Colin Robertson is an independent advisor to two LGPS funds – London Borough of Tower Hamlets and London Borough of Harrow, within a portfolio career that he has had since 2013. He previously held the role of Global Head of Asset Allocation for Aon Hewitt and previously at Mercury Asset Management. He has extensive experience in working with a wide range of institutional clients. 

Caroline Burton has a portfolio career which includes roles as an independent advisor to local authority pension plans and a NED role. She previously spent over 25 years at the Guardian Royal Exchange, where she was promoted to manager at the age of 28. She retired from that organization in 1999 and has since built a portfolio career.

A fascinating discussion of a multi-decade career in the city, what it took to succeed then, and what it takes to succeed now in a varied portfolio career.

In Series 4 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast of 2023 we gather 10 guests who share a passion for excellence – in very different fields. We hear from a legendary business builder about how he closes the deal while a hedge fund manager shares the humbling effect of market downturns. A CIO reveals her ups and downs and the importance of learning to take risk and having a backup plan, while a serial builder of banks and financial institutions who started her career decades ago tells us what has changed, and what has not and sharpens the focus on what kind of mentors really matter

We first interviewed Daniele Beasley in 2021 and discussed her focus on financial literacy and her financial advisory practice.  Fast forward to early 2024, and Daniele’s contribution of content to the industry has continued apace, and she is now making a name for herself in the emerging area of financial therapy. 

It is hard to believe that we are back for our fourth year of the Fiftyfaces Podcast – and in Series 1 of 2023 we hear about unorthodox beginnings such as the twelve year old who arbitraged the price of chickens when growing up in Uganda, and ended up in a senior role in Bridgewater before starting his own firm. We hear about traditional ones too, about investment instincts honed at the family dinner table, or through seeing the world through an artist’s eyes. 

As we bring our third series and second full year of podcasting to a close we have assembled a library of over 170 diverse role models in this series.  As the macro backdrop churns these dynamic personalities are our touchstones, our human constants, through the market noise.  

In Series 5 of 2022 we hear from leaders from large institutions, a charity, a sovereign wealth fund, as well as a strategist at a global asset manager, a purveyor of inclusive capital, a partner at a consulting firm who successfully came back as a “returner”, a financial journalist and an ex navy aviator.

Cynthia Steer has had a multi-decade career in investment management, spending time as an investment director, CIO, and Chief Retirement Strategist at a series of large consulting firms, and she now holds a broad range of investment committee and independent director roles.

In our summer Series 4 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast we invite you to see our industry through fresh eyes through hearing the stories of 10 extraordinary professionals.  We hear of the training and perspective obtained through playing tennis at a professional level, challenging ice-skating routines and practicing the ancient Japanese martial art of Kendo.  We hear about formative life experiences, such as mission-work in a violence-rocked Latin America as well as the challenges of becoming legally blind early in one’s career.