Investment Community Justin Newdigate

Greg Hopkins, co-CIO of PSG Asset Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.
In this episode:
* The PSG team shops in uncrowded areas of the markets, those that are generally associated with fear and uncertainty. Difficult market conditions present the best investment opportunities and often represent a change in market leadership.
* Their team-based decision-making process means that culture is even more important than it otherwise might be. Greg describes the team’s culture as low-ego, high-trust, active and open-minded.
* The team is able to “hold the line” in the face of disconfirming data from the markets and negative feedback from stakeholders. This ability was tested and ultimately strengthened during a period of underperformance in 2019/2020. 

Greg Hopkins is co-CIO of PSG Asset Management and a fund manager on the firm’s global funds. He started his investment career in 1997 at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in London (now BlackRock). He did short stints as an emerging market analyst and in the fixed income team, but for the majority of his 9 years at Merrill he was in the global value team, focusing on European equities. After a brief time as a hedge fund manager at Cambrian Capital, Greg returned to South Africa and a position at Sanlam Investment Management, where he spent 3 years working on their Best Ideas Fund. In 2010, he joined PSG Asset Management, and in 2012 became the firm’s CIO.


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John Biccard, PM at Ninety One, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.
In this episode (part 2 of 2):
* John explains the cyclicality in the relationship between growth and value stocks, and explains how prospective returns have changed during the era of free money.
* He discusses how the valuation gap between growth and value has contracted recently, but still remains very extended.
* He believes that bond and equity markets are pricing in a 2% US inflation rate but if it’s higher, growth stocks will take a disproportionate share of the pain.
John Biccard is a portfolio manager at Ninety One, where he has responsibility for the firm’s Value Equity Strategy. He began his investment career in 1990 as an analyst at Simpson McKie Stockbrokers (which is now HSBC Securities), and later became head of financial and industrial research, as well as a director of the company. John then spent two years at HSBC Asset Management as a director of institutional asset management before he joined Ninety One (then Investec Asset Management) in 2000.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newdigate.substack.com

John Biccard, PM at NinetyOne, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.
In this episode (part 1 of 2), John tells:
* That the extra returns you earn over time as a value manager are appropriate compensation for living a miserable life.
* That his ideal investment idea is one that causes others to laugh with incredulity and question his sanity.
* That it is sheer folly to assume that the market is right - it’s way better to do the work and reach an independent conclusion.
John Biccard is a portfolio manager at Ninety One, where he has responsibility for the firm’s Value Equity Strategy. He began his investment career in 1990 as an analyst at Simpson McKie Stockbrokers (which is now HSBC Securities), and later became head of financial and industrial research, as well as a director of the company. John then spent two years at HSBC Asset Management as a director of institutional asset management before he joined Ninety One (then Investec Asset Management) in 2000.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newdigate.substack.com

Richard Pitt, CEO and PM at BlueAlpha Investment Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.
In this episode (part 2 of 2), Richard tells how:
* Frequent trading is not a good way to invest, and it’s a terrible way to live.
* Articulation of your investment approach is vital - allocators need to have a clear idea of what they’re buying because they’re building portfolios of exposures.
* Ultimately your competitive advantage might boil down to: knowing who you are, investing in a way that’s consonant with who you are, and sticking to your approach through the tough times.
Richard Pitt is CEO and portfolio manager at BlueAlpha Investment Management. He began his investment career in 1995 as an equity analyst at Old Mutual Asset Managers. After a short stint as a portfolio manager at Brait Asset Management, Richard became co-manager of Decillion Capital’s Big Rock hedge fund. He relocated to London with Decillion and co-managed their US/European hedge fund. He joined BlueAlpha in 2003 and his primary focus is global investing.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newdigate.substack.com

Richard Pitt, CEO and PM at BlueAlpha Investment Management, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.
In this episode (part 1 of 2), Richard tells:
* How, as a rookie analyst in a bull market, his first recommendation was a sell. That company (Toco) eventually went bust.
* What the consequences can be if you focus on performance and accolades rather than risk, especially when market conditions change.
* How he is increasingly motivated by enabling people to grow, and that his ambition has shifted from making money to the upliftment and empowerment of others.
Richard Pitt is CEO and portfolio manager at BlueAlpha Investment Management. He began his investment career in 1995 as an equity analyst at Old Mutual Asset Managers. After a short stint as a portfolio manager at Brait Asset Management, Richard became co-manager of Decillion Capital’s Big Rock hedge fund. He relocated to London with Decillion and co-managed their US/European hedge fund. He joined BlueAlpha in 2003 and his primary focus is global investing.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newdigate.substack.com

Monene Watson, CIO of Old Mutual Multi-Managers, was my special guest on the Investment Community podcast.
In this episode, Monene tells:
* How difficult it is to assess whether underperformance by a fund manager is due to a broken process (in which case the manager should be terminated), or if it’s due to a temporary shift in market dynamics (in which case the manager should be given time).
* How she respects fund managers who are self-reflective and have the ability to admit their mistakes.
* How the focus has shifted from identifying star fund managers to identifying investment teams with great cultures.
We also discussed:
* That her advice to fund managers is that they should make it easy for investors to understand that the managers know what they’re doing. They should have clarity about their edge and be able to articulate that edge.
* That there’s a big difference between assessing other investors and yourself being accountable to clients for your investment decisions.
* That it’s important to distinguish between feelings and valuations, and it’s important to understand both yourself and markets.
Monene Watson is CIO of Old Mutual Multi-Managers. She began her career in the 1990s as a performance analyst at Old Mutual Asset Management. She then went to London and worked at Merrill Lynch and Friends Provident. When she returned to South Africa she joined linked investment services provider, TMA, which was later taken over by Edge Investments. In 2013, Monene joined Symmetry Multi-Manager as head of equity manager research. Symmetry merged with Acsis in 2013 to form Old Mutual Multi-Managers, and Monene became chief investment officer in 2018.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newdigate.substack.com