54: Willis Towers Watson: Adviser on over $2.6 trillion of assets. A conversation with Luba Nikulina, Managing Director and Global Head of Research at WTW

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In today’s conversation Luba Nikulina talks about an upbringing that began in Lithuania, then part of the USSR, and her route to joining Willis Towers Watson (WTW), the leading global advisory firm with 45,000 employees globally, and where she has spent the last 17 years.

The discussion begins with WTW’s investment approach,  a perspective on how strategic and tactical asset allocation have evolved and why Luba believes it is increasingly helpful to think more in terms of allocating risks, than portfolio construction via the rear-view mirror.

She explains why she feels strongly in the case for more active and less passive, smart beta, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, the process around identifying and selecting managers, and their increasing focus and preference for a team as opposed to star manager approach when selecting investment managers to partner with.

She talks about why it is increasingly accepted that investors should not allow the use of external carbon offsets as a significant long-term strategy for decarbonisation, the relevance of neurodiversity, and her perspectives on the future landscape of the investment management industry. Finally she makes the recommendation that senior employees and corporate leaders should think about the value of taking a non-executive position whilst they still are fully engaged in their job instead of waiting until they leave.