The Exchange by EW&L Private Wealth

In today’s episode, Managing Partner, Tim Whybourne catches up with Jonathan Armitage, Chief Investment Officer of CFS in their Sydney studio. They discuss everything from the current state of markets to how CFS goes about constructing portfolios for clients. They touch on the difference between listed and unlisted assets and the opportunity that is emerging for unlisted investments (Private Equity and Credit).Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In today’s episode Partner’s Craig Emanuel, Tim Whybourne & Ryan Loehr discuss all things markets from what happened in markets in 2023 through to their bold predictions for what 2024 will bring as well as touch on the investment case for private equity and credit.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In today’s episode, we speak with Brett Winton, the chief futurist for Ark Invest. Brett joined ARK in February 2014 and has worked alongside Cathie for almost 15 years since their time at Alliance Bernstein. As Chief Futurist, Brett drives ARK’s long-term forecasts across convergent technologies, economies, and asset classes, helping ARK dimension the impact of disruptive innovation as it transforms public equities, private equities, crypto assets, fixed income, and the global economy. Brett also serves on the ARK Venture Investment Committee. Brett joined ARK as Director of Research, guiding and managing the proprietary research of ARK’s investment team. Prior to ARK, Brett served as a Vice President and Senior Analyst on the Research on Strategic Change team at Alliance Bernstein. Brett earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).In the episode, we covered everything from why disruptive technology now through the size of the opportunity for some of the portfolio companies like Tesla, Coinbase and DraftKings.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Benjamin Dunphy from January Capital to talk all things Venture Debt. The asset class is not well understood in Australia so it was fascinating to unpack the opportunity the space may offer to Australian Investors.Benjamin is the founder and managing partner at January Capital. January Capital is a Venture Capital firm based out of Singapore investing in the Asia Pacific region. Asia-Pacific's first dedicated, diversified fund providing senior, secured loans to leading, growth-stage technology companies, managed by the region's most experienced venture credit team.Benjamin is responsible for overall portfolio construction and firm strategy at January Capital. Benjamin’s track record of investments includes Akulaku, Shopback, Go1 and Skedulo. Benjamin was the only Australian in 2019 to be named as a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 Venture Capital and Private Equity list.Prior to joining January Capital, Benjamin worked for Seabury Group, a leading advisory firm in New York, consulting on engagements across three continents. Benjamin was previously based in Southeast Asia as Vice President of Operations for Lazada, a billion-dollar e-commerce company now owned by Alibaba.  Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Business (First Class Hons) from the Queensland University of Technology.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In this episode, we introduce Tayyab Mohamed and Paul Westall co-founders of Agreus group. Agreus is a leading full-service recruitment firm that works exclusively to solve for the hiring needs of family offices – some of the largest, most successful and high-profile families throughout the world. Unlike traditional business, family offices are unique. Maintaining wealth across generations is notoriously difficult, reflected by the well-known saying “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” This occurs most often because of failed culture, alignment and dynamic – rather than a lack of skill. Hires need to be a cultural fit; personalities in a small team need to gel; values and vision need to align.  In this episode, Part I (another to follow), we introduce the founders, how and why Paul and Tayyab created Agreus. Their professional life before family office recruitment. The extensive work they do in Family Office Salary benchmarking alongside KPMG. And more critically, discuss the key drivers of establishing a family office. The do’s and don’t and common failures in the recruitment process. On the call we are also joined by Pierre Pineau who leads Agreus’ Asia Pacific division and talk through the needs of families in the region, providing useful context for Australian families to consider how, when and why they should establish a family office – and the alternative ‘hybrid’ models in between.  Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In this episode, our Partner Ryan Loehr speaks to Harry Sugiarto, portfolio manager of Intermediate Capital Group's (ICG) multi-sector liquid credit portfolios. Harry and his team are not constrained to the returns of any one type of asset within credit and can pivot to where the best relative value is. As the risk-free rate of return resets valuations and investor return expectations across all asset classes, credit markets have become increasingly attractive. In some cases, offering investors equity-like or above potential returns with significantly more protection. ICG is a global alternatives asset manager with origins in Europe. Today it manages over USD $80B in AUM and is a truly global business with approximately 600 employees across 16 countries. It is listed on the LSE and is a member of the FTSE250. This is an interesting listen for anyone with a more income-focused investment strategy, or those interested in taking advantage of more attractive opportunities in global traded credit.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In today’s episode Managing Partner, Tim Whybourne, sits down with David Bassanese, the Chief Economist for Betashares. In their discussion they cover everything from the current economic outlook and view of interest rates to the sustainability of the US debt position and why there is cause for optimism in markets over the coming 5-10 years.David is responsible for developing economic insights and portfolio construction strategies for adviser and retail clients. Prior to Betashares, David was an economic columnist for The Australian Financial Review (AFR) for over a decade. Prior to the AFR, David spent several years in the financial markets as a senior economist and interest rate strategist at Bankers Trust and Macquarie Bank. He started his career as a Commonwealth Treasury official, after which he spent three years as a research economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France. He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Adelaide, and a master’s in public policy from the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In this podcast, EW&L Partner Ryan Loehr speaks with Matthew O’Mara from Apollo Global. Matt is a Partner of Apollo’s Insurance Solutions Group and has responsibility for leading its democratised private market capability globally. For those unfamiliar with Apollo, it is regarded as one of the most reputable private equity and private credit managers in the world. A key differentiator for Apollo is its alignment with investors, with approximately half of its $600B in AUM invested from its own balance sheet, alongside investors. Private Markets are an area that has traditionally been restricted to the largest professional and institutional investors, but managers (including Apollo) are increasingly innovating via new structures to provide private investors with new access points. ‘Alternatives’ or private market opportunities are increasingly playing a more important role in investor portfolios and for anyone looking to understand more about this asset class, this episode provides valuable insights.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In this episode managing partner, Tim Whybourne catches up with Dominic Woolrych the Co-Founder and CEO of Law Path. They sit down to discuss everything from what it was like in the early days, stepping out of a secure career at a large law firm to a start-up all while running another side hustle, which has gone on to achieve more than 1m in revenue per annum. Law Path now services 400,000 small to medium-sized businesses in Australia by providing accessible legal solutions in a scalable format. They have been recognised among the top 10 legal start-ups in Australia and the top 50 globally.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.

In this episode, Ryan Loehr speaks with Nick Cregan, Founder and Portfolio Manager at Fairlight Asset Management.Fairlight Asset Management is a preeminent global small-mid cap manager responsible for managing A$1B. Despite the youth of the firm, the group has quickly established a formidable reputation locally with a tight-knit investment team that each brings a long and successful track record in the segment. Nick has previously held senior positions with Evans and Partners, managing a global equity strategy awarded “best global fund” in 2016 and top decile performance since inception. He also worked in New York and London with Schroders, as a Senior Analyst of the US $7bn small mid cap fund, responsible for a fourth of its assets. Closer to home, Nick ran an Australian Microcap equities strategy, with 11% per annum outperformance over five years. As Bloomberg published in June 2023, the Fairlight strategy was up 24% for the year, outperforming 97% of global equity peers.  I wanted to speak to Nick because as often occurs in environments like we witnessed in 2022, there is a widening gap between large and mega cap valuations relative to small-mid cap constituents. This can create outsized opportunities. Investors incorrectly assume that smaller means riskier, which isn’t always the case. In 2023, we have witnessed US markets rally, with the S&P500 up circa 20% year to date. However, of this, the 5-largest technology names have driven most of this return, largely on the back of AI-related optimism. Valuations do matter, and ultimately drive long-term value. Many large and mega cap names now look expensive, well above their long-term average. while small-mids look increasingly attractive, well below these multiples. For meaningful diversification, Small-Mids can play a critical role in portfolios. Nick and I talk about the importance of having a clear investment philosophy, strict valuation discipline, and how investors can get exposure to exciting thematics without the excessive price tag.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast series is for general financial educational purposes only, should not be considered financial advice and is only intended for wholesale clients. That means the information does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the information is appropriate for you and your needs. You should always consult your trusted licensed professional adviser before making any investment decision.