Being Invested

About Being Invested

Welcome to Being Invested, the podcast where we explore investing from the inside. I’m not talking about insider information, but the personal stories of the people who make the markets. I’ve always been fascinated by how skilled investors have become who they are, how they’ve ridden the roller coasters and what it means to them. I’ll introduce you to innovators and leaders in all types of assets and markets – from blue chip stocks to venture capital, from timber to crypto, from violins to power plants. I’ve been an investor and worked in the international capital markets for my whole career. I’ve had a front-row view of the women and men who move money to shape our world, and I’ve always been interested in who they are as human beings, the choices they’ve made, the qualities that make them good at what they do, and how they deal with setbacks. This is not a podcast about where to invest your money. It’s a podcast for people who want to understand and thrive in the financial services industry – for those of you just thinking about entering it, for anyone a bit stuck in one corner and ready for a change , and for those of you, like me, who are just plain curious about who the people are behind the world’s financial markets. You’ll get to hear how investors have built and are building their careers and their businesses, and learn from them to invest for the outcomes you desire. And how to respond when the price tanks. The mindset of being invested can enrich and elevate your journey, and I’d love to encourage more people into the sector who may not have considered it before. Please join me for riveting conversations and new insights into the careers, life hacks and hard-won life lessons of investors across the globe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Susannah Nicklin

Category

business · education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Apr 2023

Latest episode

8 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Apr 2026

   S2 Ep3: Monica Brand Engel: EM Fintech as generational opportunity - secrets of a fund founder, author and curious human

   In this episode of Being Invested, I sit down with Monica Brand Engel, Co-Founder of Quona Capital, to discuss the intersection of capital, technology, and social/financial inclusion. Monica shares her journey from the early days of microfinance to leading one of the world’s premier emerging market fintech funds. She’s based in Washington, DC, but her thinking and work is truly global. We dive into: The Power of Connection: How Monica uses her associative, multidisciplinary thinking to spot opportunities in markets like Brazil, India, and Africa. Wholesome Leadership: The challenge of maintaining "fierce kindness" and inclusivity in the often-aggressive world of VC. Life Design: How she balances raising twins and scaling a global firm by setting "ruthless" boundaries. The Future of Fintech: Why she views emerging markets as the "Silicon Valley of the 1970s." We also talk about her book, “Rebalance: How Women Lead, Parent, Partner and Thrive” - a powerful compilation of learnings and practical insight that I recommend for successfully navigating personal and professional success. https://amzn.eu/d/0cZmGqAJ (https://amzn.eu/d/0cZmGqAJ) Monica’s perspective is a refreshing reminder that being "invested" means more than just capital—it means being deeply committed to the people and systems we aim to transform. I hope you enjoy this first episode of 2026! You can find Monica at Quona Capital (https://quona.com/ (https://quona.com/)) or on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicabrandengel?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios (https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicabrandengel?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios) GUEST FAVES Quote: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to follow you.” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) and "I come as one, but I stand as 10,000" (Maya Angelou) Comedy: Amy Poehler Book: The Innovators, Walter Isaacson Please message me on LinkedIn with feedback or recs for future guests. I’m working on some new ideas that I am excited to share with you… stay tuned! GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   20 Dec 2024

   S2 Ep2: Lee Spelman: Holiday Special with JPMorgan Chair of Global Equities - Keeping it real on the rise - perpectives from a career in the inner circle of US markets

   Hello and welcome to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. For Ep2 of Season 2 we have something really special, finishing off the year strong. I’ve chosen and carefully wrapped up a conversation with one of the most influential investors in the world, Lee Spelman, JP Morgan’s chair of global equities. Now advising on trillions of dollars of assets, Lee grew up in a family that didn’t even own stocks. Yet when she was told there was no way she’d get a job on Wall Street, that’s exactly what she did. She discovered it was her passion, combining a journalist’s skill for finding the story and a love of competition that sizzles in the performance-driven culture of public markets. She graduated from the Wharton School of Business, and has been an active alumna for decades, including serving as a Trustee. She started her career at Martin Simpson & Co, a brokerage specializing in tech research. Lee joined JP Morgan in 1989 and rose through the ranks. As a Senior Research Analyst, she covered computer hardware and software sectors in the US at the start of the digital age – sitting in the front row as the PC and the internet emerged, and on first-names with the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. She became MD and led JP Morgan’s US Equities group for many years, until starting her current global role in 2024. She’s married with two grown children, lives in Manhattan, adores art and travelling, and has never lost her love of the ‘newsroom.’ For years Lee has leant her time and influence to open doors in the investment industry for women and under-represented people, and she’s not done yet - now actively involved in JP Morgan’s Project Spark, a new initiative providing capital to funds managed by diverse, emerging alternative managers. With the pod's Season 2, I am shining a light on some of the many brilliant women in the US investment world. Lee truly emanates her own radiance, and I am thrilled to share our conversation with you. Stay tuned in the new year – we have a line-up of cracking episodes with the personal stories of extraordinary investors. Thank you for your support in 2024 and see you in 2025! WHAT'S IN STORE: I'm a competitive person. I like to win. And in investing there's a scorecard. So I think to be a good investor requires two … opposing characteristics. One is you have to have the courage of your convictions so that you can actually invest. But at the same time, you have to have the humility to know when you're wrong and to move on. You know, predicting the future is impossible. Let's start with that. I've ordered my crystal ball a long time ago. I'm still waiting for its arrival. I struggle with why more women aren't interested in investing. I think some of it comes down to risk. … women tend to do very well in school, outstanding students because they study and get the A. And then you come into investing and you could do all the work you want. It doesn't necessarily mean the stock you're going to pick is going to work. I try to keep an even keel and.. I try not to get angry when something goes wrong. … after a day or two goes by you say, you know, okay,… I can live with it. And you move on. The key as, as you're beginning your career ... is to become an expert at something. So when you're a junior .. try to just add value. Become an expert in some aspect of your job where you know it better than just about anybody else, because that …is how you get recognized. FAVES Film: Love Actually Book: Anna Karenina, Lev Tolstoy Music: Thomas McKean (singer-songwriter) Quote: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful” – Warren Buffett YouTube: Roger Federer speech at Dartmouth - https://youtu.be/pqWUuYTcG-o?feature=shared Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   25 Oct 2024

   S2 Ep1: Yrenilsa Lopez - Bright game-changer undistracted by shininess: earnestness makes better returns

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. I’m your host, Susannah Nicklin, and I’m hugely excited to launch Series 2 of the podcast with today’s episode. For Series 2, I’m taking you on a trip across The Pond. We will meet US-based investors who have lived fascinating lives, sharing hard-won lessons and insights from their own journeys and the coal face of the markets. But I’m not bringing you just any US investors. You are going to hear from the top women investors in the US. It has been more than 25 years since I started in the industry, and despite much progress, I still see many all-male panels at investment conferences and not enough women running investment businesses or occupying senior investment roles. This series will celebrate and expand awareness of the brilliant women across the industry - and it’s for men as much as women. Research shows that men have historically been less likely to read books by or about women, while women read agnostically. If you’re a man looking for an information advantage, here’s a great place to start. My first guest is Yrenilsa Lopez, the MD of Investments for the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which includes mission-driven lenders such as Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Yrenilsa has over 14 years of experience in private equity and debt investments globally, focused on impact and sustainable assets. At Momentus Capital, she leads a team focused on making impact investments, including an innovative form of non-dilutive investments specifically for businesses in the growth-stage and which create social impact within the communities they serve. Prior to joining Momentus Capital, Yrenilsa spent eight years with Women's World Banking Asset Management as its Portfolio Manager and Principal Investment Officer, where she led private equity transactions into gender-focused financial service institutions, fintech, and insurance companies in global developing markets. She has held board directorships in investment companies in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Financial Inclusion Equity Council (FIEC). Yrenilsa is based in New York and is an avid cyclist who has completed several 100-mile day rides. We touch on the game-changing power that comes from your family’s belief in your abilities, standing up to implicit bias, badass women bosses, and structuring great win-win investments by taking the time to understand the needs of underserved communities. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did, and thank you so much for listening to Being Invested. Please stay tuned and spread the word! WHAT’S IN STORE: It’s very important to not believe someone when they try to tell you you can't do something. One, you can't take it for granted that people will know you are worth what you are, so you can't stop working hard. Two, you have to believe and stand up for yourself when you know you can do it. High standards, being earnest and having a high level of trustworthiness are key. It makes others want to work for you and it makes others want to follow your example. There's no magic. It's just hard work and precision. Don't ever try to shoehorn yourself into a space that is not you. It's important to understand what value you bring, where you bloom and where you do your best work and place yourself in situations where that's valued. FAVES: Music: Juan Luis Guerra Book: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck Comedian: Janine Garofalo Dinner companion: Lucille Ball THANKS to the team: Tom McKean, Sophie Hardy, Alexander Russell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

4. 

   15 Jul 2024

   Ep12: Diana Noble: Choosing brave over boring - with rigour and kindness

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. My guest today is the brilliant and indomitable Diana Noble. We talk about how motivation changes everything, how success can vary at different life stages, how going to Harvard for an executive MBA gave her the confidence to step into leadership, and what it takes to go from investor to business builder. Diana started in the vanguard of PE/VC in the UK and later was at the forefront of international development, taking bold career moves at each stage. She is now Deputy Chair of the Bank of England Court of Directors, a Board member of Wellcome Trust, Non-Exec Director of Brookfield Asset Management, and Chair of The Children’s Society. She also advises leaders of PE firms as the founder of Kirkos Partners. From 2011-17, Diana was CEO of CDC, the UK’s £5bn development finance institution (now called BII) where she led significant transformation and growth. Earlier, she was a partner at Schroder Ventures (now Permira) and founded e-Ventures and Reed Elsevier Ventures. She also led Operations for the Clinton Foundation’s Health Access Initiative, responsible for 43 countries and the scale-up of a global program giving children access to HIV/AIDS care. Diana has a first-class Law degree and was awarded a CBE in 2017. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! Thank you for listening to Being Invested and making Series 1 a success. We will be back after a summer break for Series 2 in the autumn – with a timely angle and amazing guests. See you then! WHAT'S IN STORE · “Two lessons I take from that time: one is motivation is everything. If you're motivated, you can do so much. If you're not, you're just going to bumble along. And the second thing is: we all need a little help at different times. And … you can be really lucky to have the right people in your lives to sort of steer you a little bit, not necessarily tell you what to do.” · “I wanted to learn as fast as I possibly could and be put in scary situations and test myself. So, it was sink or swim, but I swam.” · “Parenting is super, super hard … It's about leaning in, leaning out, being there, always being there, always listening, but holding back a bit on the direct advice.” · “I like (investment managers to have) scars. I like failures - when (they) can really talk well about why it happened and why it won't happen again. I think if you hire people who've already got scars, someone else has paid for their learning curve and you're benefiting from it.” · “For career changes, make sure you've got the right balance between the things you already know - because that's going to give you confidence on day one, and the things that you don't know - because that's the stretch.” · “Flattery (should) play no role in your career decisions. Fine, be flattered, accept it because it's nice, but put it aside. Do not shortcut your due diligence about whether the role is going to be right for you, whether you can succeed.” · “I was reasonably well known, I was making lots of money, but no one else was benefiting, really. And that just felt wrong for me.” LINKS Unleashed – Frances Frei and Anne Morriss FAVOURITES Video: George Saunders speech on Kindness - https://youtu.be/ruJWd_m-LgY?feature=shared Quote: “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” Flannery O’Connor Comedy: Flight of the Conchords GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

5. 

   31 May 2024

   Ep11: Nick Kirrage - Drawn to the difficult: the values of value investing

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. My guest this time is Nick Kirrage, co-head of the Global Value Team at Schroders, and it’s a really fun conversation. Nick is one of those people who takes on difficult things with a light touch. He has a contagious enthusiasm and openness about how human emotion – his own included – can be the curse of the investor but how acting with awareness of this can generate reliable returns time and again. Nick and I explore how AI might change this pattern, the investing rules he follows and which ones he’s left behind, as well as how an unexpected turn into the marketing department early on in his career has helped him succeed in running a market-leading investment team. You will take away thoughtful insights into the enduring tenets of value investing and what it takes personally to remain a contrarian. Nick studied aeronautical engineering at Bristol, but got hooked on investing during university and started his career at Schroders as a graduate, ultimately co-founding the Global Value Team in 2013. He and his team now manage more than GBP11bn in assets for clients in the UK and around the globe. Alongside value investing, Nick has embraced other endurance challenges – including the Marathon de Sables, cycling the length of the country, and now participating in ÖTILLÖ Swimrun. When he’s not holding his nerve in the markets or on a chilly starting line, he might have drumsticks in his hand, as he has recently taken up drumming. Nick cares deeply about the future of the UK as a dynamic global financial centre and is actively involved in a number of initiatives, including the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, to encourage regulation and policy to support the continued strength and growth of the investment industry here. I hope you enjoy the podcast. WHAT'S IN STORE “Don't fall in love with stocks because they can't love you back.” “(CEOs) are …the most compelling salespeople in their business: they've made it up the pyramid. They're good at telling a story. I've been in thousands of management meetings, and no manager ever said to me, “Nick, I just want you to know, this is a terrible business, and or our stock price is horribly overvalued.” … And both those things have been true many times. So, you've got to understand what that meeting with a CEO is.” “I don't think for any role, you need to change who you are, but what you do need is a very, very healthy dose of self awareness.” “It is a superpower to not have assumed wisdom, to not come with legacy bias and views.” “When you understand what might go wrong, you can in some ways ameliorate that with contingency. You can think: is that a risk worth taking to achieve our objective? So, red teaming is built in as part of our process.” “If you go and ask people to pick the 20 worst investments in the stock market, it can be quite embarrassing. This is a game where the process is disproportionately important, because it's a game of fine margins.” FAVOURITES Book: Amy Edmondson’s books – including ‘Right Kind of Wrong’ ‘The Fearless Organization' and ‘Teaming' Music: 'Hold the Line' by Toto, anything Aerosmith Quote: “When a management with a reputation for great execution in an industry with a reputation for terrible returns meet, it's the industry that leaves with its reputation intact.” Warren Buffett Podcast: The Value Perspective by Schroders GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

6. 

   4 Feb 2024

   Ep.10: Michele Giddens: A master of imagining better - building the impact market and how shyness fuels determination

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. For our first podcast of 2024, I am joined by a true pioneer – Michele Giddens, one of the ‘founding parents’ of impact investment globally and Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bridges Fund Management. Our conversation goes deep, exploring how shyness as a child cultivated a purposeful orientation to contribute and perform. Born in Leicester, with early years in Canada and California, Michele has always embraced new frontiers, and woven purpose into her hugely successful investing and business-building career. Undeterred by extreme conditions in the Gobi Dessert nor sceptics in the City, Michele has been a leader in helping to create a new model of investing, designed to deliver both financial returns and positive, measurable impact for society. We cover fascinating ground, including reflections on the many hats worn in building a leading private markets investment firm and the mainstreaming of impact investing. As battles and tensions flare around the world, I want to shine a light on people finding ways to direct investment to create more equitable, sustainable and peaceful life on our beautiful planet. Michele is one of these people. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Michele co-founded Bridges in 2002 and the firm has since raised approaching £2bn across multiple asset strategies, with investments across Europe, the US and, recently, in emerging markets. She has also served on and chaired numerous boards: including as adviser to the UK Treasury’s Social Investment Task Force, chair of the CDFA, chair of the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing, chair of a Global Working Group on Policy for the G7 Impact Investment Taskforce, member on the BVCA Council, and NED on the board of CDC (now BII). Michele is a Trustee for the Bridges Impact Foundation. Her early career was in the charitable sector and then international development finance. Michele studied PP&E at Oxford University, earned an MBA from Georgetown University and was awarded an OBE for services to international development and social finance in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. She is married, has two children and enjoys playing the piano, yoga, music and dancing. WHAT'S IN STORE “I think my reaction to shyness...was determination to fight back by doing the thing that felt to me the absolutely scariest that I could do.” “After about 30 minutes, we drove off the road. I asked why? And they said, well, there is no road between here and there. So we just started striking out across this completely white wilderness of snowy Gobi desert.” “I saw...business not just as a way for some shareholders to make money, but as an exciting mechanism for solving problems in the world.” “A lot of pioneers end up building the plane as they fly." “What really changes the world is collective intelligence, not any one individual's activities.” “I'm just not quite clear whether a life has been well lived if you don't write a book, so who knows?” FAVOURITES: Book: ‘Collective Intelligence' - Jennifer Sundberg (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennifer-Sundberg/e/B0CLH58XTL/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1) & Pippa Begg (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pippa-Begg/e/B0CMY1FF56/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_2); ‘Anna Karenina’ - Lev Tolstoy; Music: Beatles; Quote: “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” – Eleanor Roosevelt; Podcast: Empire; Comedians: Monty Python GRATITUDE: Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean Please leave a review or message me on LinkedIn! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

7. 

   22 Dec 2023

   Ep.9: Andrew Noble: Finding the edge - from Olympic skier to VC business builder

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. This is a holiday treat … taking us to snowy peaks and flying through a fascinating career from top-level skiing to the prizes of early-stage business building. My guest for this episode is Andrew Noble, our first Olympic athlete on the podcast. Andrew was an Alpine skiier for Team GB who has converted the agility, risk-tolerance and mental sharpness needed to fly through the gates into a successful career in venture capital investing, with a focus on Scotland and the north of England. In this many-layered episode, we explore how the resilience learned from coming back after serious injury helped him turn what could have been setbacks in his career trajectory into springboards, what technique he uses to perform under pressure, how emotion influences venture investing and more. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for your support for the launch of Being Invested in 2023. I’ll be back in the New Year with more brilliant guests. Wishing you health, happiness and prosperity in 2024, and success in the ways that you find to Be Invested in your life. WHAT'S IN STORE · “There was certainly a lot of time to think about things when you break your back.” · “Attitude towards risk, risk tolerance, risk measurement in your inner state is so fascinating - and what life events determine that.” · “One trick that I did take away from professional sport was the ability to reset one's mind. So quite often when you're standing at the top of a race, you feel that build up of nervousness and energy. And you need to be centered before you throw yourself down a mountain and try and compete with some of the best skiers." · “It was a big learning curve for me in terms of aligning my own ambitions with my moral compass.” · “It's roughly seven touch points until someone feels comfortable buying your product, it takes a long time.” · “It's easy to deploy capital, it's much harder to get it back, and it's even harder to know how to manage that follow on position. … You've originally backed that company, that strategy, that management team, and so sometimes you're at odds with yourself, because by saying no to the follow-on round, you're really saying that you got it wrong.” PAR EQUITY https://www.parequity.com (https://www.parequity.com/) FAVOURITES Music: Elton John (moving up in the Being Invested charts!) Film: Interstellar and other Christopher Nolan films Quote: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal.” Podcast: The Rest is Politics Comedians: Billy Connolly, Kevin Bridges, and the Monty Python Gang GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. Happy holidays! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

8. 

   4 Nov 2023

   Ep.8: Mike Reid: Acing growth - the art of contending, building trust and staying calm

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. My guest for Episode 8 is Mike Reid, founder and senior partner of Frog Capital, based in London and investing across Europe. We get into critical, thorny and transformational aspects of scale-up investing, emphasising effective processes and human interactions as the engines of great returns. Frog invests growth capital in software scale-ups that have a clear net positive impact on society, high growth potential, and proven revenues and profitability. I have the pleasure of working with Mike as a non-executive director on the Frog board, and can vouch that Mike walks the walk - he is relentlessly curious about innovation and tech, understands the scale-up phase and ingredients for success like few others, focuses on people and team dynamics, and always makes time for the important in-person conversation and getting to the heart of the matter. Mike lived in five countries before the age of 14, and this comfort with rapid, unpredictable change has set him in good stead for a career in venture and growth investing. He graduated from Bath University and subsequently spent 13 years at 3i before founding Frog. I thoroughly enjoyed this open and illuminating conversation, and I hope you will, too. Thank you for listening. Please stay tuned for future episodes - and I love to hear your feedback! If you'd like to suggest a guest, you can find me on LinkedIn. WHAT'S IN STORE "I think number one is … self awareness, both at the individual level, but also at the team level.” “Be calm about your successes because, yes, they were great, but don't let it get to your head…In the technology arena, with such ups and downs in the market, you see some extraordinary exits … where, literally, if the business had been going six months later, it probably would have gone bust…from Hero status to … probably the end of the firm.” “The more experience you have, the more challenging it can be because you've got too much information, you've got too many memories and it can affect your ability to take risk.” “One of the pieces of content we put into our papers is a deliberate devil's advocate section … typically filled in by people in the deal team who are not so close, to actually argue against the deal in the paper. Why shouldn't we do this deal— really succinct? It is a really simple but really interesting way to ensure there's a diversity of thought.” “I was very lucky at 3i, where there was a huge focus on soft issues around relationship building, influencing and winning trust. … Entrepreneurs are marrying investors and it's a long term relationship. So whilst the price of the deal, et cetera, is really important, ultimately when they wake up or go to bed at night, they'll be thinking, who do I want to have to call when the quarter didn't quite go so well? They want to be ringing people they get on with and can trust. That whole softer piece is less easy to teach but is a really key area to keep honing the whole of your career.” Book Recommendations: Philip Kerr novels and ‘Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It” by Chris Voss FIND MIKE: https://frogcapital.com/profile/mike-reid/ (https://frogcapital.com/profile/mike-reid/) HUGE GRATITUDE TO: Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean, Photo: Dom Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

9. 

   3 Oct 2023

   Ep7: Robin Hindle Fisher: Investor-turned-leader who's all about people, courage and impact

   Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. Today’s episode with my brilliant guest Robin Hindle Fisher packs a punch: it’s a story about the power of self-belief and tenacity, bold lifelong learning and reinvention, and how great investment firms need leaders who know how to invest, and how to lead. I have known Robin since he became the Non-Executive Chair of Big Society Capital last year. He brings to his leadership the lived experience of social inequality, having been born with disabilities caused by the drug Thalidomide. Our conversation is wide ranging across personal and professional terrain. We hear how being told not to bother applying for a top City job simply whet Robin’s steely determination and competitive edge, and why he thinks the best place to be in asset management now is in impact investment. I enjoyed it immensely and I hope you do, too. Robin's career has spanned executive and non-executive roles in the investment management industry. He has been a charity sector trustee for over 20 years, and has practiced as a business coach to Exco level corporate executives for the last 14 years. Along with chairing BSC, he is a Governor at the Motability Foundation, a non-exec director at Oldfield Partners and a founding partner at the business coaching firm Hay Hill Partners. Robin received a Masters in Management, Leadership and Strategy from LBS, has an MA in Coaching Psychology and an MSc in Executive Coaching. He was awarded an OBE in December 2018. Thank you for listening. Please stay tuned for future episodes and spread the word! WHAT'S IN STORE "The experience of having been a leader in my earlier life gave me the confidence in organizations to put my neck on the block and to take responsibility for getting things done when others were perhaps happier to go with the status quo." “It's a reality that having arms that are less than half the size of other people's does make me different. I do have to cope with some aspects of life that other people find easy. And I can understand why people give me a second look, because you don't see people like me... on a day-to-day basis. But at the same time, I absolutely expect, and indeed, I am happy to fight for the right to be treated as an equal." "Any investor who says that dealing with failure is not part of what they do is either kidding themselves or trying kid their client. Dealing with portfolio decisions that don't go the way that you want them to go is absolutely fundamental to being a fund manager." "I think there's too much investment management in the world, ... too many companies doing it. And while I think investment management should have processes and rigor, I think it's best pursued in relatively small entities that are owned, run and led by investors." "I don't think the current Western iteration of capitalism is sustainable if there isn't a fairer allocation of the returns that come from enterprise." IMPACT INVESTING https://bigsocietycapital.com/ (https://bigsocietycapital.com/) https://www.impactinvest.org.uk/ (https://www.impactinvest.org.uk/) https://thegiin.org/ (https://thegiin.org/) FAVOURITES Music: Springsteen, Elton John, Van Morrison, JS Bach's Six Cello suites Film: Dr Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, When Harry Met Sally Books: Charles Handy's writings and "The 100-Year Life'" by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

10. 

    26 Aug 2023

    Ep6: Lawrence Evans: "Self-awareness (+ discipline) wins" - lessons from coaching the world's best investors

    Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. We take a fun, fascinating summertime detour in Episode 6, for a conversation with one of the world's top investment coaches, Lawrence Evans. We all know the value of coaches in sport and other walks of life. But like me, you may not have heard of an investment coach - they are not standing by any sidelines and their names don't appear in headlines. But they can be game changers, integrating lessons from high performance sport and other fields, and shining a light on what investing skill is, and how to elevate it. Lawrence has worked with the world’s top investors for over 15 years, coaching using his own proprietary methods grounded in multi-disciplinary research and practice. He's helped them raise their game, recover from tough patches, hone their skills and communicate successfully - with a grounding in self-awareness and discipline. Lawrence and I talk about how he does this, what he’s learned over the years and how we all can improve our craft – investing or perhaps any craft - through identifying the rules we use, and knowing when to change them. I was thrilled to have Lawrence join me as a guest and found it a very stimulating conversation. I hope you enjoy it and thank you, merci, muchas gracias for listening! WHAT'S IN STORE: “Strength maximization gives you a chance to be Mozart.” “I see no link at all between being a great investor in terms of skill and having a massive IQ. In fact, I actually think it might be inversely correlated. The more intelligent you are, perhaps the more troublesome it is to be a skillful investor.” “What are you trying to improve as an investor? …Almost everybody tells you, I'm trying to improve Alpha or my benchmark plus returns. But you don't control that. So I would ask the question again, give me something you're trying to improve that you control.” “What is it about you that you're really naturally good at as a human being? And let's do more of that in your strategy. ... A lot of people who come into this investing world who are super smart and super intelligent, they think they have to be good at everything. Well no, that's not investing. …you have to wait, as Buffett calls it, for the fat pitch, and if everything makes sense, then go in. But if it doesn't, wait.” “Some of the best investment teams in the world that I've met are consciously risk diverse. Some of the worst investment teams I've ever met are risk non-diverse, and are clustered around the risk personality of the boss. But they are unaware that happens.” “There are a lot of people with entrenched views and I'd much prefer them to have entrenched hypotheses.” “You've got to be prepared to be self aware. Self awareness wins. Not smartness, but self awareness wins. And you have to be prepared to work super hard at discipline.” “Most people struggle with discipline … it's within us all to be somewhat complacent, some more than others. But part of what I do in this process is introduce the humble notion of a checklist. A checklist is outsourced discipline. It's a … tool that outsources complexity to a framework that you follow.” Lawrence can be found: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-evans-9a72588/?originalSubdomain=fr (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-evans-9a72588/?originalSubdomain=fr) https://www.salomon-partners.com/people/ (https://www.salomon-partners.com/people/) Thank you for tuning in! I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell Design: Sophie Hardy Music: Tom McKean Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

11. 

    28 Jul 2023

    Ep5: Marine Mallinson: An adventurer with a smile on her face

    Welcome back to Being Invested. In this absorbing Ep5, I'm joined by Marine Mallinson, datatech business-builder, cross-cultural navigator, status quo questioner and now an investor in mental healthcare innovations. Marine's story starts in Western France and takes us on a journey of bold adventuring, and then returning with powerful focus to what is most meaningful and essential. She reflects on the excitement and empowerment of entrepreneurship in Asia, the value of taking time to pause and pay attention, and how grief has led her to purpose. She is passionate and intentional about finding new and scaled solutions for people suffering with mental health globally, and those around them. I found it refreshing and thought provoking to talk with Marine about her life and to hear the coherence of her own personal story with the work she’s doing. I very much hope you enjoy the conversation, too, and thank you for listening! WHAT'S IN STORE "I don't want to repeat things that have already been done, I just don't want to follow. There is also just simply a sense of the excitement of discovery." "Back then, if you were an entrepreneur (in France), it's basically because chances were you failed at school, right? ... In Asia it was the opposite. It was like, 'well, of course you're going to just go and start your business and here is the money and who are you going to talk to first? And who do you want to team up with?' " "I knew who I was, I never felt like I had to lose myself into all (the diversity of Asia). I felt, on the contrary, that I had much to learn, to complement that self that I was quite clear about already. It felt like I was an open recipient of something. I was very welcoming of all this diversity and these different approaches ... It's this appetite, this curiosity, but not at the risk of losing myself, not at the risk of having to adapt so much that I forget what works for me and what I like to do and how I like to interact with people." "There are attitudes, some might call them values, that were quite prevalent in the work environment ...when I came to Asia. In France... it was 'you work, you're diligent, you're disciplined, but without necessarily an awful lot of joy attached to it. In Asia, I learned there is a gentler way to get things done without giving away the discipline and the hard work ... being able to pause, take pleasure in the little things of everyday life." "Asking for money is an integral part of running a business as an entrepreneur, and you should try to enjoy it because it's bloody hard and it's constant." "I think you just have to be in denial, honestly, to be an entrepreneur, especially when a young woman in the tech world in China." "We badly need innovation when it comes to helping people who suffer from mental health conditions and helping the people who help them as well - their families and everyone who gets in contact with them. Because what people don't say about mental health is that it is contagious, de facto, right? Anyone who has had someone in their lives who suffered from mental health knows that deeply. It absolutely creates chaos in people's lives, right? Not just the one with an illness." "It's just not one pill or one device, it's the continuum of mental health care, starting with prevention. It's just a fantastic time to be doing what I do." MUSIC: Pink Floyd QUOTE: Le sel et le vent (salt and wind) - the title and underlying meaning of the (as yet untranslated) book by France Quéré PODCAST: The Rest is Politics, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Huberman Lab BOOK: Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand Thank you for tuning in! I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell Design: Sophie Hardy Music: Tom McKean Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

12. 

    21 Jun 2023

    Ep4: Wol Kolade: "What happens if I shake this?" A private equity powerhouse and civic leader who loves to solve problems

    Welcome back to Being Invested. I’m excited to bring you Ep 4, with private equity powerhouse Wol Kolade. We explore the fascinating terrains of his life - what it was like to be the only black student in an all-white boarding school, the experience of hitting rock bottom early in his career and envisioning a solution, and the ‘let’s do it’ impetus behind the 10,000 Interns Foundation. You’ll hear why a low boredom threshold can lead you to private equity, why he cares about bringing business-mindedness to the biggest social challenges, and the photo-finish precision of card games in the Kolade family. As Managing Partner of Livingbridge, a mid-market private equity firm, Wol is one of the most prominent people in the private equity market in London. But his influence and interests extend far beyond the sector. Wol is also Deputy Chair of NHS England, a founder and Trustee of 10,000 Interns, a Board Advisor to Level 20, and formerly Trustee of Somerset House, Chair of Guy’s and St Thomas’, Chair of the BVCA, Governor of the LSE and a non-exec director at Social Finance. He’s also a husband and father of 5. Wol graduated with an engineering degree from Kings College London and has an MBA from the University of Exeter. This episode is dedicated to Wol's father. WHAT'S IN STORE “I arrived in this very private British prep school with a very broad West Indies accent, and I realized quite quickly no one could understand what on earth I was saying." “Not just, what can we do down the line, but what can we do right now? Why don't we do something impactful like 10,000? It seemed completely insane. And I looked around the table, well why don't we just do it?" “I rarely think about the return. I start with, okay, we're going to involve ourselves with someone's life's work, we're going to have a major influence and role. So, the yardstick I use is, can we look back and say, because of Livingbridge's involvement, that is a better business? The amazing thing is, if you start doing the right things, hopefully the return follows almost as easy as night follows day.” "There's no right answer to what the best society is.” “If everyone's looking to the right and the received wisdom is go right, I will be going, yeah, but what's left?" “What can we learn from the intern rather than what did the intern learn from us?” "When I chair the board, I start off with, if we're not having fun, then something's really wrong.” “Friendship isn't about having just really easy conversations." “What I'm trying to iron out is that greed of squeezing every last penny out of everything all the time. We'd rather be known for selling really good stuff, where people have upside still to come.” “There are 3 investment decisions. And everyone forgets the third. The first one is buy. Second one is sell. The third one is do nothing.” “I find the business of government is probably the next big challenge. It's not politics…it's how does government actually work to deliver for society?” FILM: Godfather I and II QUOTE: “Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you might meet them again on your way down.” PODCAST: Desert Island Discs (NB: Ian Wright interview) BOOK: The Lensman Series - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman_series Wol’s statement in response to the murder of George Floyd: https://www.livingbridge.com/a-personal-statement-from-wol-kolade/ (https://www.livingbridge.com/a-personal-statement-from-wol-kolade/) Thank you for tuning in! I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. GRATITUDE Sound: Alexander Russell Design: Sophie Hardy Music: Tom McKean Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

13. 

    20 May 2023

    Ep3: Ella Hoxha: A razor-sharp hedgie inspired by beauty, open-mindedness, learning

    Welcome back to Being Invested. I am really excited to bring you Ep 3, with Ella Hoxha. You have ahead an hour of brilliant gems of life observations, and we explore Ella's finely honed, reflective investment process - with relevance beyond financial markets. She has managed global fixed income for over 20 years, alongside cultivating her passion for ideas, literature, wine and art. We chat about the interconnectedness of markets, the professional importance of a close inner circle, the way music improves wine, and must-read great books. Ella grew up in Albania, hitting her teenage years as the country opened up. She witnessed economic and political upheaval first-hand, and saw both the opportunities and the strains it created. This lived experience of economic theories colliding with life choices and realities has helped to shape her understanding of risk, resilience and probabilities. Ella was featured in the 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds in 2019, speaks five languages, is a CFA charterholder, a Sommelier Level 3 and holds a diploma in art history. Ella is in the Executive MBA programme at Cambridge, and appears frequently on TV and online. Thanks for listening. I'd love your feedback, and if you'd like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. WHAT'S IN STORE: “As you grow older you realise that the more you learn, the less you know, but hopefully you begin to understand a little bit.” "Learn to trust your intuition. ... It’s an astute guiding mechanism. I have learned now to push myself to trust my gut, because it tends to be pretty well correlated to when I have those particularly interesting moments in the markets." “There’s nothing more emotional than investing. You sleep with it, you go on holidays with it. And so when the times are good, it feels amazing. And then why you’re going through drawdowns, and everyone will have a drawdown - even some of the greatest investors out there - it feels absolutely horrific. … And this is where resilience comes in. In fact, those are the most interesting periods, because this is where most of your personal growth will come.” “Regular journaling is very important. Another aspect is having a process that is very thorough, that you work with regularly, that in some way becomes a little bit of an obsession for you.” “We require supportive systems in our lives and ecosystems. I don’t believe in this idea of the individual. We are part of a broad society and we are a byproduct of our environment. So, if we build around ourselves, or incorporate ourselves in these types of supportive, strong, loving environments with people who want to see us thrive, then I think we can be the best version of ourselves. Even through difficult periods, you can never underestimate how important those supportive systems will be for you to get through to the other side.” "Doing more of the stuff that makes you feel good and happy, is probably where you’re going to be the best version of yourself.” “Sit at the front row, put up your hand, ask questions, and speak up.” “Believe in yourself. We always have this little girl’s voice, and I’ve had to fight it, But working with yourself and believing yourself and surrounding yourself with people who believe in you is extremely important.” FAVOURITE QUOTE: “What you think you become, what you feel you attract, what you imagine you create.” – Buddha; FILMS: The Matrix, Godfather Trilogy, Bridges of Madison County; PODCAST: Desert Island Discs – Jared Dimon; BOOKS: The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky; Dead Souls, Gogol; Sense of an Ending, Barnes; Lolita, Nabokov; the Stoics & Socrates; Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman; Antifragile, Taleb; Lessons of History, Durant; The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, Jorgensen. THANKS: Alexander Russell, Sophie Hardy, Tom McKean, Dominic Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

14. 

    5 May 2023

    Ep2: Jerry Biggs: Learning by doing - from army officer to healthcare investor

    Welcome back to Being Invested. Thank you for joining me for another fascinating, personal conversation with a skilled investor. I'm so glad you have tuned in. My guest today is Jeremy Biggs. Jerry is the founder and CEO of NCL, a UK investment management firm investing in high growth, pioneering healthcare companies. But Jerry was not always an investor, and his journey to running a venture capital firm followed a non-traditional route. When he was in primary school, his head teacher presciently noted his ‘playground leadership’ skills. It was evident even then that Jerry had the ability to read situations, communicate well and motivate groups of people. These strengths were tested, expanded and taken to new levels when Jerry joined the British Army out of school, ultimately serving as an infantry officer and seeing active service in the Balkans, Middle East and Northern Ireland. Jerry founded NCL in 2015 with the core belief that the modernisation of healthcare will be one of the greatest growth drivers of the 21st century. In addition to running NCL, Jerry is kept busy with 5 children, and sits on the board of a number of high growth businesses. In our lively conversation, Jerry talks about reinventing himself after a decade on the front lines, and how his focus on understanding the full value chain of business has paid dividends. We delve into his investment approach, the power and versatility of 'on time and on budget,' and why anyone considering an investing career should take a look at the healthcare sector and cultivate integrity. Jerry has contagious enthusiasm for what he does, combined with clear, systemic thinking, humility and humour. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! Thanks for listening. I'd love your feedback, and please subscribe if you're enjoying Being Invested. If you would like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. SHOW NOTES: Jerry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-biggs-151a3723/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-biggs-151a3723/) Recommended book: Eboys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work by Randall E. Stross Recommended podcast: The Rest is History - Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786 (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786) Favorite quote: ‘Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity’ - General George S. Patton HUGE THANKS: Sound engineer - Alexander Russell Artwork - Sophie Hardy Music - Tom McKean Photo - Dominic Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

15. 

    13 Apr 2023

    Ep1: Alexandra Ivanova: A risk-taker with a very level head

    I am thrilled to launch Being Invested with my first guest, Alex Ivanova. The aim of this podcast is to bring to life the people behind the markets. I'm so glad you have tuned in. Alex is the perfect guest to start us off. Her journey to a life in a town along the Thames, managing $10bn in bond portfolios for Invesco, speaking five languages, starting a non-profit, and raising two children with her husband, all started in Yakutsk, in the far east of Russia. It took determination, focus, adaptation and an ability to spot an opportunity. Her favorite quote is "If people don't laugh at your dreams, your dreams are not big enough." I can imagine she has left a lot of people laughing as she's followed - and realized - her dreams. I hope you enjoy this absorbing conversation as much as I did! If you would like to suggest someone to be a guest, please message me on LinkedIn. WHAT'S IN STORE: “I get an email saying we would like to accept you for an MBA programme, can you please send us your bank details where you have $18,000 to show us that you can pay for it. I was earning $100 a month. I had zero in my bank account. If I had one. I might not even have had one!” “Equity investment was very different. … I always felt like it’s algebra, it’s too easy for me.” “In the end, they didn’t buy the car. A couple of weeks later there was this Russian internal default, the ruble collapsed and there was hyperinflation... and before we could do anything with the money, the life savings of my parents, the value almost disappeared. And I remember my mum going to the market and buying a sack of potatoes and a pair of jeans for me. That was all she could get for all the money that they had. So that was my very first personal experience of how inflation can eat into your savings.” “We are all human beings. You have to remember: what is the market? The market is a collection of thousands and thousands of decision makers like myself and individual investors making decisions on a daily basis, and that is what moves the price. And if you understand the emotional part of it as well as the dry and analytical side of the business you get a better picture of what the risk balance has to be.” “In our industry, you don’t actually know if you’re good at it until you do it. There’s no university or school or even a course that teaches you how to be the best fund manager. The perception of risk is very different from person to person.” HUGE THANKS: Sound engineer - Alexander Russell Artwork - Sophie Hardy Music - Tom McKean SHOW NOTES: Alex: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-ivanova-31470874 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-ivanova-31470874) Alex is Chair of Save the Permafrost, a non-profit raising awareness and funding research around how to save the permafrost - to protect against accelerated climate warming and preserve vital ecosystems. Please engage with Alex to learn more. https://www.savethepermafrost.org/who-we-are/ (https://www.savethepermafrost.org/who-we-are/) Recommended book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/12176421 (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/12176421) Recommended podcast: Conflicted, with Aimen Dean and Thomas Small https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/conflicted/id1443491069 (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/conflicted/id1443491069) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

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