The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Cathy Ulozas is Chief Investment Officer at Drexel University where she has just celebrated her 13th anniversary as CIO. She has had a long career in asset management, including stints as a bond trader and portfolio manager.  We start at the beginning of that career, trace its twists and turns and discover some of the unexpected areas that she found intense professional growth. We start with her time in insurance and move to what she learned as a bond trader and the camaraderie she felt on the trading floor. One unexpected turn was into a role in process improvement which after two years saved over $80 m for the bank and was an intense period of learning in areas of managing of people, implementing change and wringing efficiencies from processes. Our conversation then turns to what is on Cathy’s mind as CIO at a university today and how the investment office works. We examine the role of a university investment office in fulfilling the mission of a university and how these can be aligned in unique opportunities. Cathy’s experience has offered her a wealth of opportunities to learn from the wisdom of others and develop her own insights, and she shares many examples of these with us at the end of the podcast. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe. Currently, we believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

Libby Cantrill is a managing director in PIMCO's portfolio management group. In her role, she analyzes policy and political risk for the firm’s Investment Committee and leads U.S. policymaker engagement and policy strategy for the firm. She also works closely with PIMCO’s Global Advisory Board, led by former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2007, she served as a legislative aide in the House of Representatives and also worked in the investment banking division at Morgan Stanley.  Our conversation starts with her early interests in policy and politics, and how the seeds were sown as early as in grade school in Colorado. We trace this interest through her time as a legislative aide in Washington DC, and ask what she learned from her time on “the Hill” about conflict and compromise in politics. We move then to her switch into finance and her current role at PIMCO, in which she wears two hats essentially. One is as a political strategist providing political intelligence to the investment team, investment committee and clients, while the other is leading in policymaker engagement. We speak about polarization in politics and what remains at the center, and discuss this at multiple levels, ending in the area of ESG and sustainability investing and how politics is intersecting with this aspect of investing. We then discuss her role with the Global Pimco Advisory Board and I ask what it is like to work with the venerable Ben Bernanke. To find out what this is like and to hear more from Libby about her reflections on the diversity and development of the industry, tune in.  Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe. Currently, we believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

Duncan MacInnes is an Investment Director at Ruffer LLP, where he has spent over a decade. He previously worked in wealth management. I have enjoyed listening to Duncan discuss positioning and multi-asset insights on the conference circuit and wanted to take this opportunity to discuss his views on the current macro backdrop as well as the state of play in finance circles as we wrestle with failing banks and what this means for investors. We start our conversation with a run through Duncan's upbringing in Scotland and his initial study of law, his passage into first wealth management and then asset management. His initial training in wealth management took him to Asia and we discuss how that total immersion experience lit the fire for an interest in economics, markets and multi-asset class investing. Moving to his current outlook we discuss Ruffer's preference for "minimax regret" which is the practice of minimizing the probability of your maximum regret - and focusing on capital preservation. We discuss the impact of the Fed tightening cycle on taking money out of the system and what this means for the velocity of money and money concentrating in the centre. We then turn to a number of other areas in turn - de-dollarization, the shifting appeal of fixed income and the coming chronic phase of the crisis. Our discussion around diversity focuses on creating an organization that can speak multiple languages - metaphorically speaking - some the language of number and quantitative analysis, some the language of sales and client partnerships Duncan discusses some of the finance books that he recommends to others and these are: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke, The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks and SuperForecasting by Philip Tetlock. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe. Currently, we believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

In Series 3 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast we start to dig deep – into sustainability standards, fintech, what impact actually means, and bust myths around hybrid working, the great resignation and entrepreneurship. We ask whether we are using the right terminology - especially with respect to the vexed topic of ESG - and as whether private wealth is serving the diverse client base appropriately. We look at fintech advances as well as changes in privacy and what it will mean in terms of our personal choices. An executive search expert dissects the impact of the shift to hybrid working and the changes that she sees in the hiring landscape, while a policy expert shares what it is like to work with some of the luminaries of finance. The guests on Series 3 are: Robert Eccles who describes himself – in a nutshell – as a dedicated weightlifter, capital markets activist and professional committed to improving corporate reporting and enhancing ESG integration by companies and investors. Marah Curtin who describes herself as a “catalyst on a mission to promote the empowerment of women and the next generation, financially or otherwise”. Based in Dublin, Ireland, but originally from the US, she is a Director of Client Engagement at Davy, and has had a long career in financial planning.  Monisha Varadan who works at Google focused on Privacy and Partnerships, and is a partners at Zephyr Ventures, an acquisition vehicle set up to invest in profitable, growth businesses. She is Director of the Start up Bootcamp and is Entrepreneur in Residence at INSEAD Duncan McInnes who is an Investment Director at Ruffer LLP, where he has spent over a decade. He previously worked in wealth management. Libby Cantrill who is a managing director in PIMCO's portfolio management group. In her role, she analyzes policy and political risk for the firm’s Investment Committee and leads U.S. policymaker engagement and policy strategy for the firm. . Cathy Ulozas, who is Chief Investment Officer at Drexel University where she has just celebrated her 13th anniversary as CIO. She has had a long career in asset management, including stints as a bond trader and portfolio manager.  Tory Hyndman who is a Partner at Charta Partners. She is passionate about educating women about careers in the City and is a volunteer for Founders4Schools as well as Maths4Girls as well as an Ambassador for The Diversity Project. Monika Mantilla who is the President and CEO of Altura Capital, which provides institutional investors and strategic partners a mechanism of investing in underserved markets including high-performing small and diverse businesses. Sonali Patel Wilson, who is Managing Director and Director of Alternatives, Americas at Wellington Management where she is based in the New York City area.  David Semmens who is a Chief Investment Officer at Cadro and an External Investment Committee Member at Wealthify where he was previously CIO. He holds additional Investment Committee and advisory roles and is an adjunct lecturer at Heriot-Watt University. Bonus Episode: Isabella Mandis who is a freshman at Harvard College and the founder of “Girls who VC” an industry affinity group which offers resources, content and community to women interested in pursuing careers in or learning more about venture capital. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management, a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

Monisha Varadan works at Google focused on Privacy and Partnerships, and is a partner at Zephyr Ventures, an acquisition vehicle set up to invest in profitable, growth businesses. She is Director of the Start up Bootcamp and is Entrepreneur in Residence at INSEAD, my own alma mater, where she also completed her MBA. Our conversation starts with her upbringing in India - where she spent her childhood between Mumbai and Bangalore, and her early introduction to the media business through her family's focus.  We trace her path to the UK where she studied media and ultimately built a career in financial journalism.  Many of the traits used in journalism and media are useful in business, from the art of communication to negotiation to the development of instincts and judgement and we discuss how all of this relates to a career in business and can also be relevant to start-up life.We move then to her path to Singapore and an MBA at INSEAD and the start of Zephyr Ventures alongside a career in privacy at Google.  We discuss then the trends in privacy regulation and how the time for the consumer to make more conscious choices about their own privacy and how their data is used is coming.Monisha is now based in Fontainebleau in France near the INSEAD campus and we discuss what it means to be Entrepreneur in Residence and the type of content that is shared at the regular Start-Up Bootcamps.  We bust some myths around start-up life, including the abundant freedom and independence that are assumed to go along with that.  We ask if the experience is different for female entrepreneurs, why this might be and what interventions and supports can alleviate it. In the personal reflection section we discuss some of the challenges of balancing maternity leave and raising a young family with the demands of today's professional roles and also revisit the Linked In post that drew me to Monisha.  That post, a deeply personal and vulnerable one describing her experienced with alopecia, near total hair loss that followed her pregnancies, received widespread attention and support and was a reminder of the universality of certain conditions and the acceptance of deeper vulnerability today.You can see Monisha's articles here: https://hbr.org/2020/01/how-the-vc-pitch-process-is-failing-female-entrepreneurs and https://knowledge.insead.edu/economics-finance/getting-rid-gender-bias-venture-capital Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe.  Currently, we believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

Marah Curtin describes herself as a “catalyst on a mission to promote the empowerment of women and the next generation, financially or otherwise”.  Based in Dublin, Ireland, but originally from the US, she is a Director of Client Engagement at Davy, and has had a long career in financial planning.  She can be found on Instagram under @femolutionist, where she writes about money, careers and life from a female point of view.   She is also the founder of Cents for Kids.Our conversation starts with her upbringing which was deeply entrenched in the world of small business and entrepreneurship, including a Christmas Tree farm.  We trace her path into financial advice and some of the "breaks" that came to her through sheer perseverance. The world of financial advice was far from equitable - both for advisers and their female clients at the time and we trace how that has evolved over time - with some improvements in evidence but not necessarily enough.We speak about this from a client standpoint as well as from a female adviser's. We look at the incentive structures that are often in place - or not - and how they may not necessarily be the most female-friendly, then we examine how female clients are treated and why getting this part right will be key to the industry seeing sustainable, equitable growth. We then move to Marah's other interests - her Instagram handle and her passion for financial literacy, education, career development and knowledge. This is a refreshing discussion that is rich with ideas for motivating the next generation of learners and investors. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe.  Currently, we believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/ 

Robert Eccles describes himself – in a nutshell – as a dedicated weightlifter, capital markets activist and professional committed to improving corporate reporting and enhancing ESG integration by companies and investors. He is the Founding Chairman of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, one of the founding members of the International Integrated Reporting Council and a Visiting Professor of Management Practice at the SAID Business School of Oxford University. Our conversation is wide-ranging, so our attention to Robert's background is brief.  We touch on his storied long-term tenure as a professor at Harvard, where he spent 37 years, and describe how he came to the cause of sustainability and his own roots in sociology. This background in sociology is relevant as so much of the journey of "ESG" as well as sustainability investing has been about human behaviour, biases, and fears of complexity and large, lofty goals, all of which relate to essentially human conditions. We begin by unpacking ESG, whether it is currently "fit for purpose" and discuss the polarization that has occurred on both sides as the concept has become politicized.  Robert advocates for a more commercially driven middle ground and an abolition of the term.  We move then to a discussion of standards, and how they have evolved and improved over the past few years. We learn that, like accounting standards, sustainability standards are a construct that will always be debated, rather than set in stone. Looking to the future, and the evolution of the ESG debate, we look at the relevance of corporate law, and how that will be a new frontier for debate and change.We finish with some of Robert's reflections - including the need to be passionate in one's career, to persist and to never forget the importance of networking and moving forward. We touch then on his passion for weightlifting and how Covid contributed to his sustained commitment to a deadlift goal (300 lbs, but then moved to 400 lbs) and how breaking the goal up into small increments was the mental and physical strategy that he needed to achieve this goal.  This is not unlike an ideal approach to the enormous goals that sustainability initiatives present. An analogy for the ages indeed. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe.  Currently, we believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

Charlotte O’Leary is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Pensions for Purpose, which exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. She has had a long career in investment management, with a particular focus on pensions as well as ESG and impact investing. She is also a passionate participant in fitness competitions - particularly those organized under the Hyrox Brand. Our conversation starts with Charlotte's upbringing, where her determination took root, and we chart her course into investing and ultimately Pensions for Purpose.  She describes the satisfaction she derives from this bridge between pension funds and their advisers and how it enables them to put their mission and purpose into action.We move then to her passion for fitness, and talk about how this arose and how pushing her own physical limits drives her and the satisfaction she gains from the improvements that she sees every time she competes. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

John Harney is a senior consultant with AON where he focuses on helping pension scheme sponsors to manage pension risks and maximize potential upside. He is based in the Oxford area. I came across John through mutual friends in the industry and when I was drawn in particular to his LinkedIn posts that mentioned his joy in cooking and baking.This was initially very promising for our inaugural "Love" series, but what we discovered in our conversation was a veritable "Layer Cake" of a career. We start with John's upbringing on an organic farm in Ireland and the serendipity that brought him to studying to be an actuary. We hear about his first professional role, and the mentors that nurtured him.We move then to a new beginning of sorts - his return to university to study theology and music - both early passions for him and delve into the insights and perspective that those pursuits taught him.  He then "returned to the fold" of his pensions work, and brought with him an additional richness that that further study had afforded him.  We speak about how rare it is to have managers who truly understand and appreciate the depth that further study can bring, and how we should all seek to be that manager.Because this episode was first recorded as part of our "love" series in February 2022 we turn then to John's love of cooking and baking, and his LinkedIn post citing Nigella Lawson that drew me to him. We speak about food's power to heal, to allow one to destress and see perspective in life too - whether that be the incremental improvement that every iteration of a recipe can bring and the need to park "perfection" sometimes. John lets us in on his specialty dish - a "croaf" . . listen in and all will be revealed.Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Sarah Whitley is Chair at Future Asset, an organization which connects girls, teachers and advisors to the diversity of opportunities in asset management.  Based in Edinburgh, she was previously Head of Japanese Equities at Baillie Gifford and currently holds a number of director roles, including as External Director at Rakuten, and Chair at the Edinburgh Festival Endowment Fund.We start with exploring Sarah's path into asset management and her educational background, then chart her rise through Baillie Gifford and how the fact that it happened relatively early in her career removed some of the more difficult choices from the occasion. We look at how it felt to be a pioneer in many respects and why the absence of role models and mentors should not necessarily be a barrier to making change.We move then to her advisory roles and what she seeks to bring to them, and dive into particular detail around Future Asset, its mission and its achievements. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.