Fabiola Schneider is a doctoral researcher at UCD Michael Smurfit business school, where she focuses on sustainable finance with a particular focus on progressing the UN SDG agenda.  She is Research Co-Lead on Greenwatch, which applies AI to detect Greenwashing in the market.  She is also passionate about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Nawar Alsaadi is a Senior Portfolio Manager in ESG investing at Canada Post and previously worked as a long-only portfolio manager.  He has led product development for ESG product research and spent time as a private ESG investor. 

Nazmeera Moola is Chief Sustainability Officer of Ninety One, based in Capetown, where she previously headed up South African investing.  Our podcasts starts with a discussion of her farming background as a child and the lessons that that taught her in terms of planning, market volatility, the importance of diversification and risk management.  It was an interesting preparation for a career in investing, and we talk through the challenges and opportunities of emerging market investing, particularly in Africa.

Sam Kunz is Chief Investment Officer at Core Financial Partners, a firm that provides financial planning to small and medium sized businesses based in Venice, CA. He was previously a Senior Managing Director responsible for asset allocation and investment strategy at the University of California and prior to that he was my predecessor as CIO at the Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund.

A fascinating discussion of a trader’s mentality, asset allocation and the importance of learning to love yourself.

Michiel Timmerman is founder and managing partner at Mbuyu Capital Partners, which is an Africa focused investment boutique focused on financial services and agriculture, as well as Equity for Africa and EFTA, both focused on equipment leasing in Tanzania. He previously held a series of CIO roles across various asset management businesses in the City of London, including Ignis Asset Managemnent, where we met.

A deep dive into the SME investment opportunity in Africa, how Michiel himself discovered it and why investors outside Africa often fail to perceive the opportunity.

Karen Shackleton is the founder and head of Pensions for Purpose, a collaborative initiative to promote understanding of impact investment for institutional investors. This is in addition to a portfolio career which includes roles as investment adviser to four local authority pension funds, as well as Chair and Non-Executive Director roles. She has spent most of her career in investment, including time as a fund manager, client relationship manager and chief executive of an Investment Advisory Firm. She is a frequent speaker on the institutional investor circuit and a passionate advocate for knowledge and action in impact investment.

A fast-paced discussion of a career driven by ambition and dedication, which is now evident in the Pensions for Purpose created by Karen which is creating tremendous impact among the pension fund community.

David Hickey is portfolio manager and responsible investment lead at the Lothian Pension Fund, a public pension fund based in Edinburgh. He previously was a fund manager for a European Small Cap Equity team among other investment related roles.

An energetic discussion of how a boy from a Yorkshire pit village entered the profession against the odds, overcame setbacks and is now one of the leading voices in sustainable investing in the UK.

Alison Major Lépine is Head of Research and Strategy at Absolute Return Partners, based in London, which she joined in 2015 after almost 10 years at the UK Railways pension scheme, where she was responsible for over £1bn in various absolute return strategies. Previously, she was an Investment Manager at IKANO across a number of asset classes. Prior to joining IKANO, she worked as an Associate at Russell and as a Senior Consultant at FactSet.
An account of finding one’s passion in investing, how to grow with a boutique firm and the fusion of different skillsets from a global background.