Money Maze Podcast (Money Maze Podcast)

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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.

Simon Hallett, former CIO of the $80 billion asset manager, Harding Loevner, describes his journey from Plymouth, England, to Oxford University and then Hong Kong before boldly heading to the USA.

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.

Hallett 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). 

Finally 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!

To celebrate our latest interview, featuring Peter Davies of Lansdowne Partners, we're re-releasing this episode thanks to the similar themes discussed. Like Harding Loevner, Lansdowne Partners is focused on international equity investing. Both firms have benefitted from the post-2010 boom in high growth tech stocks. Additionally, both Peter and Simon have links to Oxford University, and both figures cite the sporting world as an inspiration for their investing strategy and philosophy. 

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In the second episode with Nic Cary, Co-Founder of Blockchain.com, Nic continues on from the discussions around Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to discuss the debasement of currencies and the dangers of current central bank policies.

He talks about the emerging inflation, the future of money, and the role digital currencies might play and the diminishing trust in governments and central banks.

The conversation continues by exploring the changing world of digital transactions, before discussing criminal activity and their use of digital currencies. Nic then comments on China and its state controlled digital currency and his view of the importance in allowing free markets to develop the crypto universe whilst balancing the issue of personal freedoms and possible Government regulations.

Finally Nic discusses ESG challenges before closing with some final thoughts on his charity, 'Sky’s The Limit', giving help to first time entrepreneurs.

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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.

From zero to $40 billion in 20 years is growth we usually associate with tech startups. When it happens to a firm in the world of asset management, it is all the more remarkable. Dubbed originally as ‘the money manager to the money managers’, today Partners Capital is an outsourced investment office acting for endowments, foundations and ultra-high-net-worth families. In this conversation Arjun describes his education in India, journey to management consulting and his MBA at INSEAD, then working in a hedge fund before moving to Partners Capital. Arjun describes the evolution of the endowment model first adopted by David Swensen at Yale, by analysing asset classes, risk premia, liquidity and the hunt for great managers.

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He discusses their assessment of high fees for seeking alpha, how they seek out opportunities at asset class and manager level, and their work on discovering “alternative alternatives”. He responds to criticisms that endowments on average have not beaten the classic 65/35 equity/debt model and of the challenges ahead. Finally Arjun speaks of the two ‘mega trends’ (sustainable investing and investment capital moving to Asia) in an interview that delves into the Partners Capital investment process.

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In this episode, Guy Hands describes being sent to a special needs school because of profound dyslexia, how he dealt with the challenge, won a place at Oxford and from there, young and indebted, joined Goldman Sachs. He describes the emergence of the eurobond market, how he was soon running their asset structuring business, and why Nomura persuaded him to use their capital to develop their LBO journey.

He describes buying pubs and railway rolling stock, the $6 billion generated for the firm, and the establishment of Terra Firma. He talks about the business model, the early successes, and types of transactions they looked for, before discussing the merits and demerits of PE investing, for both investors and the economy.

He talks about the risks should interest rates normalize, where the problems might surface, and the very particular failure of his investment in EMI. He analyses lessons learned from that episode, how it has influenced his thinking on deals, and how Terra Firma assesses each transaction today. He discloses some of the asset allocation thinking of his family office and the importance of a large “real asset” component.

Guy talks about his charitable endeavours; where and why he gives. He speaks candidly about the lessons and scars from the EMI episode, and how he should have asked for professional help, both mentally and physically. He describes suffering a stroke and re-emerging with a strong sense of the need to do good and not just make money.

Finally, he offers some clear advice for today’s youth in terms of careers, qualities he looks for in candidates and a surprising book choice!

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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.

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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!

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When we talk of luxury watches we typically think of Switzerland with its quality engineering and dominant market position, apparently illustrating the economist David Riccardo’s theory of comparative advantage.

Yet in this conversation, we learn that at the turn of the last century, Britain was producing 200,000 watches a year, around half the worldwide output and that Rolex was founded in London in 1905.

Giles English talks about the plane accident that killed his Father and almost took his brother’s life as well, yet how the tragedy proved the inspiration to build a luxury watch brand, which can compete with the best.

After describing the history of British watch making, with some fascinating anecdotes, Giles explains how he and his Brother Nick have approached the two components; building a state of the art watch making capability & developing a luxury brand.

Giles describes the engineering challenges involved, the technical aspects of precision engineering, and why seeing the Bremont collections can be a lightbulb moment for collectors

He talks about the collaborations and collections with Jaguar, Concorde, Stephen Hawking and Bletchley Park to name a few, and their vision for the future. He also talks about competing with the deep-pocketed luxury brand groups and the approach to establishing long-term financing as they expand into Asia and the US.

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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.

To celebrate our two year anniversary, we're resharing some of the most popular episodes of 2021. In this episode, we welcomed Nicolai Tangen onto the show. Nicolai is the CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which administers Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest. This episode was originally released in June 2021. 

In this podcast, we have an enlightening conversation with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund and seasoned and successful investor.

Norway’s great wealth is in large part courtesy of its oil riches, discovered in 1969. With great vision, the Government’s response to the discovery was the decision to create a separate, segregated fund, away from politicians’ grasp, to serve Norway’s current and future citizens.

Nicolai describes his education and early investing experiences at Cazenove and Egerton, before starting the extremely successful hedge fund AKO. He talks about his education, refreshed throughout his career, and his decision to become the CEO of Norway’s SWF, otherwise known as Pension Fund Global.

Nicolai talks about his immense delight in being appointed CEO, and how the investment strategy is evolving under his stewardship. He speaks about his wish to use risk in a slightly more productive way, how private assets are assessed and incorporated going forward, and how deep forensic analysis such as that undertaken in the case of Wirecard will lead them to exclude companies that might otherwise be owned as part of their ownership of 9,000 globally.

The conversation encompasses a discussion about the lofty valuations exhibited within ESG assets, the stocks excluded from their investment portfolio and shown on the website, and the tension between divesting and remaining a shareholder of companies in transition.

Nicolai explains why techniques drawn from behavioural analysis can help them assess the risks embedded within potential investments; the resilience that can be learned from top athletes, the dangers of inflation returning and the long term challenges facing investors and the world more generally.

Finally he offers some pithy Norwegian advice on cooking, sailing, endurance, charity and why introverts are such an underutilised asset.

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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.

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Confronted with a kaleidoscope of challenges and shifting allocations brought about by years of QE and zero rates, along with a rise in inflation that may prove more permanent than central bankers wish, not to mention rising geopolitical tensions, asset allocators are likely to have their work cut out in coming years.

In this episode we have the opportunity to talk to Johanna Kyrklund, Schroders’ Group Chief Investment Officer & Global Head of Multi-Asset. Schroders today is one of the UK’s largest investment managers, responsible for circa £700 billion of clients’ assets.

In this conversation Johanna discusses allocating assets in today’s environment, from fixed income, to equities through to alternatives.

Johanna talks about dispersion in valuations, the active versus passive debate and her thoughts on adjusting portfolios to confront the more inflationary environment. She discusses gold and crypto, along with having your voice heard as an active investor engaging with managements. Also covered is her thoughts on the importance of active ownership when it comes to ESG and integrating sustainability into portfolios. 

She discusses why the investment process has its greatest value at times of market stress, why listening to clients helps the search for solutions and how she, as an initially shy graduate, has overcome self-doubt to rise to such a prominent position. She concludes with some valuable comments about women in the workplace.

Want to meet some of our past show guests and join the Money Maze Podcast community? The Money Maze Corporate Partnership Programme is now live!

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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.

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”!

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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.

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In this conversation, Vulcan’s C.T. Fitzpatrick explains the skills he acquired during 17 years at South Eastern Asset Management before founding Vulcan Value Partners in 2007. Today the firm manages approximately $20 billion, with a team of 64, all based in Birmingham, Alabama.

He explains his approach to identifying and defining “high quality businesses”, the margin of safety he seeks, the goal of avoiding permanent capital loss and the investment similarities and differences with Warren Buffett.

He talks about constructing a portfolio of between 20-40 companies and the moat he requires in his investment companies. He discusses his aversion to the wrong types of corporate debt, why he avoids macro judgements, the importance of temperament and discipline in investing, and why he is optimistic about the investment opportunities in his universe.

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Over the past decade, about 80 cents of every dollar that has gone into the US investment industry has ended up at Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock. As a result, the combined stake in S&P 500 companies held by the Big Three has quadrupled, from about 5 percent in 1998 to north of 20 percent today.

Those lines are from a new book - Trillions- Why Passive investing beats Active written by our guest today, Robin Wigglesworth, the Financial Times  Global Finance correspondent

In this conversation, Robin explains the forces that drove the creation of the passive investing industry, the key architects and the roles they played, how he shows that passive beats active in developed markets over time, but the controversy and dangers emerging from this financial tsunami and where we might be going.

Robin brings to life the determination of men like Jack Bogle (Vanguard) who championed passive investing “The math will never let you down”, to Paul Samuelson, William Sharpe and Warren Buffet, who has long argued the merits of passive investing in the S&P 500.

Robin concludes - The exact statistics vary between countries and types of market that they invest in, but roughly speaking, only 10 to 20 percent of active funds beat their benchmarks over any rolling ten- year period. In other words, investing is a rare walk in life where it generally pays to be lazy and choose a cheap passive fund.

This Episodes Themes and Collaborations Learn more about Robin Wigglesworth, the Financial Times' Global Finance Correspondent. Jack Bogle transformed the investment management industry. Bogle was a crusader for individual investors, working to bring the interests of asset managers in line with those of their investment clients. Delve into why Paul Singer thinks index funds are devouring Capitalism. A piece in which Robin agrees with Warren Buffetts’ unconventional views on ESG Investing. Recommended reading, by Robin Wigglesworth: Trillions- Why Passive Investing Beats Active Relevant to Robin Wigglesworth talking about the most fertile ground for active management is the emerging markets episode with Dr Christina McGuire. The Money Maze Podcast is going on its second programme of ambassadors and if you know of any students or young working adults interesting in applying please forward them this website link. Hopefully we can keep you entertained and loving the show but to ensure this happens in the future, please would you do this survey to let us know your thoughts and feedback.

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Peter Harrison, included in Debrett’s 500 most influential people, starts by describing a rebellious youth that led him to reject his family’s wish to study Theology at Oxbridge and instead to make a decision to go to Bath University to study Business in the 1980s.

From there he talks of his first job at Schroders, working as an analyst, and further experiences he had at Newton, Flemings, Deutsche Asset Management and then a start-up, RWC.  Peter describes their merger with Schroders and his ascent to CEO, and the journey from managing money to managing an investment business.

The conversation moves to him talking about the compelling opportunities in Global Asset Management, contrary to some gloomy commentaries that we often read. He talks of the shift to managing money to solve problems and not simply to be benchmarked, and the evolution of active and passive strategies. He describes Schroder’s vision of serving the individual customer, both affluent and high net worth, with the help of more electronic applications, a wider public and private offering and trying to help them avoid classic pitfalls of poor timing in entering and exiting the market.

He also explains why although he thinks ESG must be embedded in your investment process, it will morph into a more coherent drive for impact investing.  Peter also gives his thoughts on the growth of private equity, and the challenge facing stock markets buffeted by weighty regulation and diminished liquidity.

He then discusses advice for the young thinking about future career, and some of the characteristics he looks for in potential hires.

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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!

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Peter Harrison, included in Debrett’s 500 most influential people, starts by describing a rebellious youth that led him to reject his family’s wish to study Theology at Oxbridge and instead to make a decision to go to Bath University to study Business in the 1980s.

From there he talks of his first job at Schroders, working as an analyst, and further experiences he had at Newton, Flemings, Deutsche Asset Management and then a start-up, RWC.  Peter describes their merger with Schroders and his ascent to CEO, and the journey from managing money to managing an investment business.

The conversation moves to him talking about the compelling opportunities in Global Asset Management, contrary to some gloomy commentaries that we often read. He talks of the shift to managing money to solve problems and not simply to be benchmarked, and the evolution of active and passive strategies. He describes Schroder’s vision of serving the individual customer, both affluent and high net worth, with the help of more electronic applications, a wider public and private offering and trying to help them avoid classic pitfalls of poor timing in entering and exiting the market.

He also explains why although he thinks ESG must be embedded in your investment process, it will morph into a more coherent drive for impact investing.  Peter also gives his thoughts on the growth of private equity, and the challenge facing stock markets buffeted by weighty regulation and diminished liquidity.

He then discusses advice for the young thinking about future career, and some of the characteristics he looks for in potential hires.

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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.

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David Yarrow is considered one of the world’s greatest photographers. 3 former US presidents have his masterpieces on 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!

To mark our latest episode release, featuring Giles English (Co-Founder of Bremont), we are re-releasing our conversation with David Yarrow thanks to the similar themes discussed. Both individuals faced significant personal hurdles on their journeys, yet both are now highly successful luxury goods entrepreneurs. They share a deep passion for their respective products, and both had stints in finance before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. David's interview was originally recorded in June 2020.

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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.

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Nick Finegold describes his journey through the world of finance, first in equity sales, then as the founder of his own brokerage business, Execution Ltd. He talks about building the business into a firm with revenues of $100 million and selling it 10 years later, becoming Chairman of Espirito Santo Investment Bank, in London.

He then explains the decision to establish the Curation Corporation, 8 years ago, where he remains the CEO, and its mission to allow organisations to better understand the risks and opportunities provided by climate change. The aim is to help firms identify solutions to help transition to a more purposeful and sustainable future.

The discussion covers lessons from Bill Gates about the Nuclear alternative for cutting carbon emissions, rethinking the approach to collaboration of pharmaceutical companies, and how the post-COVID world will impact supply chains, home-working and may a engender a more humane approach to capitalism.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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 two year anniversary, we're resharing some of the most popular episodes of 2021. In this episode, Simon spoke to one of the world's most successful hedge fund managers, Sir Chris Hohn. He discusses his career, charity and his climate initiative (originally released in March 2021).

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” 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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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A growing share of the wealthy have decided to take control of their finances through single or multi-family offices. Recent statistics suggest family offices now control in excess of $4 trillion.

In today’s conversation, Charlotte Thorne, former advisor to the Treasury, describes her switch to join a major Swiss single family office, and go on to co-found a private investment office, which today manages close to $4 billion for over 20 families.

She discusses building the investment offering, the requirements and complexities wealth brings and why Cap Gen aims to “help families make the most of the possibilities that come with capital”. She explains the importance of process and discipline, and how they think about asset class decisions whilst accommodating the different requirements of families.

Charlotte discusses direct investing, tactical allocation, the inflationary debate, and why being a female client can be an uncomfortable experience. She also discusses the role of capital, how at times the money itself can appear to take priority over the owners themselves and where she believes the wealth management industry has failed.

Finally she describes their approach to the active v passive debate, investing in hedge funds and why private equity continues to offer attractive return characteristics with significant dispersion.

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Hamish Baillie, long term Partner and Investment Director at Ruffer, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, joins the Money Maze Podcast to discuss their unbenchmarked, differentiated approach to managing portfolios.

Hamish explains that over the 26 years since inception, by following their key investment principles, annualised returns have compounded at 9%, with a low level of volatility. Hamish observes that “our clients have typically made money in good markets and been sheltered from market crises”. He explains their desire to build the portfolio with less correlated assets, why capital preservation is at the forefront of their approach and why their portfolios look very different from many others.

The discussion drills down into inflation threats and the assets deployed to mitigate that reality, why Ruffer believes the storm clouds are gathering and how “markets will grind lower and lower, punctuated by rallies of prodigious strength”. Finally there a discussion on the merits of gold, why Ruffer has been investing in oil equities, and an explanation of their large overweight to UK index linked debt and equity.

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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.

Enjoy our host, Simon Brewer, summarise the show here!

The world of finance has a huge impact on all of us. Created by two industry veterans, this show aims to explore and unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the investing business.

Whether you're a current investment professional, a student exploring career options, or just someone with an interest in the stories behind some of the most influential names in business, we hope you gain some helpful insights and enjoy the shows.

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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.

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The combination of trust, experience, neutrality and secrecy were the foundations of Switzerland’s reputation as a centre for private banking, and despite globalisation, regulation, and competition from all quarters, Swiss financial institutions have maintained their position of influence, with three Swiss firms in the top ten of global wealth managers.

To help explore this landscape, we welcome one of these top ten firms, and the CEO of its UK business, David Durlacher.

David discusses how wealthy clients have very different goals from earlier periods, their changing priorities, how Julius Baer manages the challenge of serving different international markets, and the contrasting styles of those clients.

He discusses the debate in families between selling versus retaining a family business, why a client might seek out Julius Baer as its chosen partner, and how they differentiate themselves within a crowded field.

He covers the lending component of their business, why they seek to be a “sparring partner” for their clients, and why the UK represents a compelling growth opportunity for their business.

Finally, in an unusual exchange, Davis discusses the role religion plays in framing his thinking about investing and the future.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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In this podcast, we have an enlightening conversation with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund and seasoned and successful investor.

Norway’s great wealth is in large part courtesy of its oil riches, discovered in 1969. With great vision, the Government’s response to the discovery was the decision to create a separate, segregated fund, away from politicians’ grasp, to serve Norway’s current and future citizens.

Nicolai describes his education and early investing experiences at Cazenove and Egerton, before starting the extremely successful hedge fund AKO. He talks about his education, refreshed throughout his career, and his decision to become the CEO of Norway’s SWF, otherwise known as Pension Fund Global.

Nicolai talks about his immense delight in being appointed CEO, and how the investment strategy is evolving under his stewardship. He speaks about his wish to use risk in a slightly more productive way, how private assets are assessed and incorporated going forward, and how deep forensic analysis such as that undertaken in the case of Wirecard will lead them to exclude companies that might otherwise be owned as part of their ownership of 9,000 globally.

The conversation encompasses a discussion about the lofty valuations exhibited within ESG assets, the stocks excluded from their investment portfolio and shown on the website, and the tension between divesting and remaining a shareholder of companies in transition.

Nicolai explains why techniques drawn from behavioural analysis can help them assess the risks embedded within potential investments; the resilience that can be learned from top athletes, the dangers of inflation returning and the long term challenges facing investors and the world more generally.

Finally he offers some pithy Norwegian advice on cooking, sailing, endurance, charity and why introverts are such an underutilised asset.

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Some of the most successful companies financed via venture capital are now household names - Facebook, Uber, Twitter, Airbnb, & PayPal.

Venture capital has moved from niche to mainstream for institutional investors, and in Q2 2021 alone VC investment hit a new record high of $157.1 billion.

In today’s conversation we are delighted to welcome Hunter Somerville, VC heavyweight, formerly General Partner at Greenspring, and now post-merger, Partner at Stepstone.

In this episode Hunter describes his career to date and his world of venture capital & growth equity. He describes the wider adoption of venture capital as an asset class, how allocations are increasing and the nature of long term returns. He describes his key responsibilities, which involve sourcing venture funds of all stages, examining early and growth stage companies, as well as finding secondary opportunities.

He then explains why companies are staying private for much longer than in previous decades, StepStone’s competitive advantage, geographic and sector preferences, valuations, risks and opportunities in the sector. 

Finally, Hunter comments on the characteristics they seek in their venture capital managers, why length of relationships is a key competitive advantage and why the surge in VC investing is unlikely to prove a passing phenomenon.

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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!

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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!

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In a slightly different conversation for the Money Maze Podcast, Anthony St John shares his fascinating journey and investment insights.

Anthony is a Non-Executive Chairman of Yellow Cake PLC, a specialist company operating in the uranium sector. He's also the Chairman of Strand Hanson (an independent advisory boutique with a strong African orientation) and Chairman of IDH, a health care provider in the Middle East and Africa.

Furthermore, he's one of 90 hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords, is Lord in waiting to the HM the Queen, the Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Africa Group and a 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 being a lawyer, to working in China, working as an oil analyst, then being chairman of three companies whilst managing his Parliamentary duties.

Our discussion covers investing in Africa, cyber security, uranium and its role in the evolving debate about energy sources, as well as his relationship with Nelson Mandela. Finally, 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!

Interview originally recorded in August 2020.

In our latest release, Simon spoke to Guy Hands, Chairman & Founder of Terra Firma. We are replaying this episode due to similar themes discussed in both interviews, with both guests overcoming psychological disadvantages in their careers.

For Anthony, his stutter presented a major challenge to his legal career. He successfully overcame this thanks to speech therapy (taken on the advice of a former British Prime Minister), and is now a highly successful Parliamentarian and business tycoon. For Guy, his dyslexia made reading a challenge in his early career. Yet this proved no dampener on his ambition, and actually turned out to be an advantage given that it meant he read investment prospectuses more carefully than his peers at Goldman Sachs (helping him becoming Head of Eurobond Trading at just 26!).

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The FT has described our guest on this episode as one of 30 most influential people in the City of London. Moreover in the world of public and private investing there is repeated acknowledgement of him being one of today’s great investment thinkers. The firm he joined back in 2001, Lansdowne Partners, is widely admired amongst the global institutional investment community, and his perspectives and performance have been widely sought after.

In this conversation, we discuss Peter’s investing career to date, his approach to evaluating companies, public and private, the exciting IP being developed around Oxford University and why he is so excited about the business and investing landscape today, along with other important perspectives.

Peter initially describes the formative early years at Mercury Investment Management, some of the lessons he learned about investing and building a successful investment culture. He then describes his decision to join Lansdowne in 2001 and why he wanted to exploit the long/short opportunity set.

He describes the analysis undertaken to identify Northern Rock as a highly vulnerable institution and how they established a potent short position that was immensely profitable for their investors.

He continues by discussing the work post the Great Financial Crisis that led them to invest in many global brands as well as being early investors in the major tech platform companies such as Google and Amazon etc.

Fast forwarding he describes the move to become long-only, the investment culture that they have created at Lansdowne. which incorporates an important need to calibrate and understand a wide range of possible outcomes for each investment they consider.

Peter then moves to talk about the UK investing landscape and the opportunities he believes exist in public and private markets. Specifically he discusses some of the opportunities emanating from Oxford University and why the vaccine success offers opportunities for significant leaps forward in medical and other productivity gains. He also explains why he feels UK political risk has been mispriced and the important investing opportunities he has identified.

He describes his involvement with world class sports men and women, and learning lessons about decision making under pressure. He also talks about balancing time pressures, improving his own productive capabilities and lessons he would share with others.

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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.

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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 IP.

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 TikTok, 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”.

Originally released in April 2021, we're pleased to be featuring Merck's episode again in light of today's inflationary environment, which has resulted in many investors looking to the world of alternative assets to mitigate their risks and capitalise on fast-growing markets. In October 2021, the firm enjoyed a $1 billion cash injection from Blackstone, who also took a stake in the business.

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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.