Inside the Rope with David Clark

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.

Yasmin joins David in this episode to define what creates good governance in businesses as well as her thoughts on the future of work. Yasmin has an extremely diverse background, currently acting as the Chairman of several organisations including Advance, Digital Skills Organisation and the Harrison Riedel Foundation. She is also a non-executive director at ASX Limited, Cochlear, Santos, National Portrait Gallery and The George Institute for Global Health. Her previous directorships include IAG Limited, EFIC (Australia’s Export Bank) and she is the former Chairman of Macquarie Group’s Global Infrastructure Funds. Prior to her directorships, Yasmin also had an extensive career in investment banking, including as Vice President of Deutsche Bank, Director of ANZ Investment Bank in Sydney and Director with HSBC in London. Yasmin has a Bachelor of Commerce from Melbourne University and in 2015 was awarded the Melbourne University Alumni of Distinction. Yasmin is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member (and former council member) of Chief Executive Women.

Adrian joins the podcast again to discuss Merricks Capital's new agriculture fund. A senior secured loan strategy that provides lending to agricultural assets whilst targeting a return of the RBA's cash rate + 8% p.a. and sitting in a favourable position in the capital stack. As Adrian highlights in the episode, Merricks leverages the teams experience in Agricultural loans whilst taking advantage of the banks reduced capacity to lend in this space. As a non-bank lender, Merricks can procure and manage their loans on favourable terms without the need to service their balance sheet as required by banks. With regulators now requiring banks to be more conservative in their leverage, Merricks has the ability to be both patient and flexible with the loans they provide. Adrian is the CEO and CIO of Merricks Capital - He has 20+ years of experience across global financial markets including as Head of Pension and Endowment Strategy at Merrill Lynch and Head of Alpha Generation, Global Equities, at Citadel Investment Group. He is responsible for the overall running of the business and is a group director and Chairman of the Investment Committee.

Since it's inception in July 2009, Wavestone's Dynamic Australian Equity Fund has produced a respectable net of fee return of 11.5% to Aug 2021 compared to the ASX 300's 10.1%. In this episode, we discuss Cathrine's background, as well as her style of investing, and the metrics Wavestone use to value companies. With Cathrine a successful individual in the funds management industry, we were able to touch on some of the challenges facing females in the funds management industry today. Finally, Catherine provides her outlook on current markets, as we surpass record highs and continue to move forward. Catherine has over 20 years of investment management experience working for companies such as SBC Warburg, Prudential and Colonial First State. She holds a Bachelor of Economics (major in Japanese) and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. Catherine’s background was as a bank credit analyst followed by stock analysis roles both for a stock broker and then a fund manager. Catherine became a portfolio manager for CFS in 2002 managing the Sector Neutral Fund as well as the Trans Tasman Share Fund.