The Wealth Show: Recent Episodes
Citywire
Our weekly podcast offers rare access to the sharpest minds in investment, along with insights from top executives in the wealth and fund management industry. Find out what makes these individuals tick and where they see the best opportunities in global markets.
Matthew Norris, head of real estate securities at Gravis, dives into his own digital infrastructure fund and the real assets behind data and technology.
Citywire A-rated Richard de Lisle‘s small cap strategy has outperformed the S&P 500 despite avoiding US tech which has driven the index’s most recent exuberant returns.
According to Alec Cutler, a long-time vocal critic of ESG, telling emerging markets to not use fossil fuels is hypocritical, and means that they ‘won’t develop’.
Jupiter's Richard Watts discusses the IPO opportunities for Chrysalis, after the investment trust has fallen to a near 50% discount to its net asset value (NAV).
Travis Spence, head of EMEA ETF distribution at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, explains the structural difficulties that have prevented UK investors from opting for exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Caroline Hug catches up with Morningstar global director of sustainability Hortense Bioy to discuss the FCA’s Sustainable Disclosure Requirements (SDR).
Marlborough multi-asset CIO Nathan Sweeney and Ruffer investment director Duncan MacInnes fight it out over whether the market is entering a new inflationary era.
After being one of the first to predict the devastating Credit Crunch that followed the 2008 financial crisis, Ann Pettifor chastises central banks for repeating the same mistakes that lead to global recessions.
Assets in the small cap veteran Paul Jourdan's Amati UK Listed Smaller Companies fund have dipped from over £1bn to £619m over a year, but he remains bullish on tech and asset managers.
Alex Rodman, winger for Bristol Rovers and director of Sterling James Wealth Management, co-founded the firm four and a half years ago to provide footballers with the financial advice.
First Eagle’s Bill Hench said private equity buyouts can be a foe to the small-cap investor, even if a premium is paid for shares.
First Eagle’s Bill Hench said private equity buyouts can be a foe to the small-cap investor, even if a premium is paid for shares.
Ben Mackie, fund manager at Hawksmoor Investment Management, discusses why the firm decided to sell out of real assets and which funds it sold. He also reveals what the firm held onto and why, including private equity trusts.
Ben Mackie, fund manager at Hawksmoor Investment Management, discusses why the firm decided to sell out of real assets and which funds it sold. He also reveals what the firm held onto and why, including private equity trusts.
JM Finn chief executive Hugo Bedford says that growing consolidation in the UK wealth management space has sprung up opportunities to poach staff from competitors. He noted that JM Finn had received more enquires recently from rivals than it had in the past decade.
JM Finn chief executive Hugo Bedford says that growing consolidation in the UK wealth management space has sprung up opportunities to poach staff from competitors. He noted that JM Finn had received more enquires recently from rivals than it had in the past decade.
Citywire Wealth Manager's Ross Miller welcomes Charlie White-Thomson, CEO of Saxo UK to the Citywire studio. They discuss how the new generation of investors must adapt to a new paradigm, the race to the bottom in fees (is there such things as a free lunch?), and how a decade-long Goldilocks period has shaped investors' attitude to risk.
Citywire AA-rated Troy Trojan manager Sebastian Lyon said that he reduced his stake in Microsoft and Alphabet over the summer, as he believes market optimism is too high. This was before the tech giants announced that sales had slowed in Q3.
The fund manager also said he is ‘battening down the hatches’ and buying short-dated government bonds. Another defensive play in the fund has been to hold a large position in gold.
Abrdn’s Harry Nimmo, who is retiring at the end of the year, has seen a lot in a fund management career spanning nearly 40 years. Something he finds particularly disturbing is the emergence of short-sellers, which he says robs companies of the ability to turn things around.
Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, speaks about contagion in open-ended UK property funds, after three major strategies gated last week on the back of pension outflows.
Creasey speaks about where there are some opportunities in the sector, and why some REIts are down 40% this year.
Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, speaks about contagion in open-ended UK property funds, after three major strategies gated last week on the back of pension outflows.
Creasey speaks about where there are some opportunities in the sector, and why some REIts are down 40% this year.
Rathbones co-CIO Edward Smith talks about asset allocation under fiercely volatile conditions, why short-dated US T-Bills are a 'free lunch' for cash-heavy investors, and why mortgage pain could cause a 20% fall in UK property prices.
Araminta Emery explains why she joined Cazenove as an associate wealth planner after a career as a dentist for the RAF.
Caroline Hug sat down with Alpha Female’s top-performing UK female fund manager, Citywire AAA-rated Grace Le, to discuss why bonds have faced what many believe to be the asset class’s worst year in history. The Artemis Corporate Bond manager explains why performance has been challenging, and how the fund has adapted to volatile market conditions.
Jerran Whyte, founder of Belvedere Wealth Management and former SJP partner, spoke about the importance of representation in the UK financial services industry and what drove him to set up a black-owned wealth management firm targeted at members of the black community.
Africa, the world's second largest continent, attracted $83bn of foreign direct investment in 2021. Peter Townshend, Africa equity fund manager at Sanlam Investments, believes that the time is now to invest in Africa and despite its risks the continent is endowed with untapped potential that investors can exploit.
In economic conditions unseen for decades, many investors are looking for a hiding place. Wealth Manager's Ross Miller catches up with Dr Jimmy Muchechetere, healthcare equity analyst at Investec, to explore the current outlook for the pharma/healthcare sector, the role of healthcare in a broader portfolio, and the relationship between healthcare and private investment. They also reflect on the past three years and the importance of pandemic preparedness.
Chris Rodgers, head of investments at Sanlam speaks about investing through tougher market conditions.
He believes there’s too much gloom around Faang stocks, and that there are certain opportunities to be had in consumer staples and housebuilders.
Earlier this week Sue Noffke, head of UK equities at Schroders, spoke about investing in the UK market, despite recessionary fears.
She looked at why FTSE large laps aren’t necessarily tied to the health of the UK economy, but also why some mid-caps shouldn’t be disregarded.
Daniel Pinto, founder, chairman & CEO of Stanhope Capital Group spoke to Citywire’s Christopher Johnson about why he is bullish on private equity.
Pinto also discussed the impact of inflation on the global economy and why he does not think high levels of inflation will be a permanent feature going forward. He talked about the effect of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the world and shared his views on whether the war has sparked de-globalisation.
The World Economic Forum’s Alice Charles speaks to Caroline Hug about the biggest challenges facing urban development, and why investors need to allocate capital to social community.
Newton’s CEO Euan Munro spoke to John Schaffer about how physical health can be a warning sign for degrading mental health.
He spoke candidly about how he developed Bell's Palsy as a fund manager during the financial crisis, due to the immense stresses of the job.
Alex Pelteshki, AAA-rated manager of the Aegon Strategic Bond fund, told John Schaffer that there are still opportunities to make money in fixed income despite a torrid time for the asset class in 2022.
In this episode of desert island fund picks, Dan Boardman-Weston, CEO and CIO of BRI Wealth Management, names his top strategies for the next year.
The following clip is an extract from a profile interview that will be available on the Citywire Wealth Manager website later this month, where we discuss Dan taking over the top job from his father at only 29 years old.
Head of multi-strategy at Sanlam Investments UK, Mike Pinggera, joined Citywire to discuss the Sanlam Real Assets fund’s allocation in renewable energy and his outlook on the clean energy sector following the war in Ukraine.
Almost a third of the fund’s weighting is in renewable energy. 60% of this allocation has exposure to onshore and offshore wind, 10% has exposure to solar, 10% has exposure to hydro and the rest focus on other renewable areas.
Bryn Jones, head of fixed income at Rathbones discussed how he has managed his £2.5bn Ethical Bond fund under strenuous market conditions.
The strategy, which the Citywire AA-rated manager runs alongside Noelle Cazalis, was launched almost 20 years ago, before the creation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Fidelity signed a partnership with fintech platform Moonfare and invested in the company in October. As part of the tie-up, Fidelity’s clients are able to access Moonfare’s platform, and therefore invest in private equity funds that are on there.
Christian Staub, managing director for Europe at Fidelity, says client demand has been significant and for now they are targeting institutional investors in the UK and select countries in Europe, but the firm will open up the offering to others step by step.
On the other hand, Moonfare has been on an accelerated growth path. Just last month the group expanded into Israel, Portugal and Sweden. In terms of products as well, CEO Steffen Pauls says the firm is looking at different options, such as securitisation, tokenisation and the European Long Term Investment fund, to bring private equity funds to retail investors.
Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly speaks about the firm’s £279m deal to buy Charles Stanley.
Multimedia editor John Schaffer caught up with Paul last week at a restaurant in London where they also spoke about valuations in the UK wealth market.
It’s worth noting that the conversation was recorded before RBC’s recent deal to buy Brewin Dolphin for £1.6bn.
Brooks Macdonald chief executive Andrew Shepherd has said his firm may have set over-ambitious goals for its switch to a new operating system.
During a visit to Citywire Studios, Shepherd spoke about the delay in the transition to SS&C Technologies software, which increased the wealth firm’s costs, as it missed a late 2021 deadline to make the move.
In this episode YT Boon, manager of the Neuberger Berman 5G Connectivity fund, looks at the opportunities in this emerging sector, and explains why performance has been more challenging of late, even in comparison with other tech funds.
It’s worth noting that this podcast was recorded becore Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
Christopher Johnson sat down with the author of Black and British: A Forgotten History and renowned broadcaster, David Olusoga OBE.
Recorded at the Citywire Wealth Manager Conference & Awards, Olusoga discusses the legacies of the British Empire on the UK’s financial services industry, the importance of understanding these histories for Britain’s national identity and how the politicisation of race issues has not dampened the younger generation’s interest in exploring these topics.
Dame Helena Morrissey discussed the lack of diversity in the fund industry and how her initiative, The Diversity Project, aims to promote a new image of fund management that is representative of society at large.
Morrissey experienced discrimination after being passed over for her first promotion following her maternity leave. Her manager clarified that although the company believed there was no doubt as to her performance, they doubted her commitment.
In this episode Michael Scott, manager of the Man GLG High Yield Opportunities fund, looks at which regions are offering the best rewards at the lower end of the debt market,
He also speaks about some of the poorer quality issuances that have entered into the high yield space recently.
It’s worth noting that this podcast was recorded before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week.
Kyra Motley, partner at law firm Boodle Hatfield, suggests the Investor Visa’s ‘dirty money’ reputation is unfair, and why the Home Office shouldn’t have temporarily scrapped the scheme last week.
Majedie fund manager Tom Morris talks about the Metaverse, and he is investing in the new wave of the internet.
We also speak about how luxury brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry are rolling out virtual products in these new digital spaces.
Stephen Yiu, manager of the Blue Whale Growth fund, spoke about his narrow escape from both Meta and PayPal’s dismal share price dips last week.
At the end of June last year, Facebook was the third largest holding in Blue Whale Growth at 6.9%. However, Yiu said that he had been gradually lowering the holding during the second half of the year, and that before the firm’s results last week the holding was less than 1% of the portfolio.
Traditional asset managers have ramped up efforts to expand their private markets divisions, not only targeting institutions with their products but also leveraging their existing relationships with wealth managers and advisers to launch funds targeting this growing segment of customers.
Schroders Capital has made sure that it is leading this trend. In this interview, Rainer Ender, head of private equity at Schroders Capital, talks about the asset manager’s product plans, how it will be in the first wave of managers using the UK’s Long-Term Asset Fund and why he’s not worried about returns coming down.
Jordan Sriharan speaks about his move from Canaccord Genuity to Canada Life Asset Management; and how he’s tackling inflation as a multi asset investor.
We look at his holdings in major private equity firms, and why he hasn’t written of big tech.
Microsoft is discussed later in this podcast, and it’s worth noting that this conversation took place before the firm’s latest earnings report and it’s $69bn bid for Activision Blizzard.
Our first episode back for 2022 is with Nick Clay, manager of the RWC Global Equity Income fund.
Nick spoke about why he invests in so-called ‘boring tech’, and how some of these firms are trading like value stocks.
He also commented on Samsung’s poor performance, why 5G firm Qualcomm is moving away from its reliance on Apple, and why he reduced his position in luxury goods brand Richemont.
Peter Kraus, manager of Berenberg’s European Small Cap and European Micro Cap funds says he is strongly averse to selling companies in his portfolio.
‘I’m not known for having a high turnover portfolio. I really hate selling. My personal ambition is to never sell - buy a good business and close your eyes for the next 10 years,’ Kraus said.
The Citywire AAA-rated manager explains in this podcast how he approaches research in a market that lacks coverage from analysts.
Keith Wade, chief economist at Schroders, discusses the impact of labour shortages in the UK and the US.
Wade believes that, long term, the 'great resignation' trend could accelerate innovation in automation.
WHEB's Seb Beloe spoke to Ross Miller about whether additionality is the most effective measure of an investment’s impact, and how public markets can provide a platform for positive social and environmental outcomes.
Ali Hussain, head of research at Frontier Investment Management Partners (FIM)discusses his approach to investing in frontier markets, why he thinks investors should look to unlock their potential and which countries are the ones to watch for the future.
Courtiers’ £25m UK Equity Income fund is currently the peer group top performer over the past year.
The fund has returned just shy of 70% compared with a sector average of 36%.
I spoke with Gary Reynolds, who runs the strategy with his son Jake.
He noted that bets on publisher Reach and Royal Mail were a driving force in recent performance, after selling both positions at a significant gain.
In this episode we also speak about the fund manager’s approach to impending inflation, and how he makes his portfolio ESG compatible, despite having ‘sin stock’ names in the portfolio.
AXA IM's Amanda's O'Toole spoke to Citywire's John Schaffer last week in Glasgow at the investment COP - a COP26 fringe event.
John Malloy, manager of the RWC Global Emerging Markets fund, believes that raw materials stocks will be a huge driver for emerging markets, due to their crucial role in the transition to green energy.
The fund manager is particularly bullish towards Zambia’s largest mining company, First Quantum Minerals, due to its focus on copper mining.
Other plays in the strategy include Chilean firm SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera), which is the largest lithium producer globally.
Malloy also discusses how Evergrande and the more onerous regulation of Chinese tech companies has impacted the rest of emerging markets.
Despite contagion in Chinese equity markets, companies from the one party state still remain the largest allocation in Malloy’s portfolio.
The fund manager also explained why he had been upping his position in Chinese tech giants Meituan and Tencent.
Over three years the Global Emerging Markets fund has returned 37.4% compared with a sector average of 27.4%.
Today we’re looking at the UK IPO market, which has come under scrutiny of late - largely due to Deliveroo’s car crash of a listing earlier this year.
Clearly there are major risks with new flotations. There’s no track record under more onerous reporting standards, and there can be liquidity issues.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Research from AJ Bell in June suggested that UK IPO’s had reported an average 24% gain by the half year point.
I spoke with Citywire AA-rated Oliver Brown, manager of the MFM UK Primary Opportunities fund, who believes that investors should be taking more notice of IPOs.
Ahead of next month’s COP26 event, Jefferies’ global head of ESG research, Aniket Shah, gave his views on how asset managers can become net zero investors.
He about how investors should tackle challenging areas such as oil majors and miners, and we dig into Shah’s latest report.
In extract from our latest property roundtable we look at whether there is a bubble emerging in the retail logistics sector, as investors move away from offices and the high street.
Full coverage of the debate is available in our latest magazine.
Speakers in this section include:
Alex Moore from Rathbones
Oli Creasey from Quilter Cheviot
Ben Conway Hawksmoor Investment Management
‘There is no reason wealth should be concentrated in the hands of a few,’ says Jatin Ondhia, CEO and co-founder of investment platform Shojin Property Partners. That’s why he set up the business, which provides access to UK real estate development through fractional investing.
The democratisation of private markets has been widely discussed, with many large firms starting to target individual investors. However, this comes with its challenges as well as concerns that it may lead to future mis-selling.
Ondhia and Remy Astie, CEO and co-founder of investment platform Vauban discuss why they think it is important to open up the private markets to more investors, how they are trying to solve the problem of access and the tough spot regulators are in.
Small and mid cap companies tend to be more vulnerable to economic disruption than their larger counterparts on the FTSE 100.
So why invest in these companies for income, and should small caps be paying out regular dividends anyway?
Chris McVey, manager of the Octopus UK Multi-Cap Income, argued that alongside the growth prospects of smaller companies, small and mid caps also offered better dividend cover than the likes of oil majors and tobacco stocks.
The Citywire A-rated manager also highlighted some of his top UK income stock picks, as well as when he thinks dividends across small and mid caps will recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Over the past year the UK Multi-Cap Income fund has returned 44.2% compared with a sector average of 29.1%.
Citywire’s latest Female Alpha report highlights a ‘pandemic effect’ when it comes to flexible working practices.
This has been especially beneficial for female fund managers returning to work after maternity leave.
Sonja Laud, chief investment officer at Legal & General Investment Management, gave her views on how work culture is changing in asset management.
Asset managers are increasingly trying to introduce investment practices they say will help avert climate change, but is the industry doing enough to save the planet? Yale and Brown professor Cary Krosinsky says popular methods, like divestment, are a waste of time and that fund managers should instead focus on financing the right projects and advocating for the right regulation.
If impact investing requires additionality, creating positive real-world outcomes that wouldn’t have occurred had that capital not been allocated in that way, can that really be found in listed markets where capital is just going to the previous holder of the securities?
To explore this further, I enlisted the help of James Purcell, group head of sustainability and Quintet Private Bank, to discuss what impact investing actually is, how fund houses approach this issue, and innovative instruments that could create more real-world impact in listed markets. ‘
Sharia investing, meaning investments that are governed by Sharia law and the principles of Islam, is a concept which goes back decades, but is seeing rising demand across the UK that, for now, is outstripping supply.
Admittedly, this is an area which I personally know very little about. So I caught up with James Penny, chief investment officer at TAM Asset Management.
He reflected on what makes an investment Sharia compliant, how the investible universe for Sharia investors is broadening, and the innovation he’s seeing throughout this space at the moment.
Professor Ludovic Phalippou of The University of Oxford Said Business School talks through the problems with performance reporting in private equity, why so-called ‘democratisation’ can lead to big problems for investors and why he’s surprised by the latest media coverage of private equity interest in UK listed companies.
The UK robo advice market has been hitting the headlines again due to the recent JP Morgan Chase deal to buy Nutmeg.
So what does this mean for Nutmeg’s rival Wealthify?
Like other robos in the market, Wealthify has yet to turn a profit since launching in 2016.
In its results for 2020 it recorded a loss of £5.3m, up from a £4.8m loss the year before.
I spoke with chief executive Andy Russell, who joined last year from parent company Aviva.
He shared the firm’s growth plans, and whether it’s possible to make money from customers investing small amounts.
With growing interest in investing in China in recent years - what has it been like to invest in Chinese equities for two decades?
In this episode I spoke with Baijing Yu, manager of the Comgest Growth China fund, which is celebrating its 20 year anniversary.
Since inception in 2001 the fund has returned 69.4% compared with the MSCI China’s return of 66.5%.
There’s certainly been some hype surrounding UK stocks in recent months, on the back of the rotation from growth to value.
But are these opportunities a genuine long term play, or merely a dash for trash?
Chris St John, manager of the Axa Framlington UK Mid Cap fund, speaks about the opportunities he’s seeing in the market.
Wealth Manager's Ross Miller is joined by Delyth Richards, head of the client solutions group at Kleinwort Hambros, to discuss the firm's approach to social impact investing, and delve into the distinction between social impact investing and 'social' as a constituent part of ESG considerations.
They also reflect on the growing power of bondholders and how fixed income is evolving in the impact investing space.
Battery technology has been a hot topic in recent years, in-part fuelled by the monumental rise of Tesla, and ever-growing concerns over carbon emissions.
But lithium-ion batteries tend not to be a good solution for larger vehicles like lorries and aircraft.
So can Hydrogen fill the electrification gap?
Randeep Somel, manager of the M&G Climate Solutions fund, speaks about the investment case for Hydrogen, the stocks set to benefit from the growth in this theme, and why it’s a good solution for current environmental concerns.
Disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford has been hitting the headlines again with his attempts to enter back into the industry.
Last week Citywire revealed that Woodford is setting up shop in Delaware, after opening another outfit in the Cayman Islands in April.
Journalists Loukia Gyftopoulou and Selin Bucak discuss some of the latest stories they have been breaking on Woodford.
You can read more about the unfolding Woodford saga at citywire.co.uk/wealthmanager.
Kingswood's head of investments, Paul Surguy, shares the five funds he'd pick if he were cast away to a desert island.
UK inflation more than doubled last month from 0.7% to 1.5%, as the economy began to re-open.
As the ONS figures were released, the FTSE 100 suffered a widespread sell-off, sliding below the 7,000 mark.
I spoke with Gresham House chief executive Tony Dalwood, to get his reaction to the latest figures and his thoughts on what this means for investors.
With all the hype surrounding ESG (environmental, social, and governance) funds, what happens when a scandal arises with a portfolio company?
I spoke with Matt Evans, manager of Ninety One’s UK Sustainable Equity fund, which invests in Compass Group.
Earlier this year Compass was caught up in the school meals fiasco, as its subsidiary Chartwells was providing children with a meagre amount of food.
This prompted a national outcry, with images of the offending parcels appearing in the national press.
The criticism being that what was being provided was far below the £30 a week allowance.
At the time of the fiasco, Compass represented 1.7% of Evan’s fund.
I asked Evans how the asset manager reacted, as well as the UK ESG opportunities that he’s seeing over the next 12 months.
Episode three of S Club sees Wealth Manager's Ross Miller discuss social impact investing Nick Samuels, head of manager research at Redington. They explore recent trends, impact's data problem, and whether you can really create any impact in public markets.
When it comes to ESG investing, the US is still far behind Europe, but things may be starting to change. Morningstar's head of sustainability research Jon Hale says younger investor sentiment and the Biden administration will be defining in how the next five years play out
In this episode we spoke with Harry Richards, who manages £13.3bn across four Jupiter fixed income funds.
Richards is among the youngest managers in the UK fund industry at 32.
We spoke about whether he had been met with any challenges due to his age, and the prospect of investing through a period of impending inflation.
Peter Mann, chair of new advice group Radiant Financial and former chief executive of Skandia Bank, tells us what’s driving the latest developments in the wealth consolidator space – such as an uptick in private equity-backed acquisitions – and why an eventual public listing is not off the table for the firm.
In this episode we spoke with Fay Ren, co-manager of the Cerno Pacific fund which has returned an impressive 68.9% over the past year, compared with a sector average of 29.9%.
Alongside big name Chinese tech stocks such as Tencent and Alibaba, the fund also has a 20% allocation to healthcare.
We spoke about whether Chinese pharmaceuticals and medical technology can gain legitimacy on the world stage, despite there being political tensions.
‘There’s still a lot of suspicion on Chinese pharmaceuticals’, Ren said.
The fund manager also spoke about her allocation to electric vehicle (EV) parts producers, rather than individual EV brands.
In episode two of our podcast series, Wealth Manager’s Ross Miller discusses social impact investing with Tim Martin, investment analyst at Cavendish Ware.
Tim is the lead analyst on the firm’s impact portfolio, and discusses impact investing across asset classes, the balance between financial and social returns, and red flags in the fund selection process.
In this episode I spoke with Pietro Nicholls, manager of the RM Alternative Income fund.
The strategy has a 42% allocation to infrastructure, and 38% in real estate.
It’s made up of listed equities paired with Infrastructure Investment trusts and REITs.
The fund has recovered from the market shock of last March, and has gone on to return 3.1% over a year. But what are its prospects like for the future?
In the low interest rate environment demand for private debt has soared.
Alternatives data provider Preqin anticipates assets in this relatively niche fixed income market will rise by around 11.4% at a compound annual growth rate to $1.46tn (£1.05tn) over the next five years.
We speak to Saranac head of private capital Robert Crowther-Jones on how to exploit this phenomenon, assessing if can help investors meet income needs while managing the default risk.
But does the return potential of private debt justify the high investment costs associated with this asset class?
Spacs, shell companies whose sole purpose is to buy another business and take it public, are wildly fashionable these days. Such is the excitement that the UK is eyeing a change of its listing rules to lure these vehicles to the London Stock Exchange. What could possibly go wrong? AJ Bell chief investment officer Russ Mould discusses the pros and cons of these blanc cheque firms.
In Rishi Sunak’s Spring Budget it was announced that corporation tax is raising to 25% in 2023.
But what does this mean for small cap firms?
I spoke with veteran smaller companies fund manager Paul Jourdan, from Amati, to get his reactions to the Budget.
Tech stocks have taken a bashing this week, but is this correction likely to be sustained?
Scottish Mortgage trust has been one of the most severe casualties on the FTSE, after an exceptional run over the past year.
The largest UK investment trust has significant allocations to the likes of Tesla and Amazon, as well as Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent - all of which have been hit this week.
I spoke with Nick Wood, head of fund research at Quilter Cheviot to see whether growth investors should be worried.
In this extract from our asset allocation debate, we discussed ESG products, and how Covid-19 has increased their popularity.
But has this trend fundamentally changed asset allocation for the year ahead, and are ESG ratings really giving portfolio managers enough information?
Speakers in this podcast include :
Justin Onuekwusi - Legal & General
Suzanne Hutchins, Newton
Jean-Paul Jaegers, Barclays Wealth
Fahad Kamal, Kleinwort Hambros
Rosie Bullard, James Hambro & Partners
In this brand new monthly podcast series, Wealth Manager’s Ross Miller catches up with a different fund selector in the social impact investing space. First up is Louisiana Salge, senior sustainability specialist at EQ Investors. She discusses the goals of impact investing, how they approach the issue of impact measurement, and her top three impact fund picks.
Bitcoin has been making the headlines yet again this year, with its price skyrocketing over the past few months.
In January the FCA issued a warning about investing in cryptocurrencies, and there are clearly fundamental concerns over volatility.
However, institutional investors have started to take interest in Bitcoin, but is it suitable for a multi-asset portfolio?
I spoke with Jason Guthrie, Head of Capital Markets and Digital Assets at WisdomTree.
The firm runs a Bitcoin exchange traded product, and Gutherie explained the advantages of investing via this structure.
In this episode we speak with veteran European Investor Rory Powe, who manages Man GLG's £2.1bn Continental European Growth fund.
The strategy has been pretty resilient, despite European equities being largely unloved.
It has returned 42% over three years compared with a sector average of 16%.
Will Britain manage to get full access to EU financial markets? Unlikely, say experts. James Smethurst, regulatory partner at law firm Freshfields, explains the issues at stake but has faith the City won't lose its clout.
In our first episode of the new year we took a look at Google’s prospects for 2021.
I spoke with Christopher Rossbach, manager of J Stern & Co’s World Star Equity fund, which has the big tech stock as its third largest holding.
Earlier this week I spoke with Simon Chisholm, CIO of Resonance.
The firm has launched a fund investing in properties to lease to women’s organisations and homelessness charities.
The strategy is targeting an annual return of between 5-7%, and Resonance is launching the fund as a joint venture with private equity firm Patron Capital.
The Women In Safe Homes fund has already received £15.5m from founding investors, with social impact investor Big society capital committing £10m at launch.
With Amazon’s share price up 70% year-to date, can the tech juggernaut continue to rise next year?
Neil Campling, co-head of global thematic group at Mirabaud Securities, believes Jeff Bezos’ firm still has more room to grow. He argues that the stock has done ‘very little’ in comparison with other growth stocks.
With Boohoo and Rio Tinto immersed in controversy, many shareholders have tried to engage with the firms to push for change.
Citywire AAA-rated Jon Hudson, manager of the Premier Miton UK Growth fund, talked to us about his conversations with both and why he still owns the shares.
He also told us about his best and worst crisis calls and how talking with colleagues stopped him from making 'stupid' decisions in the sell-off'.
With three separate Covid-19 vaccines announced in November, value stocks have experienced somewhat of a recovery after a particularly trying year.
But what are the long term prospects for value investing? Is a rotation away from growth, which has dominated the past decade, on the horizon?
We spoke with Tom Becket, chief investment officer at Punter Southall Wealth, to get the perspective from a fund selector.
Barry Norris, founder and chief executive of Argonaut Capital, tells us why he thinks the market reaction to coronavirus vaccine breakthroughs has been too positive, how short-selling does more good for society than ESG investing, and why he is considering expanding the universe of his European long-only funds to include global stocks.
Last week saw the failure of Ant Group’s $34.5bn IPO. Chinese tech giant Alibaba was burnt by this, as it owns around a third of the company.
As a result, the failed listing shaved $60bn off Alibaba’s market cap in a single day.
Rob Brewis, manager of the Aubrey Global Emerging Markets Opportunities fund, spoke about why he holds Alibaba, and whether its growth story has ended.
It’s worth noting that this podcast was recorded before Chinese regulators issued anti-monopoly guidelines for internet companies. A move that caused Alibaba’s share price to dip further, alongside other Chinese tech firms.
Four of this year’s Wealth Manager Top 100 winners about their experience of fund selection during the Covid-19 pandemic.
One area of disappointment seemed to be in their allocation to alternative investments.
In our Top 100 survey this year, the average allocation to alternatives stood at nearly 10%.
Speakers in this debate included Richard Philbin from Wellian Investment Solutions, Sophie Kennedy from EQ Investors, Paul Surguy, from Kingswood, and Mona Shah, Stonehage Fleming.
Gold has been one of the few assets that has risen during the pandemic, with investors flooding in as a defensive measure.
Its price currently sits above $1900 an oz - and briefly surpassed the $2000 mark in August. Year-to-date, prices are up 25%, but can the gold rush continue?
Alasdair McKinnon, manager of The Scottish Investment Trust, believes there is a strong investment case for the precious metal. His fund has its three largest holdings allocated to gold mining companies, which he says have an added benefit of dividend yield over holding physical gold.
Apple’s share price has been on a monumental rise over the past two years, with the firm surpassing a $2trn market cap earlier this year.
Last week Apple launched its first 5G smart phone, the iPhone 12, with four different models available for eager Apple fanboys.
Storm Uru, manager of the Liontrust Global Dividend fund, spoke about why he recently sold out of the mega-cap tech stock.
The 60/40 portfolio has been a mainstay of modern portfolio theory, with the greater weighting towards equities over bonds being a feature of the typical portfolio.
However, more recently that approach has come into question as returns from both asset classes have become challenging - with issues being exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
John Prior, chief investment officer at Patronus Partners, spoke about whether there are any alternatives for investors.
Julius Baer’s head of UK private clients Alan Hooks spoke about whether the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted on UK growth plans, and whether there were any jobs culls on the horizon.
Julius Baer had announced back in February that it was cutting 300 jobs across the group due to lower levels of growth.
Schroders’ thematics director David Docherty, looks at how thematic investing is evolving, and the risks that investors should be wary of.
We spoke about at how you spot a legitimate long-term trend, as well as when you need to scrap an idea that’s not viable.
Sam Hartles, private banker at Kleinwort Hambros, shares his lockdown experience from Cambridge, including how he’s keeping active, the long-term effects of the pandemic, and an altruistic perspective on the postponement of his nuptials.
According to Citywire’s latest Alpha Female research, only 9% of UK funds are run by mixed gender teams.
We caught up with Victoria Stevens and Matt Tongue from one of the UK’s top performing mixed teams - the Liontrust Economic advantage team.
We discussed the performance of their Smaller companies and Micro cap strategies, as well as Victoria’s experience of working in a male dominated industry.
Duncan MacIntyre, UK Chief executive of Lombard Odier, spoke about how the private bank has fared during the Covid 19 pandemic, the worries of its ultra-wealthy client base, and how it's leveraging its tech platform.
Merck Mercuriadis claims that hit songs are a reliable income stream with no correlation to other asset classes.
The ex-Elton John and Beyonce manager runs the Hipgnosis Song investment trust, which last month surpassed a £1bn market cap valuation.
Merk has recently bought up the back catalogues of artists as diverse as Blondie, Wu Tang Clang, and Barry Manilow.
The Song fund also owns a stake in individual hits such as Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, Journey’s Don’t stop Believing, and Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack.
Merk has managed to capture interest from institutional investors, with the likes of Aviva, Quilter and investec buying into the strategy.
A more surprising investor, the church of england, has also bought into the fund.
In the first of a new series called ‘what the FAANG’ we’re looking at Netflix, which has been pretty resilient through the Covid-19 pandemic, with a 14 million bump to its subscriber base, and a 25% boost to Q2 sales.
Gordon Mackay manages Janus Henderson’s Global Equity fund which has Netflix as one of its top 10 holdings. He spoke about whether subscriber growth is sustainable over the long-term.
This episode sees Katie chat with chief executive officer at Margetts fund management in Birmingham, Toby Ricketts
He discusses his new found mastering of the classic 90’s rubix cube as well as hitting the empty roads on his motorbike.
Waverton CIO Bill Dinning discusses the five funds that have seen him through the 2008 financial crash, a decade long bull run and the more recent Coronavirus crisis.
Kamal Warraich, investment analyst at Canaccord Genuity WM, shares his lockdown experience from Llandudno in North Wales, including how asset allocation has been affected, what cuisine he is looking forward to the most when restaurants re-open, and a new hobby!
Felicia Hjertman, former co-manager of the Baillie Gifford Japanese Smaller Companies fund, vows to ‘shake up’ the platform market with a DIY service named Vinco, offering a restricted number of funds.
This episode sees Katie chat with divisional director and head of the Belfast office at Investec, Leigh Yeaman.
She discusses massacring her hedges while on the hunt for a new hobby as well as her astute six year old.
Matthews Asia investment strategist Andy Rothman spent 17 years in the US foreign service, including as head of the macroeconomics and domestic policy office of the American Embassy in Beijing. Here he discusses how worsening relations between the west and China are likely to affect investors, and what the future holds for Hong Kong following a crackdown on the city-state.
Five asset allocation heavyweights explain how portfolios have changed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, and look into whether the ESG rise is a direct result of the pandemic.
The podcast was hosted by Citywire Wealth Manager news editor Loukia Gyftopoulou. Guests included: Chris Godding - CIO at Tilney, Shakhista Mukhamedova - Divisional director at Brewin Dolphin, Haig Bathgate - Head of portfolio management at 7IM, Nic Spicer - UK head of investment at PortfolioMetrics, Justine Colley - Portfolio manager at Sanlam.
Smith & Williamson’s Julia Rosenbloom says that a wealth tax in the Autumn Budget is unlikely to be on the cards, but that clients should prepare for significant changes to inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
Citywire AA-rated Cormac Weldon, head of US equities at Artemis, spoke about what it’s like managing a US fund from across the pond during the pandemic with such a volatile president at the helm.
Episode 5: First 100 Days as CEO: Nutmeg's new CEO Neil Alexander talked about the firm's odyssey to profitability, the recent exit of senior staff and how he dealt with coronavirus just two months into the job.
We are going barking mad with Ellie Ingilby, head of the Harrogate office, Sanlam as she discusses her new, live-in colleague a west highland terrier as well as her unique hobby.
Citywire AAA-rated Joanna Kwok, manager of JP Morgan Asset Management's Asia Growth fund, spoke about the growing middle class in the region and some of the industries that will benefit, including asset management.
With lockdown already in Guernsey’s rear-view mirror, Mark Bousfield of Ravenscroft gives a glimpse of what the ‘new normal’ for the UK could look like. We discuss what he’s looking forward to the most once all 4 of Ravenscroft’s branches are back in the office, as well as a guilty admission.
Does the return of top flight English football today matter? Of course it does.
But events of the fast few months have shown there are bigger things that matter more – something illustrated by Marcus Rashford’s dramatic intervention on the need for hungry schoolchildren to be fed over the summer holidays
Less than an hour after the government’s U-turn on school meals, Citywire’s Richard Lander (Manchester United) Angus Foote (West Ham) and Charles Walmsley (Liverpool) discussed events off and on the pitch with Telegraph football columnist Jim White.
Take a break from all things advice and investment, sit back and enjoy!
Five leading wealth managers discuss what the legacy of the pandemic crisis will be and how it will transform ESG investing. Ultimately, companies and people will be judged by the actions they take.
The debate was chaired by Wealth Manager editor Dylan Lobo and comprised Damien Lardoux - EQ Investors, Camilla Ritchie – 7IM, Emile Shaw – Cazenove Capital, Patrick Thomas – Canaccord Genuity, Gemma Woodward – Quilter Cheviot
From kids and cats, they just don’t care in the Brandreth household. Katie Gilfillan speaks with Alex Brandreth, CIO of Luna Investment Management.
LGIM head of retail multi-asset funds Justin Onuekwusi says that he expects some negativity when talking about race, as usually ‘it’s just not done’.
The fund manager is one of only 13 black fund managers in the UK asset management industry.
One of the top performers during the coronavirus crash, manager of the Rathbone Global Opportunities fund James Thomson, told Wealth Manager he put more cash to work in March than in the fund's entire lifetime.
Royal London Asset Management’s head of sustainable investments talks about the reasons his funds have seen strong inflows despite the coronavirus, why ESG strategies are outperforming the market and how he expects the specialism to change over the next 10 years.
Amid massive outflows from fixed income in reaction to the pandemic, we spoke to Quilter Cheviot head of fixed income research Richard Carter to see if there's any value in the asset class.
Wealth Manager’s Katie Gilfillan talks with senior client manager at Brown Shipley, Sandra Dailidyte. They discuss the multitude of new activities she does now working from home from running to yoga and online learning as well as the funniest mishap that has happened in quarantine.
In this Mental Health Awareness Week podcast, Kate Griffiths-Lambeth, HR director at Charles Stanley, spoke about how she unintentionally upset a member of staff with a question during a lockdown quiz.
Could the added financial burden on the UK government from Covid-19 prompt a rise in inheritance tax?
James Hambro & Partner's CEO Andy Steel spoke about running a wealth management firm through two crisis, as well as how smaller firms will cope after the lockdown has ended.
Traditional business disaster recovery models, ‘predicated on a big shed somewhere’, have proved ineffective in the era of social distancing. In this debate co-chaired by Citywire founder Lawrence Lever and Wealth Manager editor Dylan Lobo, find out how five wealth bosses have innovated.
The participants were - Paul Feeney: Quilter, David Ferguson: Nucleus, Andy Bell: AJ Bell, Richard Charnock: Aberdeen Standard Capital, David Durlacher: Julius Baer International.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Psigma head of investment strategy Rory Mcpherson selects the five funds he would choose if he were cast away to a desert island.
New Waverton CEO Nick Tucker speaks about the challenges of joining the business only a few months ago and entering into the lockdown environment.
Charlie Thomas, manager of Jupiter Asset Management's Ecology fund, spoke about how sustainable and ESG investments are fairing under the current market sell-off.
JP Morgan Private Bank's Maya Prabhu gave an insight into her working life during the Covid-19 lockdown, and how she's ended up working longer hours.
Episode 4: First 100 Days as CEO: Sarah Soar says white men must buy into dviersity by Citywire
AJ Bell's head of active funds Ryan Hughes tells Wealth Manager investors should not write off favourite-fund lists and explains why performance is not as important as consistency in his selection process
Andrew Aldridge, partner at Deepbridge, talks about the risks and liquidity constraints of EIS now that the rules have changed.
In a wide ranging discussion the CIO’s touched on the possibility of a reckoning in the technology sector - akin to the breaking up of the railways in the early 20th century. Together with the fact that despite the low economic and earnings growth in the developed world they do not anticipate this decade long cycle to end any time soon. And also that the world needs fiscal spending and the UK under the leadership of this Conservative government appear to understand that and are well placed to make it a reality.
Taking part in the discussion were:-
• Lucy MacDonald – MD, CIO of Global Equities at Allianz Global Investors • Nigel Bolton – MD, Co-CIO of Active Equities at BlackRock • Piers Hillier – CIO at Royal London Asset Management • Guy Monson – Senior Partner, CIO at Sarasin & Partners • Mark Dowding – CIO at BlueBay Asset Management
Episode 3: First 100 days as CEO: Merian's Mark Gregory talks to Wealth Manager by Citywire
In this podcast special of our recent CEO Wealth Tapes series five wealth bosses discuss the pros and cons of vertical integration.
Lawrence Lever, Citywire chair – 00:05 Dylan Lobo, Online editor Wealth Manager, 00:22 Paul Feeney, Quilter CEO, 01:00 David Ferguson, Nucleus Financial Group CEO, 01:50 Andy Bell, AJ Bell CEO, 07:00 Christian Berchem, CEO Credit Suisse (UK), 12.30 Richard Charnock, CEO Aberdeen Standard Capital, 17.30
Dean Proctor took over as 7IM CEO in April, replacing Tom Sherdian who had been at the helm for nearly two decades. He tells Wealth Manager why a fresh pair of eyes was necessary to take the firm forward
Andrew Formica talks to Wealth Manager about the challenges that came with the top job at Jupiter AM and explains his plans for the future
A recent data crunch by Citywire revealed that Jourdan and co-manager David Stevenson, managers of the TB Amati UK Smaller Companies fund, has been AAA-rated by Citywire for 45 consecutive months, the longest streak out of the 15,000 or so manager Citywire tracks.
In this Podcast Jourdan discuss some of his best and worst investments over the last decade and offers some words of wisdom for budding young fund managers in what he describes to be a ‘hugely privileged’ job.
Keen cyclist, runner and Londoner David Miller, investment director at Quilter Cheviot, meets Wealth Manager’s Eleanor Mahmoud for a walk around the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Well known for his award winning written series ‘Diary of a Fund Manager’, he tells the story of where it came from, the journey it has taken him on and where he sees it going. With over 30 years in the investment industry, he talks memorable moments, crashes and why the next generation are in a unique position. Join us for an enjoyable episode making the most of London’s great outdoors.
Northern lass Julie-Ann Ashcroft takes Eleanor Mahmoud on a walk around Shorne Park in Kent, home to Cardiac Hill. With a scientific background looking for enzymes in the skin, Julie-Ann explains what drew her from pharmacology to the world of investments and how she find that quite significant industry shift. Now head of investments at Standard Life Wealth, she discusses the firms growing interest in positive impact investing. Hear more about the challenges to investors but likewise what excites Julie-Ann the most.
On home turf in London on a very wet and windy day, Matt Phillips, managing director at Thomas Miller, takes Wealth Manager’s Eleanor Mahmoud for a scenic 3 mile walk starting at the Tower of London. Walking past London Bridge, Millennium Bridge and through the City , he waxes lyrical about his concerns in financial services and the change he thinks we are right in the midst of. They also discuss behavioural finance and wonder why the industry doesn’t have a greater knowledge of such an important and relevant concept.
Join us as we walk around the quieter end of Glasgow city centre with Mary Coughlan from Redmayne Bentley. Originally a scientist, she tells us how she made the leap into investment management and discusses the ongoing gender imbalance, exclaiming how the lack of females is a massive loss to this industry. Having been in financial services for over 16 years, she recalls being in the USA when the news of Lehman Brothers broke and tells us exactly why she’s not addicted to markets.
In this episode, we whizz up to Yorkshire to meet Aidan Butler, head of Standard Life Wealth’s Leeds office. Walking past the River Wharfe and looking over the Dales, Butler discusses the office’s charity partnerships and involvement with ‘Leeds Leads: Healthy Minds for a Thriving City’, an initiative also supported by Prince Harry. He also explains how he manages his time at work and how his interest in investments saw his natural development into the position he holds now.
Actively involved with a local charity helping homelessness, Greg Mahon tells Wealth Manager’s Eleanor Mahmoud why he chose to work with such a cause and what it means to him. Rathbone’s regional director and head of its Chichester office also explains who has inspired him on his journey in the investment world. Climbing over gates and stiles, this episode offers a true glimpse into life in the South Downs as Mahon even bumps into a client during the walk.
Walking around Ardington House in Oxfordshire, Wealth Manager’s Libby Ashby gets to know the incredibly well travelled Lorne Baring, managing director of B Capital. As an ultra-high net worth investment manager using almost entirely ETFs, Lorne shares an insight into the business, as well as the countries it has taken him to. Once the highest revenue private banker at Barclays, hear his absorbing journey from 10 years in the British Army to the investment management world. Hint: speaking Portuguese helped!
Walking around Newlands Corner in the North Downs, Louis Coke tells Wealth Manager’s Suzie Bliss why he loves the greenery of Guildford and why investment management is a good career option for the younger generation. They discuss some rocky investment holdings and cross paths with quite a few dogs on the way, some better behaved than others!
Suzie Bliss meets Brewin Dolphin’s Ben Gutteridge in London’s Regents Park. He divulges his expertise behind hosting Brewin Dolphin’s own podcast, the memorable guests he’s interviewed and whether he’s got anyone’s name wrong. We also discover his rise through fund selection and Ben reveals the best lesson he’s learnt in his career.
Suzie Bliss goes for a walk around Edinburgh’s The Meadows with Tcam’s Mark Little. She uncovers Little’s fascinating career from accountant and qualified South African game ranger to fund manager before settling in the private client investment management world.
The On the Road team are launching a brand new podcast - Walking with Wealth Managers. Donning their trainers and hitting the walking tracks, they take to the great outdoors with some willing interviewees. Here are some bite size highlights from their recordings and a preview of what’s to come throughout the series.