Citywire Selector Podcast

Brokers in Wall Street still tell stories about the time 'Queen of the Court' Regina Borromeo remained undefeated for years during her years in Manhattan. After all, to win various tennis and squash championships at university and share courts with some of the most renowned players in the world is something very few people get to do. Nevertheless, while she managed to handle both her sports and educational careers during her teenage years, Borromeo decided that going professional wasn't for her. However, she kept her passion high up in her priorities list. She competed with the Philippines team in the Asian Games in 2018 against rivals half her age, before becoming director of global macro fixed income at Robeco.

Sam Gratton spent a decade in the City working as a credit salesman selling bonds, credit derivatives and structured credit for companies such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Santander. However, he found himself one day in the need to escape the finance ‘vortex' as he needed to do something more creative. He then studied film in London, but this eventually led him to establish his own company in Madrid, Spain. He decided to become an English teacher, coach and mentor for high profile business professionals.

In the third episode of the Breaking & Entering new series, we deep dive into the world of classical music, and how an academic musician can easily move towards asset management. Chris Ford now manages the Sanlam AI Artificial Intelligence fund, but there was a time when his job was about deciphering eco-musicology and why French music is still very much a world of its own. A holder of bachelors and masters in music and now head of growth equities at Sanlam Investments, Ford talks about the ‘need for silence' both in asset management decision-making and a string quarter performance.

In the second episode of the Breaking & Entering new series, we discover the story of Tom Hancock, who went from being a research scientist at IBM surrounded by punched cards and noisy computers, to work in asset management at GMO. Hancock studied computer science at Harvard University and wasn't particularly interested in finance, until he decided to give it a go after a few experiences in the science field. Get ready to jump on the Citywire Selector Delorean and travel back to the days of (un)flat monitors and old-school coding, when receiving an email seemed like magic.

Even though many Article 8 funds under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation don't have buzzwords like ‘ESG' in the names, their inclusion sends a stronger signal to investors. Speaking to Citywire Selector Hortense Bioy, head of ESG research at Morningstar, said if a fund's name doesn't include ‘ESG' or sustainability terms, these issues are unlikely to play a central role in the strategy. ‘I'm not saying that these funds do not consider ESG factors, many are now doing it. But these factors are, more often than not, non-binding.' Also in this podcast Bioy discusses Morningstar's decision to reduce the number of funds it deems sustainable, and what the invasion of Ukraine means for sustainable investments.

Breaking & Entering is back, with ex figure skating athlete Alban Préaubert as the first guest in the second series of the podcast. In this episode, the Sycomore AM fund manager tells Daniel Ruiz about his switch from competing for France in World Championships and GPs all around the globe, to asset management. The Frenchman, who is now focused on overseeing several small and mid caps strategies, believes that professional competition and finance share many values and lessons, which he still applies on a daily basis.

In this episode of EM Insider, Raphael Kassin shares his thoughts on how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has hit specific markets and what investment decisions he has noticed both in the lead up and following the onset of the conflict. Also in this episode, Kassin tells Citywire Selector reporter, Krystle Higgins his own investment strategy in the hours and days after the war began. Kassin also shares predictions on Russia's future place within global markets in the months and years ahead, as well as what role China may play.

While the traditional ‘gentleman's club' ethos may not be as visible as it once was, female fund managers still face daily obstacles not experienced by male peers. That's according to Polar Capital's Naomi Waistell, who spoke about her experience and ascent through the financial industry as part of a special podcast produced for International Women's Day 2022. Waistell said daily sexism still exists within the industry, which is perhaps most keenly felt at times when a group of men in a meeting might expect her to be there to make hot drinks for attendees rather than to present investment ideas.

The increasing importance of ESG and sustainability-focused roles is helping to boost the number of women working in finance. This is according to Susanne Bolin Gärtner, head of fund and manager selection at Danske Bank, who has noticed this significant shift in the last couple of years. Also in this podcast the fund buyer explains why she is sceptical about gender-focused funds and how remote working has changed her options when it comes to hiring specialists outside of the Nordic region for her team.

Stewardship is a powerful tool for investors to nudge companies towards better diversity practices, even though asset managers are still relatively timid at filing resolutions addressing the topic. This is according to Deborah Gilshan, founder of the 100% Club, who talked about the highlights of the recently published FTSE Women Leaders, formerly known as Hampton-Alexander Review. Also in this podcast she explains what a good company culture looks like and why it is important for firms to go beyond gender diversity.

It's tempting to solve diversity issues through CEO compensation incentives, but investors need to understand the problem is more nuanced. This is according to Anna Snider, head of due diligence for the wealth management division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who said there is not enough data to show this approach works. ‘It is also good to have economic incentives and disincentives. It is about what the knock-on effect of that is and what CEOs or organisations in general end up doing, in order to achieve that.' Also in this podcast, Snider explains how her team interacts with asset managers on diversity data and where companies can still do better.

Which EM countries were the biggest winners and losers in 2021, and where should investors look to in 2022? Emerging market debt expert Raphael Kassin shares his thoughts on the year ahead, as well as what a Russian invasion of Ukraine would look like for the market.

There are a number of experienced female professionals in the fund industry, but many lack the confidence to speak up, which diminishes their chances of being seen. Speaking to Citywire Selector, Manuela Froehlich, co-founder of the Fondsfrauen network, said media training is key in promoting talented female voices in the industry and can help them deal with imposter syndrome. ‘If more female fund managers are visible, this means other female fund managers are watching and thinking: “She is out there, I can do this”.' Also in this video Froehlich talks about her experience of judging Citywire Gender Diversity awards and what asset managers can do better on gender diversity.

When analysing strategies, fund selectors often consider financial metrics and whether a fund lives up to its stated return profile or investment strategy. However, softer aspects, such as the diversity of the portfolio management team, are often overlooked even though they can lead to better decision making. In this episode of Citywire Selector's podcast we talk to Nick Samuels, head of manager research at Redington, and Nisha Long, our head of ESG and cross-border research, about their experience of judging the Citywire Gender Diversity awards and how they think fund groups could improve. Samuels also talks about Redington's internal diversity research and why alternative managers often lag their traditional equity and fixed income peers on these issues.

The Covid-19 pandemic is often painted as solely a healthcare story but other areas stand to benefit and, by extension, investors may soon face an intriguing array of new thematic strategies to capitalise on the most prominent themes. That's the view of Aanand Venkatramanan, head of ETF investment strategies and index funds at Legal & General Investment Management. In the final episode of this series of Future Thinking, Venkatramanan delves into the themes that came to the fore and what the next wave of innovation could potential involve.

Investors want to go green more than ever before but concerns rage over how to accurately measure what they are doing and whether they are running very quickly in the wrong direction. So, what can they do about it? In this latest episode of Future Thinking, Tatjana Puhan, deputy chief investment officer of systematic boutique Tobam Asset Management, looks at the nuances around ‘raw' data, the realities of biases creeping in regardless and how processing power will eventually turn the tide. Also in this episode, Puhan talks about her efforts to have more of an impact on the way ESG is discussed by pushing for a role within the UN's investor network, PRI.

Gary Moglione likes music but he likes royalty revenues more. The specialist investor, who works for Momentum Investment Management, has amassed a portfolio of pop picks that produce a steady stream of returns for his clients. In this latest episode of Future Thinking, the UK-based portfolio manager looks at how CDs were always ripe for disruption, how streaming platforms can stay one step ahead and what that means for the future of how artists get paid.

The outlook for independent asset managers has come under increased scrutiny following a wave of mega-mergers, but Dominic Johnson believes boutiques still have a huge amount to offer even if the challenges are becoming more and more apparent. In this podcast, Johnson, who is CEO and co-founder of Somerset Capital, talked about ‘excessive regulation', the role of Brexit on London's boutique culture and why investors would be foolish to focus their attentions solely at the giant fund houses. Also in this episode, Johnson, who is also the former chair of the boutique lobby group IIMI (Independent Investment Management Initiative), said changes to fund structures could also favour companies at the smaller end of the industry.

The term greenwashing is used a lot these days, but it's not much use for investors in the absence of commonly-agreed definitions of sustainability. This is according to Hortense Bioy, global director of sustainability research at Morningstar, who said greenwashing sometimes results from different perceptions of what is and isn't green. ‘There are different approaches that meet different investor needs and preferences, and investors shouldn't rely on the label or a name, they should ensure they thoroughly understand a fuzzy ESG objective and investment process. ‘They should also look at the portfolio to check the holdings are in line with the expectations,' she added. Also in this podcast, Bioy explains why asset managers need sustainability experts and how investors can deal with climate transition challenges.

The ‘emerging middle class' may be among the most touted topics when it comes to areas of investment potential, but what is the reality of opportunities when it comes to investing with a demographics mindset? In this latest episode of Future Thinking, Henk Grootveld, head of trends investing, Lombard Odier Investment Managers, said there needs to be a keen focused on all aspects of the story, not just what younger generations can bring. Grootveld believes there are sizeable shifts going on in both the developed and emerging worlds. But, with an aging economy and millennial ‘job hoppers', how can you best harness these switches and will the asset management industry remain a ‘sexy' career path for future generations?

The plethora of green taxonomies will pose a challenge for global asset managers and could unwittingly lead to greenwashing. Speaking to Citywire Selector Gill Lofts, global sustainable leader at EY, said the sheer number of frameworks defining green businesses in different countries will cause headaches for investment firms. Lofts said fund groups could throw a lot of money and technology at the problem, but juggling different taxonomies is still likely to lead to mistakes. ‘You might have potential greenwashing just through clients misunderstanding what it is they're investing in,' Lofts said. Also in this podcast, Lofts spoke about the inflation of salaries for sustainability experts and why asset managers still need head of sustainability.

The pandemic has pushed more and more of us online, but who is making the best use of these new technological tools? Citywire AA-rated Rayna Lesser Hannaway of Polen Capital believes small-caps are at the forefront of this change. On this latest episode of Future Thinking, Hannaway outlines how the internet has ‘democratised' previously uneven parts of the playing field, with smaller firms now able to contend with companies which have existed for hundreds of years. Hannaway, who runs three small-cap funds, looked at the digitalisation of different industries and how the pandemic has led to leaner, more efficiency-focused companies than ever before.

Auditors have an important part to play in the fight against climate change and need to adjust their reporting requirements to reflect that. This is according to Natasha Landell-Mills, head of stewardship and partner at Sarasin & Partners, who said this is one of the reasons why the asset manager decided to write an open letter to the four big audit firms asking them to put more effort into climate disclosures. Also in this podcast Landell-Mills explains how the firm engaged with Shell and what she thought were the biggest wins and misses of COP26.

‘The US is bloody good at tech, and Europe's bloody good at ESG'. Strong words from arch contrarian James Sym, who was the latest guest on Citywire Selector's Future Thinking podcast. Sym, who swapped Schroders for River & Mercantile at the start of 2021, operates with a Europe ex-UK mindset and here he outlined how he has found opportunities in continental Europe with his new unconstrained approach. In this discussion, Sym outlined what lingering affect Brexit has had on investors in the region, as well as looking at the pervasive nature of ESG with regards to the majority of future asset allocation calls.

A number of firms have reclassified their Article 8 funds into Article 9 strategies this year, but such transitions shouldn't always be a red flag for investors. That's according to Neill Blanks, research director at advisory firm MainStreet Partners, who said some companies with long-standing ESG expertise originally made assumptions that were too conservative.

What can investors do to both limit food waste and benefit from the companies at the forefront of this particular fight? Jeneiv Shah is among those at the forefront of the battle to keep healthy produce out of our bins. In the latest episode of Future Thinking, Shah, who co-runs the Sarasin Food and Agriculture Opportunities fund, outlines where he sees opportunities around consumption and production of food resources.

Has the time finally come for emerging markets' sovereign debt to outshine its corporate equivalent? Raphael Kassin thinks so, but he is unsure many market participants have properly picked up on such a pivotal moment. Kassin, who is now head of emerging markets hard currency debt at Itaú Asset Management, said November 5 – or Fireworks Night in the UK - marked a crossover point for the asset class, with government-issued debt outperforming the corporate market for the first time in 2021. While this doesn't make the EMD complex any less challenging, Kassin said it opens up the potential for developing world debt to deliver a return of flat to 5% for the year as a whole. [Chris Sloley is the editor of Citywire Selector]

Greenpeace Germany has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen for not meeting 1.5 degrees warming scenario, however the firm's electrification efforts might be more important than its misalignment with net-zero targets. This is according to Henrik Pontzen, head of ESG at Union Investment, who said they are still backing the company based on the progress made within its electric car business. ‘I don't think it is a good idea to sue a relatively good car company, with a good transition pathway, when there are plenty of other car manufacturers that are worse [in that regard],' Ponzen said. Also in this podcast, Ponzen discusses what were the biggest achievements of COP26, why the Union Investment team focuses on variable compensation of CEOs and why asset managers have to improve the way they exclude companies.

Alex Gunz has made it his business to understand how trends play out and which thematic concepts actually have long-term viability. In this first episode of the third series of Future Thinking, the Heptagon Capital manager outlines what it takes to tackle thematics without getting overawed by marketing and media excitement. Gunz, who runs the Heptagon Future Trends Equity fund, also outlines why he believes the dynamic around investing in pets has got genuine potential, while casting warnings about other areas that are gathering momentum.

Investors can't reduce decarbonisation discussions to investment in renewables, as some vital economic sectors need to be set on the right path. This is according to Wim Van Hyfte, global head of ESG investments and research at Candriam, who said tackling fossil fuels will have a massive knock-on effect on the energy sector at large. '[Energy] is so crucial to the economic structure that you can't just unplug fossil fuels from our systems,' he said. Also in this podcast Van Hyfte talks about his expectations from the COP26 conference and how investors should approach climate challenges from the overall asset allocation perspective.

Although specific areas like coal-fired power generation will be under fire during the COP26 conference, asset managers have to start thinking about the impact of climate change on their overall portfolio. Andrew Howard, global head of sustainable investment at Schroders, says that instead of focusing on the types of assets or sectors investors want to be exposed to, managers need to start looking at the bigger picture. As part of this podcast, Howard also talks to us about the importance of carbon pricing, international cooperation and why the social part of the climate transition should not be overlooked.

The COP26 climate conference taking place in Glasgow is only a month away and investors have both high hopes and reservations about its outcomes. Citywire Selector is temporarily rebranding Let's Talk About ESG as Let's Talk About COP, to find out more about asset managers' expectations and the impact the summit for their future investment decisions. Our first guest is Eoin Murray, chief investment officer of Federated Hermes' international business, who said that the number one priority for everyone involved in climate science is to agree on the rulebook that will determine exactly how Paris Agreement targets are implemented.

China's corporate governance is shifting into unknown areas. Brazil is stuck between a political rock and a hard place. Argentina is offering up welfare reform to get its latest government through some tricky mid-terms. It can only mean it's time for our EM Insider to review the latest goings on. Following a summer hiatus, Raphael Kassin, now of Itaú, is back and means business. In this bumper return-to-work episode, we cover the current dynamics of local and hard currency investing, look at political challenges and even have time to take shots at Amazon rainforest crusaders Norway's own track record on ESG. Something for everyone.

As part of this special edition of Citywrie Selector podcast, head of ESG and cross-border research Nisha Long and the founder of the 100% Club Deborah Gilshan discuss some of the biggest findings and where they see the asset managers' policies on gender moving next.

If carbon prices were to reach $75-per-tonne of CO2 emissions, even ESG-screened global equity indices will not immune from the fall in valuations. That is a scenario modelled by the team led by Nikesh Patel, head of investment strategy at Kempen, who calculated that global equity valuations could decline on average by 4% and even by 20%, if Scope 3 emissions are taken into account. In this podcast, Patel explains what allocators can do beyond investing in sustainable strategies and what he expects from the forthcoming COP26 summit.

Few fund managers have built billion-dollar empires and shared a stage with likes of The Rolling Stones, but Edouard Carmignac isn't like most managers. In this extended interview with Citywire Selector, Edouard talks through the intricacies of setting up as a ‘one-man-show' in the 1980s and how he would struggle to repeat that success today. It also covers his current role in the company, having dropped day-to-day fund management, a throw forward to when he might not be involved at all and his current thinking about ‘steroid' induced financial markets floating on a ‘delusion of liquidity'

There is no denying that firms need to increase their decarbonisation efforts, but they should also be mindful of their workforce and what the transition might mean for job security. In this podcast Ashley Hamilton Claxton, head of responsible investment at Royal London Asset Management, discusses how the asset manager worked with UK utility firm SSE to develop its first ‘just' transition strategy. Hamilton Claxton also talks about the importance of setting a global carbon price and why delaying certain aspects of Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation is a good thing.

Chess players. Professional sportsmen. Opera singers. All of these disciplines require ongoing training and coaching, so why should the world of fund management be any different? One person trying to bridge this gap is Josh Jacobson, chief operating officer for equities at UK boutique Cheyne Capital. Jacobson has zeroed in on efforts to try and give his fund managers an edge by reviewing, assessing and attempting to improve their performance. With more data available than ever before, how do you target the right areas for improvement? In this episode of Future Thinking, Jacobson draws on sporting examples and also experiences from across his career to look at the opportunities – and potential challenges – here.

Thematic offerings are becoming more and more crucial in the world of ETFs, as providers seek innovative ways to gain traction, but those that can specifically cater to female investor needs stand to win big. That is according to Roxane Sanguinetti, head of fixed income and investor relations at ETF market maker GHCO. Speaking on the latest episode of Future Thinking, Sanguinetti laid bare the current thinking in ETF creation and highlighted the gap surrounding female investors. In this episode, Sanguinetti also discussed the limitations for indexing, the role of ARK Invest in bringing attention to more specialised investment ideas and why the pricing argument is becoming less of a focal point.

Corporate boards need a major overhaul and chief executives need to be taken to task over what they are really achieving when it comes to ethics and improvement, or they should be hastily removed. That is according to economist and author Dambisa Moyo, who joined Citywire Selector for of the most recent episode of Future Thinking. Offering insights from her latest book, How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World, Moyo talked about the ‘necessary evil' of quota systems, diversity of thought at board level, and what the three key functions of an efficient board should be.

In this new episode of Why Inclusion?, investment director Phoebe Smith delves into the various ways infrastructure can be inclusive for all communities. The Whitehelm Capital's investment director shares investment ideas that the team implemented with the Whitehelm Capital smart-city infrastructure fund, which was launched in 2018. Smith also argues that an investor ought to apply the principles of their investment philosophy to their corporate policies and exemplifies Whitehelm's course of actions when it comes to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion initiatives.

‘Everything was going well until one day something happened’. The old foreign correspondent maxim has never been more relevant to the emerging market than it is today, according to EM debt expert Raphael Kassin. On the latest episode of EM Insider, Kassin talks through the breaking situation in Belarus, the varying levels of investor appetite across Latin America and lifts the lid on Lula’s surprise return to the very top of Brazilian politics.

‘We were very disappointed’. Peter Habermacher was left scratching his head when it came to finding a properly clued-in fund manager to help him unlock the true potential of cryptocurrency. So, he decided to do it himself. In this latest episode of Citywire Selector’s ‘Future Thinking’, Habermacher, who co-founded Aaro Capital with Ankush Jain and Sébastien Jardon, explained how the marketplace has evolved and changed over a relatively short space of time. Habermacher digs deep into the realities of DLT – distributed ledger technologies – and how ‘smart contracts’ will really reshape business ventures. He also discusses the increasingly controversial topic of the environmental impacts of crypto mining.

‘2020 was the year that AI came of age in the wider world’. That is according to Nick Williams, analyst on the Polar Capital Automation and Artificial Intelligence fund. Speaking on the latest episode of Citywire Selector’s Future Thinking podcast, Williams discussed how the sector advanced over the past year and, crucially, what is likely to come next. In this discussion, Williams also touches upon the age-old debate of man versus machine, the role of the emerging world in either catching-up to AI acceleration or even leading the charge and what sources of research to trust as the story evolves.

Citywire Selector’s Why Inclusion? series returns with a new episode tackling two inclusive topics at once: climate change and gender-lens investing. In this episode, investor and consultant Suzanne Biegel expounds on the reasons why climate change, which is a man-made problem, can be solved with gender-lens investing. According to Biegel, who founded gender-lens initiative GenderSmart, investors should start making internal changes in their teams, as well as in their portfolios to embrace the biggest opportunity of our time.

As asset managers are signing up to achieve net zero carbon emissions, they have to face up to the challenge of adequately measuring physical climate risks. Speaking hot-on-the-heels of the US climate summit, Wendy Cromwell, director of sustainable investments at Wellington Management, explained what she learned from the panel with special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry. Also in this podcast, Cromwell explains why it was important for the asset manager to team up with Woodwell Climate Research centre, which climate solutions the firm is offering and how ramped up its voting record.

The media focus on Elon Musk has made space an attractive topic once again. Almost exactly 50 years after man first stepped on the Moon, there is no palpable interest in what riches could lie in Earth’s near orbit and, crucially, how we access them. In this episode of Future Thinking, Simon Drake, co-founder of Space Ventures Investors, charts a course for the future of investing in space. What will it take to make a meaningful return from investing in this area and what does it actually entail? During the discussion, Drake touches upon space mining laws, the inability to actually own anything in space – as a result of the Cold War – and why the sector is the ultimate testing ground for innovation, as space will do everything it can to kill new inventions.

The challenges faced by scandal-hit China Huarong Asset Management – Huarong – show that China is willing to let state-backed darlings fade in order to reflect a healthier view of their markets to the wider world. That is according to our EM Insider, Raphael Kassin. In this latest podcast, Kassin talks zombie companies in China’s fast-growing market and also reflects on a month which saw a positive surprise for fans of fiscal conservativism in South America. All that and a deep dive into what EMD investors can really expect in terms of returns.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a mental health crisis of never-before-seen proportions and the implications for how companies both attract and nurture talent now hinge on how their cultural priorities. Marisa Hall, co-head of the Thinking Ahead Institute at Willis Towers Watson, joined the latest episode of Future Thinking to look at how the working world will evolve as offices and other working environments return to normal. In this podcast, Hall delves into the challenges now posed by a year of working remotely, how ‘soft skills’ are harder to ascertain than ever before and why, when all is said and done, culture ultimately eats strategy for breakfast.

Facebook, Google and Twitter have to put their violent and offensive content under control, otherwise they risk losing their users and advertisers. Speaking to Citywire Selector, Marte Borhaug, head of sustainable outcomes at Aviva Investors, explained why investor should pressure social media platforms on these sensitive issues. Also in this podcast, Borhaug explains the importance of the World Benchmarking Alliance and how Aviva Investors is planning to engage with social media giants this year.

eSports has risen from nowhere to be a genuine counterpoint to the world of physical sports. Fuelled by hundreds of millions of participants matched with hundreds of millions prize money, as well as a whole host of adjacent industries, how long can this boom period last? In the latest edition of Future Thinking, Degroof Petercam fund manager Quirien Lemey, who co-runs the DPAM Invest B Equities NewGems Sustainable, walks Citywire Selector through the opportunities this sector can offer investors.