The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Michael Halpern is Founder and President of Westmore Capital Advisors, an investment firm that invests across asset classes focused on direct investments in early stage/growth capital companies as well as investments in more established companies undergoing substantial transformation.  He was previously Co-Managing Member and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Dorchester Capital Advisors, a fund management firm that invested in hedge funds, private equity funds and secondary hedge fund interests. Prior to that he ran a long/short hedge fund Dorchester Advisors that he founded in 1991. He previously held a series of roles in financial services in the New York and Los Angeles and currently holds a number of board positions. Our conversation starts with Michael's first introduction to the world of investing, which was around the family dinner table at which multiple generations met and investments - as well as sports - were discussed.We move from there to his first formal roles in the area, at Goldman, Sachs and Pacific Holding Company and we talk about finance in the early 1980s, and how, sometimes, one can end up with far more responsibility than imagined, and how this can lead to the most profound learning experiences. And then to the launch his own long/short hedge fund and the hedge fund investment landscape of the 1990s.Our conversation moves to the complexities of starting a firm, raising capital, developing clients and staying the course. We look at the need to evolve and adapt in new environments; leveraging core competencies, retooling product lines and extending the duration of one’s capital base as new opportunities emerge.  This was particularly relevant when Michael and his co-founder developed the hedge fund secondaries business at Dorchester Capital Advisors.We move then to speak about Michael's current work at Westmore Capital Advisors and some recent investments. Finally we end with words of wisdom from some of the formidable mentors that Michael has learned from throughout his life. Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them

Vivian Lin Thurston is a Partner and Portfolio Manager at William Blair Investment Management, where she is based in Chicago. She previously covered global consumer stocks in a research role both at William Blair and a series of other financial services firms. She is Chairman of the Board at the Chinese Finance Association of American and a Principal Dancer and Director at the Xilin Dance Company.  Our conversation starts with Vivian's upbringing in China, and what led to her continuing her education in the US.  Her background in sociology proved to be a fertile one for embarking on a coverage of consumer stocks, and she describes her journey from analyst to portfolio manager, as well as some twists and turns that punctuated it. She has participated in Chinese dance throughout her life, and we speak then about what this has taught her in terms of physical resilience, discipline, the art of performance and striving for perfection.  Dance also teaches mental resilience and toughness, and Vivian finds that she draws on this in the fast-paced and sometimes volatile world of financial markets.  She also deeply values the creativity that dancing feeds.  You can find videos of some of Vivian's dance performances here: https://xilin.org/xilin_services/dance/We dig in then to the specifics of covering consumer stocks in emerging markets and some of the trends that are emerging - distinguishing between those that are likely to "stick" and those that are transient.  We examine how ESG concerns are permeating company research and how companies are responding to increased investor scrutiny as well as policy changes. Given the under-performance of Emerging Markets over the past decade we pick apart what is going on there and whether the region suffers from being classified as one homogenous group when it reflects such divergent economies. We finally then discuss the PM role and all of its aspects, and end with Vivian's reflections on what has driven her career.  Her focus on following her passion and her "no drama" rule have been instrumental in helping her keep an even keel throughout her career. Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them

Steve Butler is Chief Executive at Punter Southall Aspire, an investment consulting group.  He was previously the founder of Camradata, a business author and a visiting industry fellow at Oxford Brookes Business School.  He has a particular focus on areas such as #futureofwork, #olderworkers, #inclusiveculture, #intergenerational, and #retirementplanning and writes extensively on the topics on LinkedIN, which is where we met.  He is pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration which is examining the effect of Covid 19 on different generations in the workplace.Our conversation starts with Steve's upbringing in England's idyllic New Forest and how his university career endured some twists and turned, but ultimately led to an appreciation of the importance of hard work. He found he was naturally inclined to the people aspect of a business development role within financial services and thrived there, in roles that also took him to Latin America.  We move then to what drove him to found Camradata and the problem that that was designed to serve - the provision of investment data at a time when few data sources were consolidated in that way.  The business caught a wave of when analytics and peer group analysis were burgeoning, although Steve does describe the scrappy start-up stage quite vividly.We move then to his current focus at Punter Southall Aspire and his particular focus on ageism and busting myths that persist about older workers, their preferences and their strengths. Covid and the shift to remote and hybrid working has had an effect on this as well as other demographic groups. Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them.  

It is hard to believe that we are back for our fourth year of the Fiftyfaces Podcast – and in Series 1 of 2023 we hear about unorthodox beginnings such as the twelve year old who arbitraged the price of chickens when growing up in Uganda, and ended up in a senior role in Bridgewater before starting his own firm. We hear about traditional ones too, about investment instincts honed at the family dinner table, or through seeing the world through an artist's eyes.  We speak with CIOs, business owners, founders, a financial planner, an author, pensions experts, and portfolio managers, and, as always, dive deeper beyond a discussion of their business.  We find out what led them to their current roles, what motivated them, what twists and turns they took along the way.  We hear about how college and high school debate led to a meticulous skill for preparation, thinking on ones feet and performance, and how the study of archaeology lets one take the long view. We hear about passions like dancing in a Chinese dance troupe and what that does for physical and mental resilience - as well as relief, as well as from a guest who plays the viola, and is the strong "middle voice" and ballast both in her chamber music and her career.True to our original mission we discuss the themes and people who are often overlooked by our industry, from sex workers who need financial planning, but may feel judged when they seek it, to the talent pool who may not have achieved a mainstream degree, to the talent pool in the 55+ age group, who experience that "age" has become almost an "acceptable form of discrimination". Join us from Tuesday January 10 for our first Series of 2023. Our guests in series 1 are:Steve Butler  is Chief Executive at Punter Southall Aspire, an investment consulting group.  He was previously the founder of Camradata, a business author and a visiting industry fellow at Oxford Brookes Business School.  He has a particular focus on areas such as #futureofwork, #olderworkers, #inclusiveculture, #intergenerational, and #retirementplanning and writes extensively on the topics on LinkedIN, which is where we met.  He is pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration which is examining the effect of Covid 19 on different generations in the workplace.Vivian Lin Thurston is a Partner and Portfolio Manager at William Blair Investment Management, where she is based in Chicago with a particular focus on Emerging and Developed Markets. She previously covered global consumer stocks in a research role both at William Blair and a series of other financial services firms. She is Chairman of the Board at the Chinese Finance Association of American and a Principal Dancer and Director at the Xilin Dance Company.   Michael Halpern is Founder and President of Westmore Capital Advisors, a multi-strategy investment firm that invests across asset classes focused on early stage/growth capital companies as well as investments in more established companies undergoing substantial transformation.  He was previously Co-Managing Member and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Dorchester Capital Advisors, a fund management firm that invested in hedge funds, private equity funds and secondary hedge fund interests. Prior to that he ran a long/short hedge fund Dorchester Advisors that he founded in 1991. He previously held a serious of roles in financial services in the Los Angeles area and currently holds a number of Board Roles.  Jessical Goedtel is a Financial Planner and Owner at Pavilion Financial Planning in Allentown Pennsylvania.  She works in particular for tech workers and sex workers and I came across her profile when she presented a robust challenge to a popular personal finance book highlighting its lack of female representation in its case studies.Stuart Heatley is Managing Director at Capita Pensions where he is a Business Transformation and Growth Leader.  He previously held a series of similar roles at AON and Scottish Life.  Based in Edinburgh, Stuart is passionate about creating access to the financial services industry for people of all backgrounds, and is a Mentor with MCR Pathways. Dede Eyesan is Founder and CEO of Jenga investment Partners, a firm that invests globally across growth, turnaround and cyclical equity opportunities. This podcast will also appear as a bonus in our Nigerian voices series. Jonathan Hollow is a writer and commentator on consumer education and protection.  His recent book, How to Fund the Life you Want, distills learning on financial education and evidence-based investing into a manual for pensions and investing.  He is a charity trustee and also doing a part time MA in Ancient History.  His former roles include leadership positions in the Money Advice Service and Money and Pensions Service. Sara Bonesteel is Chief Investment Officer- International Insurance at Prudential Financial, located in the NYC area.  She was previously a managing director in Bear Stearns and JP Morgan. She is an Independent Director of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and a Member of the Board of Trustees, Chairman of Investment Committee at The NewarkMuseum of Art among other Board Roles.  She is also trained as a Neuroleadership CoachRichard Okello is CEO and Co-founder at Sango Capital, an investment firm he founded 10 years ago that has a particular focus on investing in Africa.  He previously was a principal at Makena Capital, and prior to that in a series of roles at Bridgewater Associates. Jon Lulu is a senior executive within a real estate investment management platform. He has had a long career in capital raising and real estate in particular.  Prior to his MBA he studied geography as an undergraduate and this is just one of many strands of his unorthodox background that we discuss. So join us from Tuesday January 10 when we kick off Series 1 over the next five weeks.  You can find all of our content on the Fiftyfaces Hub - fiftyfaceshub.com as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. This year we are making our listeners aware that you can support our work on Patreon, which is a platform to support creators and content developers.  Any monthly contribution is appreciated and enables us to continue to amplify voices across the Investment profession and others.  You can support our work here: https://www.patreon.com/fiftyfacespodcast Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them.  

Jonathan Hollow is a writer and commentator on consumer education and protection.  His recent book, How to Fund the Life you Want, distills learning on financial education and evidence-based investing into a manual for pensions and investing.  He is a charity trustee and also doing a part time MA in Ancient History.  His former roles include leadership positions in the Money Advice Service and Money and Pensions Service. Our conversation starts with Jonathan's education, which included a spell in Russia during the 1990s, and his extensive experience with writing and the importance of a plain English approach.  We move then to what inspired him to pursue an MA in ancient history and some of the parallels that is is drawing between ancient Rome and its collapse and the scenarios playing out in geo-politics. We move then to the motivation for writing his latest book "How to Fund the Life you Want", and the gap in financial literacy that exists when it comes to savings, investments and pensions.  Some of this he attributes to a low level of engagement by individuals, in part because the area of pensions and investing is just not considered that interesting. He talks about the different sections of the book including the need to be mindful of Sharks and Charlatans as well as the importance of choosing a financial adviser that is evidence based. We also discuss the different experience of women as pensioners and investor and note the wealth gap that persists well into retirement. Jonathan's new book is a collaboration with Robin Powell, who writes the Evidence Based Investor Blog and is featured on the Fiftyfaces Podcast here: https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/robin-powell-evidence-based-and-value-driven-myth-busting-across-the-investment-landscape/ There is more information about How to Fund the Life you Want here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/how-to-fund-the-life-you-want-9781399404600/

Richard Okello is CEO and Co-founder at Sango Capital, an investment firm he founded 10 years ago that has a particular focus on investing in Africa.  He previously was a principal at Makena Capital, and prior to that in a series of roles at Bridgewater Associates. He sits on several fund advisory boards, portfolio company boards as well as the boards of the African Leadership Foundation and Human Horizons Foundation.Our conversation starts with reflections on Richard's  extraordinary upbringing in Uganda, where as a young boy he started arbitraging the price of chickens at 12 years old, then campaigned for and succeeded in the abolition of caning in his school.  His predisposition for adventure continued when he attended Swarthmore College in the US and took on an extra strenuous workload, and then the demands on his time were amplified when he became the legal guardian to his three young sisters, when still in his teens himself.  Juggling these extraordinary duties and his new duties as a parent led to a zealous career focus and he found a welcome home in Bridgewater Associates, which was his first foray into the world of finance of investing.We spend some time discussing the work environment there at Bridgewater, which is known for its radical candor, and learn how this was a good fit for him.  We turn then to his move into the newly founded Makena Capital, an outsourced CIO, and how this was the foundation for his interest in investing in Africa.We discuss Sango Capital then and its origins, and how the opportunity set presents in Africa and how ESG considerations are woven in from the outset. Finally we turn to his reflections on his career so far, how his faith grounds him and where he expects the opportunities to invest in Africa will lie in the years ahead.This episode is being released as a bonus episode and fill feature in 2023 in our main investment focused series as well as in a special Africa focused series in 2023.  

Julie Cane is CEO of Democracy Investments.  The firm uses a proprietary algorithm to drive capital flows toward the economic growth of democratic countries and away from authoritarian states.  Julie has had an over 20 year background in financial services where she has developed market leading innovations at Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab Advisor Services, SEI Investments and Autodesk Ventures.  She began her career as a US Naval Aviator flying the SH03 Sea King helicopter.  Among her other roles, Julie is Chairman of the Board of Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit helping over 3000 military veterans, and until recently was Captain in the California State Guard. Our conversation starts with Julie's naval training and some of the situations she found herself in - requiring split second decisions, composure under pressure and leadership.  We speak about the diversity in the military during her career and how it evolved since then.  We transition then to what inspired Julie to enter the world of finance and how the desire to make an impact was central to this.  We explore this further - looking at the kind of impact that is possible in finance.Democracy investments uses its proprietary algorithm to detect and direct capital to countries with demonstrated hallmarks of democracies, but as our democratic ideals are not universally shared, I asked her how dynamic (or static) these classifications were. What follows is a fascinating discussion about what makes a successful democracy and we then reflect on the values and learnings from her career in the military as a means to understand this more fully.  We end with Julie's reflections on the people and ideas that have inspired her, and reflect on the part we play as individuals in the whole.  You won't want to miss this part of the discussion. Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto. 

Dr. David Kelly is Chief Global Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, a position he has held for over 14 years.  He lives in Massachusetts. He was previously economic advisor at Putnam Investments, and prior to that held a range of roles in the financial services industry.  Originally from Dublin, like myself, he's a PhD in Economics from Michigan State University. Our conversation starts with our remarkably similar upbringings in Ireland - we were both the children of politicians, we both studied initially in Dublin and then embarked on a career in the US. And we both are keen runners, lovers of literature and making the complex simple.  After completing his undergraduate degree in University College Dublin, David embarked upon further study for a PhD in the mid-west.  We discuss what led him from academia to putting his skills into practice in a more commercial setting, and discuss his passion for markets and especially for translating them in ways that are relatable and accessible to his wide range of followers. Our discussion touches then on today's markets, and how to contextualize them. We examine the global backdrop and the challenges that clients face, and ultimately how to communicate with clients, especially during times of market stress.  We ask whether this is in fact a "regime change" that we are witnessing, or whether this is a term that is over-used, especially today. Along the same lines we examine the rise in interest in ESG investing, and dissect what that term really means.  We turn then to examining the diversity of the investment profession and how that has changed over David's career. In discussing teams, we move to the question of management and discuss the satisfaction that David derives from managing a broad team that is globally based, and how important it is to "believe in" the talent of team members and communicate this to them.  We finally touch on the passion that David and I share for running and he shares a little of "what I think about when I think about running", which every runner among our listeners will relate to.Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Preeti Singh was until recently an LP reporter in the private equity area at the Wall Street Journal. She graduated from the Graduate School of journalism at Columbia University, and has worked in a range of roles and financial journalism. She has spent time as a Content Manager for publishing company in executive search prior to entering journalism, and is known for her ability to cultivate deep relationships across the industry, and to get the first scoop and industry moves. Our conversation starts with Preeti's first focus in her education and her initial (negative) experience with interviewing for positions in journalism.  We hear about her move to the US, her early days writing in a library and how she pursued a masters at one of the most prestigious journalism programs in the US. She describes her experience in that program and in emerging from it - and the challenges she perceived due to being older than many of her cohort at that stage.We speak then about how she discovered the private equity LP community and built trust therein.  We ask what makes this area "tick" and the importance of relationships, trust and transparency. Ultimately this is a podcast about the power of storytelling - Preeti's own extraordinary story, and the next chapter she is about to write, the enduring power of storytelling in order to connect with readers and to express the zeitgeist, and the fact that traditional values of decency, protecting sources and protecting confidence will continue to endure.Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

I'm joined today by Eugene O'Callaghan, who is a business and investment advisor based in Dublin, where he advises a range of asset managers and sovereign wealth funds on strategic initiatives. He was formerly director of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and prior to that Director of the National Pensions Reserve Fund of Ireland. He started his career as an accountant. Our conversation starts with Eugene's early career and an adventure that took him to New Zealand for a period of time. We compare the Irish and the New Zealand economies as they stood at that time and trace then his move back to Ireland and his early years with the National Pensions Reserve Fund of Ireland.  Eugene charts his time at the fund by reference to the economic backdrop that prevailed in the country at the time, and as such, what follows is a fascinating insider's view into the country's economic history. One of the aspects of Eugene's career that I have most admired is his ability to pivot as the macro backdrop and governmental policy has dictated, this occurred after the financial crisis in 2008 when the NPRF fell in value and pivoted towards investing domestically via the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. We speak about the opportunity set in investing in Ireland and some of the limitations that come with size.The need for the state fund to reflect the state's policy around sustainability was another pivot, and this saw sustainability be integrated across the entire fund portfolio during Eugene's time in leadership.  We speak about what this meant in terms of the investment opportunity. The pandemic saw yet another need to pivot, this time towards investing in companies affected by the pandemic, via a Pandemic Response Fund.  The need for this fund was, thankfully, time bound, but we speak about what that kind of investment necessitated.Now retired from ISIF and a strategic advisor to a number of entities, including other Sovereign Wealth Funds, we speak about the unique nature of many of these funds and the way investments are approached. We discuss then some of the inspiring figures in his career, and how he learned the importance of "getting points on the board" early.  This is a rich and fascinating discussion that spans many decades of economic ups and downs and never failing to fashion a response that works.Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.