Money Maze Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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