Shows
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #19Greg Hopkins, co-CIO of PSG Asset Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode:* The PSG team shops in uncrowded areas of the markets, those that are generally associated with fear and uncertainty. Difficult market conditions present the best investment opportunities and often represent a change in market leadership.* Their team-based decision-making process means that culture is even more important than it otherwise might be. Greg describes the team’s culture as low-ego, high-trust, active and open-minded.* The team is able to “hold the line” in the fa...
2023-03-0146 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #18John Biccard, PM at Ninety One, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 2 of 2):* John explains the cyclicality in the relationship between growth and value stocks, and explains how prospective returns have changed during the era of free money.* He discusses how the valuation gap between growth and value has contracted recently, but still remains very extended.* He believes that bond and equity markets are pricing in a 2% US inflation rate but if it’s higher, growth stocks will take a disproportionate share of the pa...
2023-01-301h 09
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #17John Biccard, PM at NinetyOne, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 1 of 2), John tells:* That the extra returns you earn over time as a value manager are appropriate compensation for living a miserable life.* That his ideal investment idea is one that causes others to laugh with incredulity and question his sanity.* That it is sheer folly to assume that the market is right - it’s way better to do the work and reach an independent conclusion.John Biccard is a po...
2023-01-161h 14
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #16Richard Pitt, CEO and PM at BlueAlpha Investment Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 2 of 2), Richard tells how:* Frequent trading is not a good way to invest, and it’s a terrible way to live.* Articulation of your investment approach is vital - allocators need to have a clear idea of what they’re buying because they’re building portfolios of exposures.* Ultimately your competitive advantage might boil down to: knowing who you are, investing in a way that’s consonant with who you are...
2022-12-0544 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #15Richard Pitt, CEO and PM at BlueAlpha Investment Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 1 of 2), Richard tells:* How, as a rookie analyst in a bull market, his first recommendation was a sell. That company (Toco) eventually went bust.* What the consequences can be if you focus on performance and accolades rather than risk, especially when market conditions change.* How he is increasingly motivated by enabling people to grow, and that his ambition has shifted from making money to the upliftment and empowerment of...
2022-11-2149 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #14Monene Watson, CIO of Old Mutual Multi-Managers, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode, Monene tells:* How difficult it is to assess whether underperformance by a fund manager is due to a broken process (in which case the manager should be terminated), or if it’s due to a temporary shift in market dynamics (in which case the manager should be given time).* How she respects fund managers who are self-reflective and have the ability to admit their mistakes.* How the focus has shifted fr...
2022-10-101h 10
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #13Murray Winckler, co-founder & PM at Laurium Capital, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode, Murray tells:* How a background in investment banking (running capital raises and underwritings) gives Laurium an edge in event-driven investing.* How a good investment team is differentiated by how well it does three things: business assessment, financial assessment, and valuation.* How even fundamental, bottom-up stock pickers need to pay attention to the macro environment.We also discussed:* That in the early stages of Laurium’s life, th...
2022-09-121h 05
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #12Rowan Williams-Short, head of fixed-income at Vunani Fund Managers, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 3 of 3), Rowan tells:* How he finds the selective amnesia of fund managers to be nauseating. Too often they make claims of investment skill when an outcome is really due to luck.* How the sell-side is incentivised to create an impression in the mind of the buy-side that the news is more urgent and important than it really is.* How being humiliated, rather than merely humbled, can be a catalyst...
2022-08-1547 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #11Rowan Williams-Short, head of fixed-income at Vunani Fund Managers, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 2 of 3), Rowan tells:* How his investment performance improved when he stopped trying to be a hero, i.e. when he deliberately decided to not be quite so ambitious about his numbers.* How making forecasts in financial markets is a perilous activity: you have to be both right and in the minority.* How he found only 10% of the international hedge-fund managers that he interviewed to be “intriguing”. The rest were “desper...
2022-08-0146 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #10Rowan Williams-Short, head of fixed-income at Vunani Fund Managers, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode (part 1 of 3), Rowan tells:* How he naturally understood probabilities as a kid playing board games with dice, and how his maths and stats training honed his ability to deal with more complex probability problems.* How most market participants are unable to think probabilistically, and how that creates investment opportunities.* How he developed deep respect for unknowns in the securities markets, and how that informs his philosophy of inference....
2022-07-1846 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #9Deon Gouws, CIO of Credo, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode, Deon tells:* How the most formative experience of his career came from being “technically bankrupt” for a few weeks, due to having a long and geared position in a single stock that tanked as interest rates rose sharply.* How being a good CIO means having to be skilled at both investment management and people management.* How he learned to wear his own opinions lightly (“don’t believe your own b******t”).We also discu...
2022-06-201h 10
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #8Sean Peche, PM and founder of Ranmore Fund Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.In this episode, Sean tells:* Why it’s important to be careful about stock stories. The stock price changes long before the story does, and by the time the story changes, you’ve lost your money.* How value managers are just as prone as growth managers to falling prey to false narratives about stocks and markets.* How there’s a lack of evidence that larger investment teams deliver better invest...
2022-05-231h 10
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #7Khaya Gobodo, MD of Old Mutual Investments, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast. The recording-quality of the more important end of the conversation is unfortunately quite poor. I hope you’ll find that the exceptional quality of Khaya’s engagement more than compensates for my technical deficiencies.In this episode Khaya tells:* How it feels to get a call at 11pm from a government minister when your organisation pulls a credit line to a state-owned enterprise.* How easily conflicts of interest are resolved if you always act in the b...
2022-04-261h 16
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #6In this episode Charles tells:* How he took advantage of his big break to change the arc of his career.* How he balances logical analysis with intuition.* How the best way to get rich is … slowly.We also discussed:* The degree to which perfectionists struggle as portfolio managers.* The importance of culture, and cultural fit, in investment teams.* The probability of failure of smaller asset management firms in SA.Charles De Kock is co-head of absolute return funds at Coronation Fund Ma...
2022-03-141h 10
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #5In this episode (the second of two) Dave tells:* How to finish first, first you must finish* How being right can be uncomfortable * How important it is to know yourself.We also discussed:* How crypto is a con that works if everybody believes, and how that is also true for gold and fiat currency* How negative real interest rates means we no longer have a yardstick of risk-free return, but rather return-free risk* How regulation is a massive tax on the investment industry, w...
2022-01-3143 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #4In this episode (the first of two) Dave tells:* How the highlight of his career is to have survived in the industry for 40+ years* How it felt to be seen as an idiot for not loading up on tech stocks on the DotCom Bubble* How he still tap-dances to work every day.We also discussed:* How the decision to turn down money had the effect of turning the gatekeepers against him* How most people are not good investors because they don’t properly understand probability an...
2022-01-1754 min
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #3Rob tells:* How feeling helpless in the wake of 9/11 enabled him to strip away illusions of control* How market conditions change but the human psyche does not* How attacking an analyst is not the same as interrogating an investment thesis.We also discussed:* How the green economy is attracting real capex, and is an investable phenomenon* How tough it is to manage money and manage an investment firm at the same time* How an ability to listen well is characteristic of excellent investment...
2021-12-061h 03
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #2Delphine tells:* How gender and race are proudly part of her identity, but they don’t define her* How meritocracy is not compromised when you pursue diversity* How much hypocrisy surrounds ESG investing.We also discussed:* How the job of an analyst is changing dramatically* How easy it is to confuse confidence and conviction and competence* How having the wrong owners can destroy an investment firm.Delphine Govender is co-owner and CIO of Perpetua Investment Managers, a firm she founded in 2012.
2021-11-081h 01
Investment CommunityInvestment Community #1Anet and I had a wide-ranging conversation that I found fascinating. Some surprising moments:* How it felt for her to be mistaken for the tea-lady* How repositioning a portfolio can feel like swapping children* How important empathy is for investment professionals.We also discussed:* How to change the trajectory of your career* How to develop a psychological edge* How to create a winning culture.Anet Ahern is CEO of PSG Asset Management, a position she has held since 2013.
2021-10-1258 min
Investment CommunityIntroducing "Investment Community"Newdigate Insights is getting an upgrade. I’m adding a podcast to the existing newsletter.To keep things clear and simple, I’ve created two sections in Newdigate Insights:* In My Opinion. This is the existing newsletter, which is a series of articles to help investment professionals get better at dealing with the soft issues of investment management.* Investment Community. This is the forthcoming podcast, which is a series of conversations with the most insightful players in the financial markets ecosystem. It’s a podcast for investment professionals.Investment CommunityIn t...
2021-09-2202 min