Inside the Rope with David Clark

Ben joins David to discuss Kilara Capital a fund manager that he co-found in 2017 that focuses on investment opportunities that work toward sustainable infrastructure and a zero-carbon future. Comprising 3 distinct business lines including private equity, energy and infrastructure solutions Kilara invest in deeply sustainable businesses across four key themes including future foods, circular economy, energy transformation and environmental markets. They are project developers and asset managers focused on advancing the build-out of utility scale renewable energy assets alongside the development of bespoke, zero emissions infrastructure solutions to businesses invested in the ‘cooling economy’. Ben has over 20 years of experience across corporate advisory, legal advisory, commercial transactions and deal structuring in a variety of industry sectors, including renewable energy, commercial property, sustainable finance and environmental markets. He leads the Kilara Growth Fund deal team and is responsible for overall management and strategy across the Kilara Group. Ben sits on the Kilara Growth Fund Investment Committee as an executive member.

Chris joins David to discuss his fund, the 1851 Capital Emerging Companies Fund. Since inception in Feb 2020 till Dec 2021, the fund had produced a compound growth rate of 33% p.a. Chris explains why he believes that the small-cap sector is the most inefficient part of the market, where fund managers can deliver the largest amount of outperformance to clients. He attributes much of this to the lack of broker coverage when compared to larger-cap counterparts. Chris and David also discuss the methodology that 1851 applies when analysing businesses and their management. Chris identifies the importance of even the smaller details when interviewing senior leadership teams, such as the subtleties of body language. Working for more than 18 years in the Australian funds management industry, Chris has extensive experience investing in Australian equities. Most recently, Chris was the Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Wilson Asset Management Pty Limited (WAM) During his tenure as Chief Investment Officer at WAM, group funds under management (FUM) grew from $300 million to over $3 billion. In 2014, the Australian Financial Review named Chris as one of the Five Best Young Fund Managers in Australia.

In this episode, David is joined by Mattias Westman & Akshay Bhutiani of Prosperity Capital Management. A fund manager that focuses on investing in public companies across Russia and former USSR countries. They discuss the opportunities that this region provides to investors, citing examples of companies offering 20% yield whilst trading at three times earnings. Mattias and Akshay also discuss their thoughts on the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as well as why Mattias believes the likelihood of these tensions actually escalating to an invasion of Ukraine is low. Mattias Westman is based in London, but shares his time between London and Moscow. He has been investing in Russia since 1993 and lived in Russia full-time from 1997-2004. Mr Westman was a co-founder and Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Investor Protection Association. He has also served on the board of numerous Russian companies - including Lenenergo and Magnit. Mr Bhutiani joined PCM in 2008 as the firm’s first intern and continued as a member of the team throughout his final year of university, assuming a full-time role upon graduation. He is a member of the investor relations team and has broad-ranging responsibilities for marketing and client services across PCM’s investor base.

In this episode, David is joined by Karl Wellner of Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management, a US firm that provides investment solutions to some of Europe and the United States wealthiest individuals, family offices, endowments, institutions, and foundations. David and Karl delve into the types of clients that Papamarkou manages, including the issues that they face. He goes on to discuss the relationship process and the "marathon" of investing money on behalf of these clients. Karl also explains some of the different investment opportunities they come across for clients, and how they differ from your traditional "Stocks & Bonds" portfolio. Karl Wellner joined Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management in 2003 as President and CEO. Mr. Wellner was previously President and CEO of Key Asset Management (USA) Inc. Mr. Wellner is also Founder, partner/shareholder of KAWE Kapital, one of the first members of the Tallinn Stock Exchange in Estonia and one of the larger independent investment management firms in the country.

Warren Ebert, Founder and CEO of Sentinel Property Group, draws on over 20 years of property expertise. He discusses his unconventional journey from taxi driving to real estate, emphasizing the lessons learned along the way. The conversation delves into the decline of department stores and the shift towards online shopping, while also highlighting potential in Northern Territory's vibrant market, especially Kazarina. Ebert warns of current market risks, stressing the importance of thorough due diligence and active management for smart investments.

According to Jeremy Grantham a co-founder of GMO, global warming will be the most important investment issue for the foreseeable future. In this episode Lucas White (Portfolio Manager of the GMO Climate Change Trust) joins David to discuss their Climate Change strategy's origins, as well as its objectives and the opportunities going forward. Lucas and the team at GMO believe that climate change is among the most important investment opportunities facing investors today. Their belief is proving correct, with the fund returning 24.37% p.a. over 3 years (USD) to Nov 2021 compared to the MSCI ACWI's 15.95% p.a. over the same period. Lucas White is the portfolio manager for the Resources and Climate Change Strategies. He is a member of GMO’s Focused Equity team and a partner of the firm. Previously at GMO, he was engaged in portfolio management for the Global Equity team, including responsibilities for the Quality, Tactical Opportunities, and U.S. Growth Strategies. Prior to joining GMO in 2006, he worked at Standish Mellon Asset Management and MFS. Mr. White earned his B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Duke University. He is a CFA charterholder.

David is joined by Erik Sprinchorn of Tin Fonder's New Technology fund. The TIN Fonder New Technology fund is an equity strategy that invests in technology, health and digital brands and has been able to generate returns since Inception from March 2019 to November 2021 of over 35% p.a. The fund invests in technology-driven growth companies with a focus on the Nordic region. Tin Fonder started the New Technology strategy with the belief that digital assets will become more valuable in the future. They believe that a mutual fund with innovative companies should be the core rather than the spice of long-term savings. Erik has worked at TIN Fonder since its inception in February 2019. In recent years, Erik worked at Swedbank Robur with a focus on managing small cap funds, including the Swedbank Robur Ny Teknik fund. Erik has previously worked within equities and portfolio management since 1995 at Swedbank Robur, SEB Enskilda, Alecta and Brummer & Partners.

The Collins St Value Fund has delivered 19.6% p.a. net return since inception in February 2016 to October 2021 – a result which has seen a total net return of almost 180% over that time. In this episode, Michael joins David to discuss the Collins Street Value Fund and it's investment strategy. Michael and David highlight the information arbitrage that Collins St seeks to find in the companies that they invest in. From on the ground research in businesses such as Metcash, to undiscovered resource companies from brokers, Michael highlights several examples of outsized returns for investors that can be produced from pockets of mispricing in financial markets. Michael is a Founder, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Fund. Prior to founding the fund, Michael was a senior portfolio manager at a Melbourne based Managed Investments provider. During his time there he managed portfolios for and advised some of Australia’s largest family offices and high net worth individuals.

Following on from their discussion last quarter, fellow Koda Partner Frank Macindoe joins David in another episode of Inside the Rope to provide an update on the recent performance of the Koda Enduring Equities Portfolio (KEEP), along with his outlook on markets, broad market concerns such as inflation, economist forecasts, and company valuations. Frank flags his concerns regarding the recent strong performance of financial markets, and notes their mean-reverting nature, in which periods of strong performance often preceded periods of mean reversion. Frank highlights the often inaccurate economic forecasts that are distributed throughout the media, however, he does confirm that he has an eye on inflation, and that all positions currently held in the KEEP portfolio are able to pass on any cost pressures to consumers should inflation become persistent.   Over the twelve months to 30 Sep 2021, the Koda Enduring Equities Portfolio is up 38.83% compared to the ASX200's return of 30.56%. Over 10 years, the reference portfolio has returned 19.91% p.a. compared to the ASX200's return of 10.79% p.a.

In this episode, Michael joins David to discuss his career and path into investing for purpose. They discuss Michael's involvement in several investments, including ABC Learning Centres (Now Goodstart Early Learning) that went into liquidation in 2008; as well as the social impacts that were derived from these investments. As Founding Chief Executive of Social Ventures Australia, an organisation offering innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems, Michael is a wealth of knowledge in the impact investment space. He ultimately stepped down as CEO of Social Ventures Australia in October 2014, taking on an Executive Director role. Prior to this role, Michael spent 15 years as a Co-Founder and Executive Director of Macquarie Bank's private equity arm, Macquarie Direct Investment. In his time there, Michael invested in 43 businesses generating a gross rate of return of 32.3%. Michael chairs Australia’s largest charitable foundation, the Paul Ramsay Foundation, is a Director of Sunsuper, MH Carnegie & Co., For Purpose Investment Partners, Australian Philanthropic Services and Hearts & Minds Investments and was previously Chair of Goodstart Early Learning.