Inside the Rope with David Clark

In a rising rate environment, Chris Joye joins David to discuss where investors should look for returns going forward. Throughout the episode, Chris covers a range of different asset classes, such as Private Debt, Bonds, Property, Equities and Cryptocurrencies. Chris also touches on how far he expects the RBA to raise rates, and the broader consequences on asset prices such as his expectations of a 15-25% reduction in residential real estate prices as rates continue to rise. Finally, David and Chris also discuss recent geopolitical events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the additional ongoing risks that geopolitical events pose to financial markets and asset prices. Chris founded Coolabah Capital back in 2011 and is also contributing editor to the AFR. Prior to starting Coolabah, Chris worked at both Goldman Sachs and the RBA.

John joins David again to discuss the current market uncertainty and how Bronte Capital is choosing to invest. John touches on several key topics that are currently being discussed by investors. such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the impact China's Covid-Zero policy is having on supply chains, as well as green technology and the capital expenditure necessary to allow countries to go entirely carbon zero. Finally, John touches on where Bronte is currently looking for opportunities today, including countries in central and eastern Europe such as Poland. John has been a financial markets professional since 1999 and is Chief Investment Officer, Founder and co-owner at Bronte. John was Head of Financials at Platinum Asset Management and its youngest partner. After Platinum listed in 2007, John started Bronte Capital in 2009.

Thomas Weber (German/Swiss) is a co-founder and a Managing Partner at LGT Capital Partners Ltd. He chairs the firm’s Alternative Investment Committee and the Liquid Alternatives Manager Selection Committee. LGT Capital Partners is a global alternative investment firm with a successful track record since 1998 in providing innovative solutions for investors across several strategies including private markets, liquid alternatives and other multi-assets. After working in Switzerland as a management consultant, Mr Weber joined LGT Bank in Liechtenstein in 1989 as an Assistant to the Chairman and Project Manager. In 1991, Mr. Weber moved to the Portfolio Management Division as Head of Methods and Marketing. In this function, he was responsible for improving and developing the investment process, launching new investment products as well as managing a portion of the global equities portfolio. In 1996, Mr. Weber co-founded LGT’s third-party hedge fund activities.

In this special live episode of Inside The Rope, David is joined by Alexandra Clarke (Portfolio Manager at Ellerston Capital), Rhett Kessler (Fund Manager and Principal for Pengana's Australian Equities Fund) and Phil King (CIO of Regal Funds Management) to discuss the behaviours and traits of successful investors. Touching on some of the more defining moments of their respective careers, the three panellists cover some of the most challenging markets they have faced to date, as well as where they are seeing opportunities today.

Matthew joins David to discuss his fund The Level 18 Fund, as well as his career to date. Matthew began his career as a finance journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald in 1994 before working under Geoff Wilson at Wilson Asset Management for 13 years, and then ultimately establishing his own funds management business, Centennial Asset Management. Matthew's fund, The Level 18 Fund which was established in 2015, has generated returns of 17.30% per annum to March 2022. Matthew is the Principal and Portfolio Manager at Centennial Asset Management. Prior to this, Matthew worked as a portfolio manager/CIO at Wilson Asset Management for 13 years between 1998 and 2011, helping to build the business and excellent long-term investment track record, achieving 18% p.a over the period. Before his career as an investment analyst, Matthew worked as a finance journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald between the years 1994 and 1998, and in 1997 was made business editor.

Garry joins David in this episode to discuss his past experience as well as the AAM Diversified Agriculture Fund (ADAF), a strategy that targets a total return of 12% per annum, comprised of 6% income and 6% growth. Garry and David also discuss Garry's past experiences that lead him to start investing in agriculture assets, such as his family farm outside Sydney and his experience in judging animals in the United States. Garry also highlights the need for diversification & scale across agriculture assets, and how AAM seeks to achieve this. Garry is the Founder and Managing Director of the AAM Investment Group, and has over 25 years’ experience in large scale asset development and management within the Australian agribusiness sector. Garry founded the company that today is AAM in 2007, commencing the development, operation and management of a portfolio of agricultural assets valued at over ~$650 million and remains the major shareholder of AAM.

Alex joins David to discuss the Realside Capital Flagship Fund, a fund primarily focused on private debt that has delivered returns to investors of 13.45% over 12 months to December 2021. Investing across Real Estate, Hotels & Restaurants, Industrials, Financials and Natural Resources; Alex and David discuss the return profiles that investors can expect from such assets going forward, as well as the returns Realside has provided to date. Alex Hone has more than 20 years of investment experience having worked with leading global firms in both Sydney and London. His experience has included establishing and developing funds management businesses that in turn developed global reputations for investment excellence. Alex was previously the founding CEO/CIO of Atrium Investment Management. Prior to this, Alex was a Portfolio Manager with Magellan Financial Group and with Capital Partners (now CP2), a specialist global investment advisory and management firm. Alex commenced his career in the Treasury division of the National Australia Bank.

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.