The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Aoifinn Devitt
  • 4.9 (19)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

A series that showcases the diversity and richness of the investment world through showcasing inspiring investors and their stories. 

  1. Bonus: Always a Pensions Angle: Nick Dixon of Avon Pension Fund - Engagement, Purpose, Practice

    Jun 2 ·  Bonus

    Bonus: Always a Pensions Angle: Nick Dixon of Avon Pension Fund - Engagement, Purpose, Practice

    This podcast is released as part of a collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and the Always a Pensions Angle Podcast produced by DG Publishing.  Nick Dixon is Head of Pensions, Avon Pension Fund, which he has led since 2022.  Avon Pension Fund serves c.140,000 members in the public sector across Bristol, Bath and surrounding areas and is now a partner fund of Local Pensions Partnership.  Previously Nick advised private sector wealth platforms on their pensions and investment proposition. He was CIO of Aegon UK from 2013-21, focused on DC workplace pensions. From 2001-13 Nick was Marketing Director for wealth & pensions platform Quilter.Our conversation has a particular focus on an engagement exercise that Avon conducted around the fund's investment in aerospace and defence companies. Nick explained that during 2024 and 2025 the fund received a lot of petitions from its members who were deeply concerned about the war in Gaza, and the indirect role of aerospace and defence companies in supplying Israel. In response to that, a critical stakeholder issue, they conducted a survey of all members. We opened up the issue to bring out a set of trade-offs, including the importance of NATO defence, the concern about arms impacts on the environment, the fact that they kill innocent civilians. The consultation had reasonable engagement - with 11% of the fund members responding, and the result was that 42% wanted to divest, about 47% said they’d like to remain invested, and about 11% said they didn’t know. The fund did not consider this a clear mandate to divest – and therefore decided to remain invested.We discuss the importance of engagement generally as well as this critical, sometimes emotive, issue, which has emerged for many local authority pension funds. We reflect on whether surveys and engagement in this way could be a way forward for other funds in the future as these issues continue to gain traction with the underlying beneficiaries and stakeholders.

    18 min
  2. Bonus: Always a Pensions Angle Collaboration: Peter Wallach - From Powerhouse to Progress

    May 29 ·  Bonus

    Bonus: Always a Pensions Angle Collaboration: Peter Wallach - From Powerhouse to Progress

    This podcast is the latest in our collaboration with the Always a Pensions Angle podcast produced by DG Publishing. Peter Wallach is Director of Pensions at Merseyside Pension Fund, a position he took up in April 2007. He started his career in private banking, where he worked in the City for 12 years. In 1997 he joined Close Wealth Management as an investment manager, and in 2004 he joined Merseyside Pension Fund. Our discussion, which is Peter's first time being interviewed by Aoifinn Devitt, so his first appearance on the podcast, was a long time coming, in that Peter has been a long-term steady hand in the LGPS, combining investment acumen with operational insight.  Our discussion focused on the evolution at Northern LGPS and we asked what needed to evolve there to meet the new demands of pooling. Peter cites the benefits of collaboration between pools an effective way of delivering the government’s agenda and he mentions both GLIL, as well as a housing initiative that Northern is working on with LPPI. He also mentions the potential for collaboration with DC master trusts as they grow in scale. We touch then on the fund's responsible investment policy and how that will evolve under pooling and Peter mentions the fund's baseline as well as its interim milestones. He discusses the importance of targets not being too rigid while still being ambitious.

    19 min
  3. Richard Law-Deeks, CEO of LGPS Central: Change for Good - The Promise of Partnership

    May 26

    Richard Law-Deeks, CEO of LGPS Central: Change for Good - The Promise of Partnership

    Richard Law-Deeks is Chief Executive Officer of LGPS Central, which, following its current expansion, will be responsible for over 100 bn GBP in pooled local authority pension fund assets. Prior to joining LGPS Central in 2024 he was CEO of the Royal Mail Pensions Trustees Ltd. and prior to that held a series of financial roles, mostly within the local government sphere. We start our discussion with his early study of political science and the rooting in public service that came from his parents. We hear then about his various stepping stones to his current role, many of which involved steep learning curves, change - of both the positive (expansion) and negative (contraction) variety and the public service driver that underpinned many of them.  We move then to his current role at LGPS Central, itself the center of huge structural change and we discuss in detail the governance complexities that the new structures present, but hear from Richard why he is very optimistic about the new provisions. We reflect on the enduring appeal of public service, the importance of coaching and what he considers to be his own leadership style. This is a rich and multi-layered discussion that is an honest assessment of the uncertainties that present a moments of great change and the tactics to push through them. This podcast is kindly sponsored by Benefit Street Partners and PIMCO. Founded in 2008, Benefit Street Partners – BSP – is Franklin Templeton’s specialised private credit manager with $92 billion in assets under management.    The firm provides a wide range of private credit strategies across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, including direct lending, special situations, commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, asset backed finance, structured credit and liquid credit.  PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC) is a premier global investment management firm founded in 1971, specializing in active fixed-income with over $2 trillion in assets under management. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, it offers diversified investment solutions across public and private markets, serving institutional and individual investors worldwide.

    26 min
  4. Ami Galani of Tipt Ventures: Reimagining Sports, Starting with Her

    May 19

    Ami Galani of Tipt Ventures: Reimagining Sports, Starting with Her

    Ami Galani is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tipt Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in companies “reimagining sports, starting with her”. She is a board member of Beauty by Imagination BB, a PE backed beauty platform, a strategic advisor to Elysian Park Ventures, a venture capital firm backed by the ownership group of the LA Dodgers and holds a number of other board roles. She spent over 10 years at Dick’s Sporting Goods where she focused on identifying M&A, investment and other strategic or non-traditional opportunities to enhance the Dick’s athlete experience and drive Dick’s long-term strategy. Our conversation is a tour through the dynamic world of women's sports, and starts with Ami's own evolution from working on the legal side of transactions to taking the lead on deals herself. We speak about the mentorship and trust by others that is required for this to take place and examine the factors that make investing in women's sports so compelling. We pull the lens back a little to look at the psychology of entrepreneurship and the evolving world of venture capital. Returning back to granular detail then, Ami explains some of the particular investments that she has been focusing on and the number of compelling adjacencies that women's sports represents.This podcast is kindly sponsored by Benefit Street Partners and PIMCO. Founded in 2008, Benefit Street Partners – BSP – is Franklin Templeton’s specialised private credit manager with $92 billion in assets under management.    The firm provides a wide range of private credit strategies across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, including direct lending, special situations, commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, asset backed finance, structured credit and liquid credit.  PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC) is a premier global investment management firm founded in 1971, specializing in active fixed-income with over $2 trillion in assets under management. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, it offers diversified investment solutions across public and private markets, serving institutional and individual investors worldwide.

    31 min
  5. Richard Tomlinson of LPPI - New Frontiers and the Promise of Doing More Together

    May 13

    Richard Tomlinson of LPPI - New Frontiers and the Promise of Doing More Together

    Richard Tomlinson is Chief Investment Officer at Local Pensions Partnership Investments. He was previously head of portfolio advisory and partner at Albourne, where he spent over 6 years, and prior to that managed was Head of Multi Strategy and Absolute Return at Old Mutual Asset Managers. This podcast builds on the themes recently shared in the Always a Pensions Angle collaboration which featured Richard.  We begin our conversation with Richard's diverse educational background and how he was interested in particular in entrepreneurship, some of which sprang from his family upbringing. We speak about how that influenced his later moves into other organizations and the creative mindset that followed. Moving then to his focus at the helm of the investment team at LPPI we discuss the recent expansion of the partnership and the challenges and opportunities that it represents. With the new mission statement "Together, Let's Do More" we speak about what that "More" will entail and how in particular the advisory role will be built out and the new responsibilities assumed. Governance, accountability and stakeholder interests feature strongly in this discussion as do the realities of embarking upon a set of new frontiers.This podcast is kindly sponsored by Benefit Street Partners and PIMCO. Founded in 2008, Benefit Street Partners – BSP – is Franklin Templeton’s specialised private credit manager with $92 billion in assets under management.    The firm provides a wide range of private credit strategies across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, including direct lending, special situations, commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, asset backed finance, structured credit and liquid credit.  PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC) is a premier global investment management firm founded in 1971, specializing in active fixed-income with over $2 trillion in assets under management. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, it offers diversified investment solutions across public and private markets, serving institutional and individual investors worldwide.

    31 min
  6. Carolina Strobel of Antler Brazil: On Board Reboots and Ventures Promise

    May 5

    Carolina Strobel of Antler Brazil: On Board Reboots and Ventures Promise

    Carolina (Carol) Strobel, is based in Sao Paolo and a founding partner at Antler Brasil. She is also a Founder and Operational Partner at Redpoint eventures and holds a number of Board Roles, including of public companies in Brazil. Our conversation starts with her original career as a lawyer, and how the deal-level detail naturally led her towards venture investing.  We speak then about the venture capital ecosystem in Brazil and Latin America more generally and the areas where a venture capital investor can truly add value - sometimes it is more about being a "whatsapp" away rather than formal board responsibilities. We speak about the challenge of becoming visible in certain finance settings and how it is important to trust one's skillset and expertise and let that be the basis to lose the imposter syndrome.  Moving then to board roles, Carol discusses the importance of boards changing with the times and sometimes being "rebooted" in order to cope with change when it comes to technology and new business models. This is where expert technical knowledge comes in. This podcast is kindly sponsored by Benefit Street Partners and PIMCO. Founded in 2008, Benefit Street Partners – BSP – is Franklin Templeton’s specialised private credit manager with $92 billion in assets under management.    The firm provides a wide range of private credit strategies across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, including direct lending, special situations, commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, asset backed finance, structured credit and liquid credit.  PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC) is a premier global investment management firm founded in 1971, specializing in active fixed-income with over $2 trillion in assets under management. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, it offers diversified investment solutions across public and private markets, serving institutional and individual investors worldwide.

    31 min
  7. Bonus Episode: Richard Tomlinson of LPPI (Always a Pensions Angle/DG Publishing Collaboration)

    Apr 30 ·  Bonus

    Bonus Episode: Richard Tomlinson of LPPI (Always a Pensions Angle/DG Publishing Collaboration)

    A special bonus episode brought to you in conjunction with the Always a Pensions Angle Podcast, by D G Publishing. This podcast was recorded in January 2026 at their conference in Windsor.Richard Tomlinson has responsibility for management of all investment and client activity at LPPI. He has more than 20 years of investment experience. Prior to joining LPPI in 2017, Richard was Head of Portfolio Advisory (EMEA) at Albourne Partners for six years where he advised European investors on alternative investments, portfolio construction and risk management. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Multi-Strategy at Old Mutual Asset Managers and prior to this an analyst at GNI Fund Management. Our conversation covers the evolution of their product mix as the pool grows, the development of the advisory function, the opening of an office in Bristol as the pool expands, and their core mission: paying pensions as they fall due, affordably and efficiently. We also take the crystal ball out to look at what the next five years may hold. Richard features on The Fiftyfaces Podcast later in Series 2 of 2026.

    20 min
  8. Michael Davis of T Rowe Price: Retiring a Legend - Lessons in Trust and Client Loyalty

    Apr 28

    Michael Davis of T Rowe Price: Retiring a Legend - Lessons in Trust and Client Loyalty

    Michael Davis, is Head of Global Retirement Strategy at T. Rowe Price and former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor (2009–2012),  and will be retiring in May of 2026. He has had a long career in finance interspersed with spells of public service, including in particular a role as Assistant Secretary in the US Department of Labor, from 2009 to 2012. He has a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard and remains committed to the study of global leadership as well as the promotion of opportunity.Our conversation starts with Michael's non-traditional path into finance, and his upbringing in the south. We learn what drew him to finance, and the strong underpinning of service that is a thread throughout.   Michael explains how translating between different worlds shaped his leadership philosophy of dignity, integrity, and learning from ethical leaders and presidential biographies, citing Truman’s view that certainty never fully arrives. He outlines T. Rowe Price’s differentiated retirement platform- $1.8T managed with about two-thirds retirement-related, active target-date leadership, record-keeping for 2.5M participants, and 1.1M individual investors- and the value of combining stakeholder signals.  His core beliefs include integrity, transparency, simple communication, diversification, and a balanced view of active and passive.  Looking ahead, he highlights the unresolved challenge of decumulation and delivering trusted advice at scale, arguing defaults beat financial literacy alone, and emphasizing that asset managers ultimately “sell trust.”This podcast is kindly sponsored by Benefit Street Partners and PIMCO. Founded in 2008, Benefit Street Partners – BSP – is Franklin Templeton’s specialised private credit manager with $92 billion in assets under management.    The firm provides a wide range of private credit strategies across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, including direct lending, special situations, commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, asset backed finance, structured credit and liquid credit.  PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC) is a premier global investment management firm founded in 1971, specializing in active fixed-income with over $2 trillion in assets under management. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, it offers diversified investment solutions across public and private markets, serving institutional and individual investors worldwid

    32 min
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4.9
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About

A series that showcases the diversity and richness of the investment world through showcasing inspiring investors and their stories. 

Information

  • Creator
    Aoifinn Devitt
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    448
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Aoifinn Devitt
  • Show Website
    The Fiftyfaces Podcast

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