Episode 113: David Miller of Quilter Cheviot - On Going to the Mental Gym, Conviction and Certainty

David Miller is an Executive Director at Quilter Cheviot, where he manages over £1.1 bn pounds in client funds.  He has been in the investing business for over 40 years and and is the author of the 7 year old “Diary of a Fund Manager” weekly diary, which has a readership of over 15,000 across 57 countries.  

Our conversation charts David's entry into finance and why it continues to be his passion and why he has returned to running money, after some spells managing people and teams. We start with how he accidentally fell into finance, after studying organic chemistry.  His investment beliefs have evolved over time, but he continues to be focused (perhaps deriving from his roots as a scientist) on empirical evidence, and does not believe that finance is a dark art, but is instead about engaging with the real world.  He speaks about his aversion to having too much "conviction" and certainty around market direction and asset classes. 

Given David's extensive experience in rendering advice, we compare working with individual clients to institutions, and how the attitude to risk, time horizon and capital preservation might be different. We move to talk about his writing - which he likens to "going to the mental gym" each week, and the sense of discipline and clarity that writing his thoughts down brings to him.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.