Money Maze Podcast

Merck Mercuriadis, CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, has over 40 years in the music industry, collaborating with stars like Elton John and Beyonce. He discusses the transformation of music into a vital investment, with 90% of US households now subscribing to streaming services. Merck highlights how fair compensation for artists is often overlooked in revenue splits. He shares insights on acquiring 57,000 songs for £1.2 billion, the strategic marketing of classic hits, and the evolving landscape of music as both art and a lucrative asset.

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

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

Sir Chris Hohn, a billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist, talks about his upbringing, journey in investing, and the creation of 'Say on Climate' campaign to address corporate accountability for emissions. He discusses the impact of climate change on poverty, child destitution, and planet destruction, urging companies to take action and disclose climate transition plans for a sustainable future.

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

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

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

Tilly Franklin, Chief Investment Officer at Cambridge University Endowment, shares her impressive journey from top institutions like McKinsey and Harvard to shaping one of the world's oldest endowments. She discusses the endowment's ambitious inflation plus 5% target and its significant £1 billion disbursements. Tilly also delves into the growing emphasis on private equity and sustainable investments while addressing student demands for policy changes. Plus, she highlights her charity, GAIN, GIRLS ARE INVESTORS, promoting women's empowerment in finance.

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

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