finally, Helen offers some invaluable insights for women in the work place, advice for progressing, encouraging cognitive diversity in the hiring process and why portfolio and wealth management are well suited for women. Finally, she discusses the relevant topic of the cost/benefit of attending university and why it may be becoming a less inevitable path than has traditionally been thought.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn As a FTSE 100 company, managing over £100 billion for 750,000 clients, St James Place (SJP) has been a great financial success story and today is the UK’s largest wealth manager. Chris starts by describing his journey, studying economics at Hull University, learning key early life lessons working first at Cazenove then Fidelity, before taking up the position as Chief Investment Officer for St James Place. During that period, 2009-2020, the market value of the company grew rapidly and today has a stunning 97% client retention rate. Chris describes the approach SJP has to building portfolios, through identifying and working with a range of global external managers across asset classes and styles. Unlike many wealth management firms, they use external Funds, do not select individual stocks, and have developed deep, long term relationships with fund managers to whom they have access.  He also discusses their approach to developing long-term relationships with clients and their families who are served by the SJP “partnership structure”. The conversation moves to the huge intergenerational wealth transfer taking place in the UK and the academy SJP run to train their advisors. Career opportunities in the wider wealth management business in the UK is also discussed, referring to an earlier MoneyMaze Podcast where Schroder’s CEO, Peter Harrison refers to the shortage of trained advisors and the growing “advice gap”. Chris goes on to talk about their approach to investing in private equity and debt, the challenges of active versus passive, and their approach to the growing demand from investors for more clarity in ESG matters.  A discussion follows about the SJP experience with the Woodford Funds, and then on defending the criticism sometimes made about SJP’s opaque fee structure.  Finally Chris talks about his love of rock climbing and admiration for the climbing legends, and of his new passion, kite-surfing, which offers him the potential to be bruised both by markets and his main hobby!

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Dave Yarrow is considered one of the world’s greatest photographers. 3 former US presidents have his masterpieces adorning their walls, along with a string of actors and sports personalities and he oversees a multi million dollar fine-art business. He has helped raise $8 million for charity, and his energy and passion for his work mean that up to the outbreak of coronavirus, he had not spent 18 Days in the same place in the last 2 years. This is all after spending the first 25 years of his life in the city, first as a broker and then starting his own Hedge Fund, Clareville Capital, which he ran for 17 years. Dave Yarrow talks about his youth, growing up in Glasgow, and his passion for photography that led him to take the iconic shot of Maradona in the Azteca Stadium, trophy aloft, at the 1986 Mexico World Cup. He talks about his reasons for joining the City, and the journey from broking to establish his own hedge fund, Clareville Capital in 1997. He gives a frank assessment of the highs and lows of managing money, and the capricious nature of the investing community. Having continued to take photographs, and with marital and business difficulties weighing on him, he takes the leap to start DY Photography. This second career reveals an enthralling story into a  world which required developing new skills and understanding where the opportunity lay. As with money management the key lay in great groundwork and research before careful execution. He describes how he became “a photo-maker, not a photo-taker” and how he has grown a business built on extraordinary shots, with compelling animals, people, and iconic settings and shots. He talks about navigating the maze of social media and helping raise over $8 million for charities. Finally, he gives his advice for today’s youth thinking about their future. What a journey.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Mark Mobius, who has been referred to as the Godfather of Emerging Markets, was named as one of the 50 Most Influential People in 2011.  Author of several books, he received the Life Time Achievement Award in Asset Management, started the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund which grew to $40 billion, and in 2018 opened Mobius Capital Partners. He describes being born in New York to German and Puerto Rico parents, his degree from Boston University, a PhD from MIT, and studying in Japan in the 1960s. He talks about his journey from academic life to research and then asset management, and the opportunity to join legendary investor Sir John Templeton and create their emerging market fund, as well as sharing some lessons and advice learned from him. He discusses his investment approach, the opportunities and pitfalls of investing in developing markets and navigating a passage which can include volatile currencies and regime change. Against consensus he explains why it is important to visit countries and companies you are investing in as opposed to relying on conference calls. He reflects on the approaches taken to deal with Covid 19, his preferred investing destinations today, and why shareholder activism is becoming a powerful force in emerging economies. Before sharing the tale of his escape from a shoot-out in the Philippines, he offers some honest but direct advice for the young thinking about careers.

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Tony Dalwood studied Economics and Accounting at Bristol University and then Management and Business at Cambridge, where he took his post graduate degree and won a Blue playing Rugby. He then played Rugby for Saracens and Rosslyn Park, before his journey into Asset Management.    He talks of his career, beginning as a value-orientated equity manager, and his transition into the world of private equity, at that stage, an embryonic asset class. He discusses his subsequent roles as CEO of Schroder Ventures (London), and work as Chairman of the London Pensions Fund Authority Investment Panel.   The conversation moves to life as CEO of Gresham House, a quoted company investing in alternative assets. He discusses real asset investing, describing the investment characteristics and approach to investing in Forestry, New Energy, Housing and Infrastructure.  He then talks of today’s narrow equity markets, some of the parallels with the situation 20 years ago, and of today’s equity market disenchantment with the approach to value investing.   Finally he discusses small cap investing in the UK, the challenges facing public markets and the likely composition of portfolios in the future.  

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn Our conversation begins with a glimpse of Sarah’s inspiring journey from finance, to journalism and now to the critical world of impact investing. Sarah talks about the 18 years spent at the FT where she ran the FT’s corporate coverage during the financial crisis and her ascent to become the FT’s business editor. She describes her motivation and the challenges involved with her new role as CEO of the Impact Investing Institute, and her passion about impact investing and its immediate relevance. She speaks frankly about the need for an intelligent and reasoned approach to the ESG debate and provides some invaluable advice for corporations wishing to improve their governance and operate more effectively. She also offers equally important advice for young people thinking about their careers and some additional invaluable insights.