The Podcasts

If diamonds are forever, then the organisation most associated with them is, of course, De Beers.

In the final episode of our Super Allocator miniseries, we speak with Joanne Holden, Global Head of Investment Research & Consulting at Mercer, the world’s largest investment adviser.

Our exploration of the world’s “Super Allocators” would be incomplete without touching down in France, who have a lesser known, but still significant, SWF.

As we continue exploring the world’s “super-allocators”, we’re learning how different they are in approach and dispersed in investment decisions.

In this episode we travel to Canada as we continue our journey around the world to discuss investment approaches with the leading figures at some of the world’s top institutional allocators, dubbed the “super allocators”.

In the second episode of our Super Allocator Miniseries, Ben Samild shares the history, strategy and mission of Future Fund (Australia's SWF).

In this episode, the CIO of the world's biggest educator-only pension fund discusses their allocation strategy and how it's evolving in 2023.

Today, we unpack the world of ETFs to understand their evolution and how they are becoming a much broader wrapper for a multitude of strategies, with the help of Salim Ramji (BlackRock's Global Head of iShares and Index Investments).

In light of the current traumas, rescues and uncertainties, we were very fortunate to have Huw Van Steenis, the internationally respected banks analyst and strategist join the show for a timely discussion on what might lie ahead.

In this episode we explore the world of champagne with Groupe Bollinger’s CEO & Chairman, whose family have been central to the sustained success of both the brand and product since 1869.

To celebrate our three year anniversary, Peter Harrison, CEO of Schroders, returns to the podcast to give an update on a range of topics (including Asia's opportunity set, data science and the evolving investment landscape).

In this episode we talk to someone whose own firm advises some of the world’s most respected finance institutions, especially within the alternative and private assets arena.

We’re pleased to feature McKinsey’s Michael Birshan in this conversation, who explains some of the dynamics in the consulting industry and how McKinsey is approaching the challenges and opportunities of 2023.

In Part Two of the interview, he covers the importance of NATO cohesion, what the rise of China means for the world, Iran, cyber security and supply chains.

General David Petraeus has been described as the ultimate soldier/scholar. Targeted by Osama Bin Laden when Commander in Afghanistan, he became Director of the CIA and today is Chair of the KKR Global Institute.

In this episode, bestselling author and historian, Simon Sebag Montefiore, discusses his new book, which covers the key families who have shaped global history.

In this episode, David Haber, GP at a16z, shares his perspectives on the fintech industry and a16z's investment strategy.

In this conversation, we have the opportunity to talk to Alex Rodriguez, or ‘A Rod’ as he is better known, arguably the greatest baseball player of his generation and now prolific VC investor.

In episode 2 of our VC Miniseries, we’re pleased to feature Roberto Italia, CEO of the global, evergreen investment company, Verlinvest.

In this much anticipated interview, we're thrilled to feature Dame Kate Bingham, Managing Partner of SV Health Investors and former Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce.

As the Money Maze Podcast seeks to understand both the business and investment worlds, especially against the backdrop of a tougher economic environment, we are delighted to speak to Martin Waters, CEO of Victoria’s Secret & Co (VS&Co).

In this discussion we examine the changing world of investment funds and the data ecosystems that surround them. To explore this, we're pleased to be welcoming Laura González, Head of Americas at Allfunds, onto the show.

In this episode, Simon speaks to Greg Peters, Co-CIO of PGIM Fixed Income, which manages $790 billion in bonds (as of 30/06/22).

In this episode, we welcome Peter Oppenheimer from Goldman Sachs, to discuss the challenging investment landscape.

In this different podcast for us, we talk to Justin Byam Shaw, who set up The Felix Project in 2016 after facing family tragedy. The charity redistributes surplus food (that would otherwise go to waste) from 539 suppliers and delivers it to almost 1,000 charities, primary schools and holiday programmes.

Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has expanded from providing wealth solutions to include asset servicing, asset management and banking to investors worldwide. In this episode, we're pleased to feature Marie Dzanis, Head of EMEA for their asset management arm.

In the last of our miniseries on the world of private equity, we are delighted to welcome KKR, and its Co-Head of European Private Equity, Philipp Freise, onto the show.

In this episode, we have a Swiss physicist with a PhD who loves to climb mountains, but is also responsible for the $75 billion private assets business of Schroders Capital.

David Novak, a 25 year veteran of CD&R, offers a candid perspective on how PE operating models have evolved and the drivers of value creation, illustrated by the examples of investing in the likes of SIG and Morrisons.

In this update episode, we welcome General Sir Nick Carter (former UK Chief of the Defence Staff) back on the podcast to share his latest analysis of the war in Ukraine, as well as other key defence issues.

Today, Bain Capital is one of the world’s largest private multi-asset investing firms. In this conversation we have the opportunity to explore their investment approach and dig down into the important factors in private credit and special situations.

With over $96 billion in assets under management, Vista Equity Partners is one of the world’s leading software-focused private equity firms. As Founder, Chairman and CEO, this success has propelled Robert F. Smith to become one of the most respected investors of his generation, being named by Forbes as one of the ‘100 Greatest Living Business Minds’, as well as becoming one of the most generous philanthropists of his time.

In the second of our series on private equity, we are going to discuss one of Europe’s premier operators. Established as Schroder Ventures 35 years ago, the firm evolved into Permira in 1997. Today they have more than €60bn under management, employ over 450 people and operate in 16 offices worldwide.

In the first episode of our Private Equity Miniseries, Simon speaks to Robert Hamilton Kelly, Managing Director of Petershill Partners. They've raised over $10 billion of P.E. capital since 2007, investing in private equity and alternatives businesses at the GP level.

In an investing world where the “new thing” can too easily grab investor attention, sometimes it’s the case that an institution, especially one almost 200 years old, may be considered less relevant. So in this episode we welcome on Sir Nigel Wilson, one of the longest serving FTSE 100 CEOs.

Ray Dalio has described today’s guest, “as a vacuum cleaner of learning”, and in this episode Karen Karniol-Tambour exhibits a formidable grasp of the challenges of today’s investing environment.

In this episode, we have a different conversation. Michael Lewis and Simon Brewer go back to graduating from the LSE in 1985, when they were both seeking a place on the fabled Salomon Brothers training programme.

This week, we’re pleased to be bringing you Episode 3 our Quant Investing Miniseries! Hosted by the Robin Wigglesworth, Editor of FT Alphaville (part of the Financial Times), this series explores how quantitative analysis is potentially reshaping the asset management industry.

We’re excited to be bringing you Episode 2 our Quant Investing Miniseries! Hosted by the Robin Wigglesworth, Global Finance Correspondent at the Financial Times, this series explores how quantitative analysis is potentially reshaping the asset management industry.

Leda Braga has earned the nickname “the queen of quants”. After a PhD in engineering from Imperial College London, she spent seven years at JPMorgan as a quant the bank’s derivatives research team. After a stint at a start-up spun out of JPMorgan, the Brazil-born Leda then helped establish one of the industry’s leading systematic trend-following funds at Michael Platt’s BlueCrest.

In this episode, we’re in discussion with the Global Head of the Blackstone’s $239 billion Private Wealth Solutions business, Joan Solotar (as of 31/12/22).

In this special episode of the Money Maze Podcast, we are extraordinarily fortunate to have General Sir Nick Carter talk to us.

The combination of trust, experience, neutrality and secrecy were the foundations of Switzerland’s reputation as a centre for private banking, and despite globalisation, regulation, and competition from all quarters, Swiss financial institutions have maintained their position of influence, with three Swiss firms in the top ten of global wealth managers.

Gavyn Davies has more on his CV than most can imagine. In his varied career, he’s been advisor to the Labour government of Jim Callaghan, the Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, Chair of the BBC, founder of Active Private Equity, and now Chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management. He’s also an active writer for the FT and Guardian.

Hamish Baillie, long term Partner and Investment Director at Ruffer, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, joins the Money Maze Podcast to discuss their unbenchmarked, differentiated approach to managing portfolios.

In this conversation, Vulcan’s C.T. Fitzpatrick explains the skills he acquired during 17 years at South Eastern Asset Management before founding Vulcan Value Partners in 2007.

In this conversation Luba Nikulina talks about an upbringing that began in Lithuania, then part of the USSR, and her route to joining Willis Towers Watson (WTW), the leading global advisory firm with 45,000 employees globally, and where she has spent the last 17 years.

In a first for the Money Maze Podcast, this episode brings together the perspectives of 3 China experts to discuss the economy, public equities and private assets

From zero to $40 billion in 20 years is growth we usually associate with tech startups. When it happens to a firm in the world of asset management, it is all the more remarkable.

Some of the most successful companies financed via venture capital are now household names - Facebook, Uber, Twitter, Airbnb, & PayPal. Venture capital has moved from niche to mainstream for institutional investors, and in Q2 2021 alone VC investment hit a new record high of $157.1 billion.

In an industry where size is often a boast, there are few powerhouses with great credentials and a low profile. Founded in the US in 1973, Cambridge Associates (CA) was established to provide investment research and advice to a group of major US university endowments.

Our latest guest has been described as one of the ‘World’s Top 50 Thinkers’, is a Sunday Times bestselling author for his epic work ‘Silk Roads: A New History of the World’, is responsible for the prophetic article in December 2019 where he predicted a pandemic’s likely arrival, and has managed all this around his day job as the Professor of Global History at Oxford University.

Confronted with a kaleidoscope of challenges and shifting allocations brought about by years of QE and zero rates, along with a rise in inflation that may prove more permanent than central bankers wish, not to mention rising geopolitical tensions, asset allocators are likely to have their work cut out in coming years.In this episode we have the opportunity to talk to Johanna Kyrklund, Schroders’ Group Chief Investment Officer & Global Head of Multi-Asset.

'Over the past decade, about 80 cents of every dollar that has gone into the US investment industry has ended up at Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock. As a result, the combined stake in S&P 500 companies held by the Big Three has quadrupled, from about 5 percent in 1998 to north of 20 percent today.'

If you were told that abnormally low interest rates and quantitative easing would provide huge tailwinds for higher equity prices, then it isn’t obvious you would choose to run a fund whose activity was entirely focused on short-selling.

In the second episode with Nic Cary, Co-Founder of Blockchain.com, Nic continues on from the discussions around blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to discuss the debasement of currencies and the dangers of current central bank policies.He talks about the emerging inflation, the future of money and the role digital currencies might play in this, and the diminishing trust in governments and central banks.

“If you don’t believe it or don’t get it, I don’t have the time to try to convince you, sorry” - Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin Founder. That quotation is attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, Founder of Bitcoin.

A growing share of the wealthy have decided to take control of their finances through single or multi-family offices. Recent statistics suggest family offices now control in excess of $4 trillion. In today’s conversation, Charlotte Thorne, former advisor to the Treasury, describes her career switch to join a major Swiss single family office, and go on to co-found a private investment office, which today manages close to $4 billion for over 20 families.

With over 96 billion dollars in assets under management, Vista Equity Partners is one of the world’s leading software-focused private equity firms. As Founder, Chairman and CEO, this success has propelled Robert F. Smith to become one of the most respected investors of his generation, being named by Forbes as one of the ‘100 Greatest Living Business Minds’, as well as becoming one of the most generous philanthropists of his time.

The FT has described our guest in this episode as one of ‘30 Most Influential People in the City of London’. Moreover, in the world of public and private investing there is repeated acknowledgement of him being one of today’s great investment thinkers.

When we talk of luxury watches we typically think of Switzerland with its quality engineering and dominant market position, apparently illustrating the economist David Riccardo’s theory of comparative advantage. Yet in this conversation, we learn how Bremont is disrupting the luxury watch market.

Guy Hands describes being sent to a special needs school because of profound dyslexia, how he dealt with the challenge, won a place at Oxford and from there, young and indebted, joined Goldman Sachs.

In this podcast, we have an enlightening conversation with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, which manages approximately $1.2 trillion (making it the largest SWF in the world).

In this episode Gary Boom, Founder and CEO of Bordeaux Index starts by explaining how the poorly organised, past its sell-by- date old model of wine trading has been revolutionised by Bordeaux Index over the last 25 years, with the introduction of scale, liquidity and expertise underscoring the investment attributes of fine wines and whiskies.

If you were proposed an investment whose annualised return over the past 25 years have been over 9%, offered inflation protection, was environmentally sustainable, asset backed, growing, generated carbon credits, and had low correlation to other assets, you might think it sounds too good to be true, because in investing there is rarely a free lunch…

Today’s conversation is with one of America’s most successful investment podcasters, with over 5 million downloads, and who has also worked with one of the investment greats, David Swensen at Yale University Endowment and put himself in the firing line by having the infamous bet with Buffett, whilst at his former firm, Protege partners.

On Thursday 29th of April the Money Maze Podcast will discuss the future of cash and bank notes. Throughout its history cash has inspired two persistent forces; fascination and forgery. Whilst the accepted narrative is that the use of cash is on a glide path to extinction, De la Rue’s CEO, Clive Vacher offers his view that such a perspective is both premature and contradicted by a growing population whose access to digital cash and e-payments is not within reach.

Tracy Blackwell is CEO of the Pension Insurance Corporation (P.I.C.), a firm at the epicentre of an industry undergoing rapid transformation that is critical to many peoples pensions.

Today we turn to music as an investment theme, and our guest has worked with the greats, from Elton John to Beyonce, and has been in the front row of the music business for nearly 40 years. He is CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd, a FTSE 250 company and the first UK investment company offering a pure play exposure to songs and music IP.

In today’s interview we have the opportunity for a detailed conversation with a man who has been at the forefront of advertising and marketing communications for 5 decades. Founder of WPP, its CEO for 33 years, he is now the creator of S4 Capital, an entirely digital advertising and marketing business at the epicentre of a marketing and commercial revolution.

In this episode we have the rare opportunity to talk to Sir Chris Hohn, one of the world’s most successful hedge fund managers, benefactor of the largest children’s charity (CIFF) and now agitator against corporations who are failing to properly address their climate change transition plans.

Our guest today is Anne Richards, CVO, CBE, FRSE, CEO of Fidelity International, they offer investment solutions and services and retirement expertise to more than 2.5 million customers globally.

Simon Hallett, former CIO of the $80 billion asset manager, Harding Loevner, describes his journey from Plymouth, England, to Oxford University and then Hong Kong before boldly heading to the USA.Harding Loevner’s impressive 30 year track record in managing global equities is examined, with a discussion that covers behavioural biases, the need to restrict portfolio managers’ freedom, to the increasing reliance on quantitative disciplines to enhance the investment process.

Established over 800 years ago in 1209, Cambridge University is one of the oldest surviving Universities in the world and has spawned more Nobel Prizes than any other institution. In today’s conversation we welcome Tilly Franklin, their Chief Investment Officer, whose education includes Cambridge, Harvard and LBS.

We welcome Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University, which is increasingly recognised both for its campus-based, and online MBA, as well as its wider educational programmes. He is one of 500 Global LinkedIn influencers and has been portrayed by the Financial Times as “one of the most significant figures in promoting European business schools internationally”. In today’s episode we’re going to explore the changing landscape of education,its cost/benefit plus its ability to better arm you to get ahead in the evolving commercial world.

Maarten Slendebroek is currently Chairman of Robeco’s Supervisory Board, the Dutch investment powerhouse, former CEO of Jupiter PLC, and prior to that he was a member of Blackrock’s global operating committee. Maarten describes his Dutch/Swedish upbringing, studying Law at the University of Leiden, and from there to finance, beginning as an equity analyst at the emergence of individual European company research.

Today we have the intriguing prospect of our youngest guest so far on the Money Maze Podcast, allied to one of the world’s oldest academic institutions, Oxford University. Jack Edmondson, nominated in 2019 as Institutional Investor Magazine’s 3rd most wanted Allocator in the world, is a CFA Charter holder, holds an MBA with distinction from the Saïd Business School at Oxford and a first-class degree in history from Durham University.

In this episode we travel to Shanghai to talk to Chingxiao (best known as Ching) about equity investing in China. She starts by giving us a sense of life currently living in Shanghai and reflects on how the Chinese authorities have handled the crisis. Next she describes her unique upbringing and education before explaining her immersion into the world of finance with Barings.

In this Part 2 with Niall Ferguson, the conversation is an honest assessment of why he believes China and its political philosophy approach are alien to Western values, and represent a clear and present danger.

It’s a real privilege and honour to share with you Part 1 of our discussion with Niall Ferguson, one the world’s greatest historians, authors and commentators. Niall is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, as well as current or past lecturer at Harvard, Oxford, LSE and visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. This conversation gives the listener an opportunity to hear how Niall Ferguson analyses the current pandemic when compared with the historical precedents of other catastrophes

It’s a great time to discuss the topic of real estate, which is central to so many of us. Whether it’s your home, commercial property, farm or estate, in the UK or around the world, we all have a stake in this fascinating sector.

This episode follows the journey of Audrey Choi, whose Mother escaped from North Korea, to her obtaining a degree at Harvard, before becoming the Wall Street Journal’s Foreign Correspondent and Bureau Chief, then domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore, and Chief of Staff of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Today, with great thanks to Rothschild and Co for allowing us to publish this conversation, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Anthony Scaramucci. Anthony needs little introduction, but he is an entrepreneur, investor and political consultant. Having studied at Harvard Law School, he worked at Goldman Sachs, set up Oscar Capital Management, subsequently sold it and later established Skybridge Capital Management.

Today is a first for us, to welcome both a Grande Chancellerie de la legion d’honneur (the highest French decoration to reward the most deserving citizens) and a KBE (Knight of the British Empire, 2015).

Today’s guest is a Russian-born, Australian-educated management consultant working at the epicentre of the data-driven revolution, which is shaking the established corporate and investment orders. Our guests on this show manage businesses and money, and they need to understand where their industry is moving, its likely trajectory and the skills that will be required. In essence, how they should adapt, for as John F. Kennedy observed, “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”.

Many ambitious people aspire to build a truly successful business, and inevitably, only some succeed. Yet to start with a small buy-out which nearly 40 years later has evolved into one of the UK's largest Asset Management groups with over £500 billio in assets, employing 10,00 people and with offices in 50 cities, as well as being a member of the FTSE 100, is quite an achievement.

Sir Ronald Cohen’s extraordinary story begins in Egypt in 1956 where the Suez crisis has taken place and Egyptian Nationalism is on the rise, forcing his family to leave everything and flee to England, not even speaking the language. Armed only with ambition and hope and hard work, he gets into grammar school, wins a scholarship to Oxford, then to Harvard Business school and moves on to build one of the largest venture capital firms in the world, APAX.

It’s difficult enough to train to become a Doctor and then practice in some emerging countries with fragile health systems like Papua New Guinea. But then to switch tack completely, give all that up, win a place at Harvard Business School and join Goldman Sachs in asset management before going on to launch your own fund in emerging markets, may be considered brilliance or heresy, particularly when you come from Germany, a country that reveres technical expertise and is less enthusiastic about the merits of finance.

In a slightly different conversation for the MoneyMaze Podcast, Anthony St John shares his fascinating journey and set of insights.

Our guest today is Morgan Stanley’s former chief global strategist and for the last 25 years head of Independent Strategy, a research group who advise Governments, Sovereign Wealth Funds and influential financial institutions about the global investment and geopolitical outlook.

In this Money Maze Podcast edition, we travel north east from the UK, beyond Norwich, and further than Hamburg, to a country of less than 6m people, a country which has the oldest national flag, dating from 1219, and is consistently reported as having the world’s happiest people.

Goldfinger, Goldeneye, the Man with the Golden gun; James Bond escapism or a guidepost to financial survival? From the Phoenicians to today where China appears to have accumulated the largest Gold reserves of any Government in the world, it may be one of the few defences against the money printing and currency debasement of Governments, yet it continues to divide opinion.

Helen Watson describes her untypical journey into finance. After attending multiple schools and then being advised to go to secretarial college, Helen finds a job in finance in Gibraltar before moving and being hired by Morgan Stanley in London.From there, starting as a sales assistant, she overcomes initial resistance to win a place on the Morgan Stanley graduate training programme and becomes a broker.

As a FTSE 100 company, managing over £100 billion for 750,000 clients, St James’s Place (SJP) has been a great financial success story and today is the UK’s largest wealth manager. Chris starts by describing his journey, studying economics at Hull University, learning key early life lessons working first at Cazenove then Fidelity, before taking up the position as Chief Investment Officer for St James Place. During that period, 2009-2020, the market value of the company grew rapidly and today has a stunning 97% client retention rate.

Dave Yarrow is considered one of the world’s greatest photographers. 3 former US presidents have his masterpieces on their walls, along with a string of actors and sports personalities and he oversees a multi million dollar fine-art business.He has helped raise $8 million for charity, and his energy and passion for his work mean that up to the outbreak of coronavirus, he had not spent 18 Days in the same place in the last 2 years. This is all after spending the first 25 years of his life in the city, first as a broker and then starting his own Hedge Fund, Clareville Capital, which he ran for 17 years.

Mark Mobius, who has been referred to as the Godfather of Emerging Markets, was named as one of the 50 Most Influential People in 2011. Author of several books, he received the Life Time Achievement Award in Asset Management, started the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund which grew to $40 billion, and in 2018 opened Mobius Capital Partners.

Tony Dalwood studied Economics and Accounting at Bristol University and then Management and Business at Cambridge, where he took his post graduate degree and won a Blue playing Rugby. He then played Rugby for Saracens and Rosslyn Park, before his journey into Asset Management.

Our conversation begins with a glimpse of Sarah’s inspiring journey from finance, to journalism and now to the critical world of impact investing.Sarah talks about the 18 years spent at the FT where she ran the FT’s corporate coverage during the financial crisis and her ascent to become the FT’s business editor.

Nick Finegold describes his journey through the world of finance, first in equity sales, then as the founder of his own brokerage business, Execution Ltd. He talks about building the business into a firm with revenues of $100 million and selling it 10 years later, becoming Chairman of Espirito Santo Investment Bank, in London.

Peter Harrison, included in Debrett’s 500 most influential people, starts by describing a rebellious youth that led him to reject his family’s wish to study Theology at Oxbridge and instead to make a decision to go to Bath University to study Business in the 1980s. From there he talks of his first job at Schroders, working as an analyst, and further experiences he had at Newton, Flemings, Deutsche Asset Management and then a start-up, RWC.