Money Maze Podcast Money Maze Podcast

If you write a widely followed weekly piece for nearly 30 years, assessing investment risks & rewards, geopolitical implications, and extracting signals from noise, you need experience, good instincts, market nous, and the ability to talk to the right people.

The weekly piece in question is GREED & FEAR, and its author, our guest Christopher Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy for Jefferies, in Hong Kong.

He has been ranked No. 1 Equity Strategist in the Asia Money Polls 18 times since 1996, and prior to that worked for The Economist between 1984 to 1994, during which period he was both the New York and Tokyo Bureau Chief.

We begin with Chris’s interpretation of China’s ambitions and appetite, where he explains why he sees China as less set on making territorial gains. He discusses the tectonic shifts underway which he describes as “as great as the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991… and which are driving  global military spending to record highs.”

He also covers Japan, the Yen & bond yields, widening the discussion to explain why he wants to avoid all G7 Government bonds.

He goes on to explain why he thinks good quality US Corporates will trade with lower yields than US Government bonds as their risk is lower.

He assesses the opportunity in EM debt, and their greater adherence to orthodox monetary policy. He also explains how both gold and bitcoin feature in his long term endowment portfolio. Recorded in June 2024. 

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council.

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In this shorter interview, recorded at Berlin SuperReturn, Rachel Arnold, Co-Head of Vista’s Endeavour strategy, a fund focused on small-cap private software companies, offers insights that echo Bill Gates comment that “software is the magic thing whose importance only goes up over time”

Amazingly, over 90% of software companies are private, and as a former tech operator and CEO, Rachel brings hard-earned expertise to explain their investing approach.

She discusses portfolio make up, the drivers behind software’s growth and how they assist their portfolio companies on operational transformation. 

She discusses the urgency and applications resulting from AI’s adoption, the likely trajectory of this investing space, software’s economic resilience and the runway ahead.

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council.

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If you wrote a business plan in the 1990s that was way ahead of its time - a 20th century idea that needed 21st century technology to work - then put it aside and instead built an enterprise software firm that achieved a Goldman Sachs backed blockbuster IPO in 1999, you might say “bravo”.

If then, several years later you return to this earlier idea, build it and today have over 100 million athletes in 195 countries using it, you’ll know why we’re exceptionally excited about this conversation!

Mike has helped grow Strava into one of the world’s leading activity tracking apps, employing about 400 people and achieving a valuation of approximately $1.5bn (as of its last funding round in 2020).

The seeds of Strava were planted during Mike’s time as captain of the Harvard rowing team, which helped him develop an appreciation of the benefits of sport, both personally & professionally.

Mike then earned a PhD at Harvard, before becoming an economics professor at Stanford and Dartmouth (and along the way he was also a CFO of a biotech firm).
 
In this longer-than-usual interview, Michael discusses what it takes to build a brand. He explains why they went “an inch wide and a mile deep” and why it’s best to “listen to your customers, not your investors”.

He also shares how he’s confronted setbacks, concentrating on excellence over growth, why they’ve stayed private, and why patience, persistence and perspective are central ingredients for success. One of my favourite interviews!

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council.

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Rob Arnott has published over 100 academic papers, co-authored several books, and his firm Research Affiliates developed the strategies behind approximately $147bn in AUM (as of March 2024).

He has earned a reputation as a highly respected, value-orientated investor with clarity about unrealistic valuations, mean-reversion and where the investment opportunities may lie.

In this interview he shares a timely analysis of Nvidia, which achieved a valuation of over $3tn last week (surpassing Microsoft as the world’s most valuable business). We thought it was timely to listen to his perspectives given today’s highly skewed, AI obsessed, passive-besotted investing world!

Rob describes his approach to evaluating risks and returns, why he believes the US current fiscal path is unsustainable, and how his firm, Research Affiliates, have developed indices to allow investors to access more compelling opportunities.

He unpicks his view as to why narratives around much-loved tech companies may already be reflected in their share prices, why the value opportunities are profound, especially outside of the US and particularly in emerging markets. Furthermore, he points out the disconnect between unloved value stocks and their underlying businesses (which have often been performing just fine). 

Rob also discusses portfolio allocations today, building resilience in your portfolio to allow for geopolitical turbulence, and the asymmetry of owning US inflation-linked Treasuries (TIPS) vs straight treasuries.

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council.

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In a world where competitive survival has become rarer, one UK retail institution has survived for 175 years, remains a trusted brand, with over 50,000 employees, 2,000 stores and 4,000 pharmacists.

Today Boots is part of the US Walgreens Boots Alliance, an entity with sales of $140 billion (2023/24) and one of the world’s largest purchasers of prescription drugs. 

In this episode we aim to explore the future of retail, the big drivers of change, the overload of the health systems, how pharmacies may play a vital role, technology, data, and what customers really want.

Seb James also discusses the demise of the department store, increasing specialisation, how data allows for tailoring of customer preferences and what AI might offer.

He goes on to cover the notable rise in theft since COVID-19, the decline of the UK High Street, and how they’re competing with both the US tech giants and China-affiliated e-commerce challengers. 

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council.

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Whether you’re a believer in the timelines, or sceptical about its urgency, the energy transition is underway, and its ramifications are immense. Both for the climate and for investors, the new order is challenging the old.

In this conversation, Per Lekander, a veteran of the energy and utility space, discusses the failings of the wind and solar industries but also the opportunities which exist for investment.

He evaluates competing energy sources, the rising temperature challenge, the runway ahead for electrification and the changes ahead for autos. 

He expands on his negative view on Tesla, why Mercedes has such a technological edge, changes in battery technology and how he navigates the long and short worlds in his funds.

Clean Energy Transition LLP is a thematic alternative investment management firm focused on fundamental equity investing across global long/short and long only investment strategies.

Its funds were first launched by Partner, Portfolio Manager and CEO, Per Lekander, at Lansdowne Partners (UK) LLP in 2015.

Today, the Firm manages c. US$2.7bn in assets for a diversified institutional client base, seeking to capitalise on the transformational changes occurring in the global energy sector, with a primary goal of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns. 

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council. 

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