In this conversation, Francesca Wheble, Responsible Investment Lead at Guinness Global Investors, interviews Douglas Hepworth, COO and Chief Risk Officer of Gresham Investment Management. Discussing Douglas’ and Gresham’s background, they explore the environmental impact of futures trading, how the Ukraine conflict provoked upended the sustainability movement, and the challenges of evaluating investments made with private capital. The CFA UK Sustainability Community is buzzing with daily discuss...
Apr 17, 2024•23 min
In this episode, John Teahan, CFA interviews Mike Coffin of The Carbon Tracker Initiative. Exploring Mike’s background as a geologist and his transition to working at Carbon Tracker, alongside its focus on climate alignment and transition risk. They also delve into the topics of demand, scenarios, energy transition and the future of the oil and gas industry, and the need for diversified economies in petro-states.
Apr 10, 2024•40 min
In this podcast episode, hosts Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall, CFA, interview Rupert Mathieu, Sainty Hird & Partners, a headhunter in the financial services industry. Examining the changing nature of headhunting, Rupert explains the evaluation process and the importance of context in finding the right candidates. He also shares insights on building networks and the role of LinkedIn. Touching on the cyclical nature of the industry and the need for realism, Rupert emphasises the importance of due...
Mar 20, 2024•41 min
In this episode, Maha Khan Phillips, Co-Editor at Impact Investor, and Alexandra Morris, CIO at SKAGEN Funds, discuss gender and DEI in the investment industry. The percentage of female fund managers globally stands at just 12.1%, with minimal progress over the years. Exploring the challenges of attracting and retaining women in the industry, Maha and Alexandra discuss the Women in Finance Charter as an initiative to increase gender balance in the industry, and look at ways to encourage more wom...
Mar 08, 2024•21 min
In this episode, James Doyle, Director, Green Finance, Investment Management, and Community Champion in the CFA UK Sustainability Community, speaks to Paris Jordan CFA, Head of Responsible Investing at Charles Stanley and Co-Founder of Virtuvest. Exploring the role of discretionary wealth managers and the importance of fiduciary duty in sustainability, they also delve into the challenges of balancing profit and impact, alongside integrating sustainability into the traditional investment model. T...
Feb 28, 2024•33 min
In this episode, Gerhard Sogl, CFA, interviews Christophe Roehri, Deputy CEO of TOBAM, an asset manager which focuses on human rights based in France. Christophe shares insights on the importance of human rights in enabling economic development and the impact of autocratic regimes on portfolio performance. He also provides advice for junior professionals in the industry, emphasising the value of being different and seeking new perspectives.
Feb 14, 2024•24 min
John Teahan, CFA is joined by Lucille Bonnet, Managing Partner at Klima Energy Transition and Managing Director at Alantra Energy Transition, and member of Supervisory Board at Sunroof. John and Lucille discuss her own career path, and the need for independent investors in European venture capitalism. Looking at the impact from US inflation and the future goal to decentralise green energy, they look deeper at Klima’s composition as an SFDR article 9 fund.
Feb 07, 2024•39 min
In a deep dive looking at a long and storied career, Ulrich Amoussou, CFA, speaks to Bill Maldonado, CEO of Eastspring Investments. Examining Bill’s career trajectory and its greatest takeaways, the two discuss how things have changed for young investors since he embarked on his career. Moving onto his approach to nurturing young talent and the need for resilience in tough periods, they also discuss how Eastspring positions itself as one of the biggest asset managers in Asia.
Jan 31, 2024•31 min
What are the best ways younger professionals can push forward in finance, and how can senior professionals help that happen? In this episode, Maha Khan Phillips talks to Fleur Iannazzo, CFA, founder and executive coach at WTF Money. With almost two decades of industry experience in managing the dos and don’ts of professional development, Fleur and Maha explore common challenges for younger professionals. Their discussion includes negotiating pay rises and mapping out their next career steps, alo...
Jan 17, 2024•24 min
In our first Future Proofing Finance podcast of the year, hosts Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall, CFA, spoke to Robby Yung, CEO of Animoca Brands, about the evolving nature of ownership in the tech space. Covering new frontiers in Web3, they talk about the true value of blockchain technology beyond the hype. Digging deeper, they discuss closer integration of hardware and software rights in things like cars and smartphones, and the opportunities and pitfalls to look out for in the world of crypto.
Jan 10, 2024•47 min
In this episode, Maha Khan Phillips had a broad conversation with Furio Pietribiasi, CEO of Mediolanum International Funds, which is the European Asset Management platform of Banca Mediolanum Group. He is responsible for Mediolanum Business Operations in Ireland, and is a member of the Board of Mediolanum International Life. Maha and Furio explore the market landscape for boutique firms and their common characteristics, alongside the key driving themes and forces throughout Furio’s storied caree...
Jan 03, 2024•31 min
John Teahan, CFA, portfolio manager at Redwheel speaks to James Alexander, CEO of UKSIF, charting his career from student politics, to megacity projects and finally to his position as CEO. Within the UK financial industry, James and John map the sustainability landscape across the most influential government departments, to the regulators and task forces that are shaping standards and disclosures.
Dec 13, 2023•27 min
James Alexander, CEO of UKSIF describes the mission led mandate of UKSIF, how it works with its members and how the organisation has an influence on policy and regulation in the UK. He then talks about the political scene as political positioning starts to impact government decisions as a UK general election appears on the horizon, and the potential for over-reliance on the finance industry to solve sustainability.
Dec 13, 2023•31 min
Suzanne Hsu, CFA, Director and MLRO for Project Imagine, and Professionalism Steering Committee Chair for CFA UK, caught up with Serena Espeute to talk about her research with the CFA Institute on financial promotions on social media. Focusing on unregulated ‘finfluencers’ and the borderless nature of their audiences, Serena and Suzanne discuss their trends, impacts, and the dangers they may pose.
Dec 06, 2023•24 min
In this week’s episode, hosts Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall spoke with Patrick Bloomfield, who sadly passed away in September. Patrick was a leading figure in the pensions industry for more than 25 years, joining Humans Robertson in 2004 and being made a partner of the firm in 2006. Alongside his work at Hymans Robertson, he chaired the Association of Consulting Actuaries between 2020 and 2022. In this conversation, Ben, Tom, and Patrick covered a broad range of topics, from the endemic effects of...
Nov 01, 2023•41 min
Arun Kelshiker, CFA and vice-chair of the CFA UK DEI committee, caught up with Natalie Gill, Head of DEI Strategy & Industry Engagement, PGIM, and Sarah Maynard, Global Senior Head, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, CFA Institute, about Sexism in the City - a new inquiry looking at barriers faced by women in financial services. In this conversation, they discuss what the inquiry is looking into, what it includes and why it’s happening now. The discussion also picks up on what the inquiry mea...
Oct 25, 2023•23 min
Meet John Cummins - Managing Director, Group Investments at Aviva Group plc. Over the last 30 years, John has been brought in to solve some of the trickiest banking situations in the UK. In this episode, John talks to Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall, CFA to discuss the future of banking and some of the key learnings on treasury management he's learned over the years. Plus, he reveals his predictions for what the global investment space will look like in 18 months, as well as 10 years, including the ...
Sep 27, 2023•41 min
Natalie Gregoire-Skeete, HSBC’s Head of Sustainability in Europe caught up with Pamela Hutchinson OBE, Global head of Diversity at Bloomberg. From working out of a portacabin in Folkstone as part of a legal team for Eurotunnel to heading up DEI for a global institution, Pamela is one of the pioneers embracing DEI in the UK and working for real industry change. Pamela’s parents’ invaluable advice of ‘You have to be it in order for others to see it’ was an impetus as a black woman to succeed in in...
Sep 20, 2023•23 min
Christian Koch is on the portfolio management team at BB Biotech, the Swiss-based investment company. For CFA UK’s ‘In Conversation Podcast’, Koch talked to Maha Khan Phillips about innovations in the world of biotechnology, and the opportunities it presents for investors.
Sep 13, 2023•23 min
In the second part of John Teahan's discussion with Harlan Zimmerman, Harlan sets out how to incorporate Net Zero commitments into executive remuneration plans. The need for significant, measurable and transparent metrics to support decarbonisation and clear links to public commitments on Net Zero.
Sep 06, 2023•23 min
John Teahan speaks to Harlan Zimmerman, Senior Partner of Cevian Capital, about Cevian's activist investment approach, how the company incorporates sustainability issues and early moves by the industry to align remuneration with sustainability.
Sep 06, 2023•27 min
Arun Kelshiker, CFA the vice-chair of the CFA UK DEI committee, spoke to Baroness Helena Morrissey, founder of The Diversity Project - Investment Industry. When Helena entered the world of fund management early on in her career she soon realised the industry lacked inclusivity and diversity which led her to set up The Diversity Project in 2016. The new Safe Space initiative was then formed this year for investment professionals to openly and anonymously share their negative experiences. This inc...
Aug 01, 2023•16 min
Dominic Endicott, Partner NorthStar Ventures and author, begins his lively discussion with Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall, CFA with a tussle over whether Crypto and Blockchain are just a distraction or solving a real economic problems. Dominic emphasises the importance Venture Capital (VC) has had in the UK over the last 10 years: $150 billion VC money has gone into startups generating upwards of a $billion in value which becomes £2 trillion in wealth, which meaning around a third of all wealth in ...
Jul 26, 2023•43 min
Marisa Hall is Head of the Thinking Ahead Institute. For CFA UK’s ‘In Conversation Podcast’, Hall talked to Maha Khan Phillips about what innovation in asset management looks like, and how it is transforming the landscape.
Jul 20, 2023•31 min
Simon Galbraith Founded Redgate Software, invests in tech and shares his expertise as a Non-Executive Director across the Tech sector. He started life as a Physicist, saw an opportunity and nurtured his entrepreneurial spirit. In this frank discussion with Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall, CFA, Simon explains what he looks for when he invests, the importance of confidence in both the idea and the company, and how capital influences growth.
Jun 22, 2023•43 min
Anthony Watson CBE, CEO of The Bank of London talks to Daniel Yates, CFA about Pride, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
Jun 14, 2023•19 min
Marie Dzanis is Head of Asset Management in EMEA for Northern Trust Global Investments. In CFA UK’s ‘In Conversation Podcast’, Dzanis talked to Maha Khan Phillips about difficult market conditions, how investors are looking at their active and passive portfolio construction, and how they are considering factor exposure in their approaches.
Jun 07, 2023•18 min
Ben Ashby and Tom Threfall spoke to Rachel Curtis, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Inicio AI. Having begun her journey in traditional finance, her deep curiosity and approach to problem-solving over the years led her to start an artificial intelligence company called Inicio AI. Inicio is transforming how people deal with debt using virtual agents. She explores how artificial intelligence is creating a major shift in many sectors including financial services and the effectiveness of usi...
May 25, 2023•36 min
Joshua Maxey, CFA, is Co-Founder of Third Bridge, the global provider of independent research. For CFA UK’s ‘In Conversation Podcast’, Maxey talked to Maha Khan Phillips about how the world of investment research is evolving, and what that means for the ways we access and digest information.
May 11, 2023•22 min
Co-hosts Ben Ashby and Tom Threlfall, CFA catch up with Simon Russell, Founder, Trinity Square. Simon, started in corporate finance, saw the opportunity in the internet, specialised in technology and his career took off. They discuss the downfall of SVB, and its impact on the UK market. Simon charts the rise in software investment over the last 20 years and the landscape which allowed this level of investment to take place. Then, the discussion moves on to AI, and whether it’s worth believing th...
May 03, 2023•44 min
