Explore every episode of the podcast Talking Capital

In this episode, Ian is joined by Ross Davies, Head of Real Estate at CapGen, to discuss real estate, including:

• Current opportunities in Europe and the US
• Our investment selection process and how to access these opportunities
• An exploration of Makarora's investment strategy

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss Real Estate from a macro perspective:

• Market overview: how has real estate performed over recent years and what do we mean by opportunistic real estate?
• Portfolio context: what is the role of real estate in portfolios and what is the opportunity cost of capital?
• Opportunities: what does the current opportunity set look like?

In this episode, Ian is joined by Mike Ascione, Managing Director of Berkshire Partners, a US-based private equity manager, to discuss:

• Berkshire’s origins, how they have celebrated successes and learnt from mistakes, and the future of private equity as an ownership model
• Their investment philosophy and process
• An example of a transaction investment and their greatest contribution to its success

In this episode, Ian is joined by Enrica Dacomo, Investment Research Director at CapGen, to discuss Private Equity from a research perspective, including:

• Opportunities in the US mid-market sector
• An exploration of our manager research and selection process
• How building relationships can lead to better opportunities

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss Private Equity from a macro perspective:

• First principles: what is the role of private equity in portfolios?
• Building a portfolio: how does this work in practice and how opportunistic can you be?
• Opportunities: what does the current opportunity set look like?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Inflation: what are we expecting and how might markets react?
• Growth forecasts: where might we see growth surprises in the US?
• China: what is the outlook for China and the economic landscape?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Dispersion: what does it mean in a financial context when does it represent an investment opportunity?
• Emerging Markets: why are EM equities appealing right now, and how is China influencing them?
• Commodities: what is the current opportunity set and are gold miners still an attractive opportunity?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Trump inauguration: why are tariffs important to investors and how might the changes to immigration policy impact the US economy?
• Interest rates: what is driving recent moves in market interest rates?
• Bank earnings: what do the recent earnings reports indicate about the strength of markets and the economy?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• 2024 recap: how should we reflect on 2024, where did we see surprises and how did the opportunities we had highlighted previously perform?
• Inflation: how are we positioning portfolios for a potential period of higher inflation?
• 2025 opportunities: what are the key opportunities for the year ahead?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Active vs passive: what are the pros and cons and how should investors approach a thematic investment such as BioTech?
• Bitcoin: what has driven the price of Bitcoin recently and does it have a role in portfolios today?
• Private equity: what is the current state of private markets and what has caused the recent activity?

In this commercial real estate special, with guest, Ross Davies, Head of Real Estate at CapGen, Ian and Ross discuss:

• What is the current state of the UK real estate market and what has caused the increased activity?
• What are the areas of opportunity and risk?
• How do you manage a troubled asset?
• What does excellence look like in terms of strategy and execution?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Credit: how has the credit cycle reacted to the recent increase in rates and how are we managing credit in client portfolios?
• Small-caps: what is the current opportunity set following the US election results and how do you assess quality?
• BioTech: does the upcoming change in administration alter the environment for BioTech stocks?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• US election: what were the Trump trades?
• Market implications: what are some of the bigger picture impacts of the election result on markets?
• Commodities: what is the role of commodities in a portfolio and where are there opportunities today?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Earnings season: what have we learnt so far and what effect will AI have on big tech?
• US growth: is momentum shifting towards positioning for a period of stronger growth?
• Inflation: what impact would a potential divergence in policy have on markets?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Middle East: how might the recent escalations affect markets in the short and long term?
• Gold: what is driving the continued rally in the gold price?
• China: how have the markets reacted to the latest stimulus package?

In this Private Equity special, Ian is joined by special guest Enrica Dacomo, Investment Research Director at CapGen. Ian and Enrica discuss:

• The characteristics of a good manager
• How to find and assess a manager
• How to gain access to top managers

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Summer recap: what did the market movements over summer teach us?
• Interest rates: how should investors think about portfolios in a time of falling rates?
• Private equity: why should investors have exposure to private equity?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss three potential paths for the global economy and the likelihood of each:

• AI revolution: could investment in AI power a wave of economic and productivity growth?
• Inflation: will the actions of the Fed lead to an economic slowdown?
• US recession: is the US economy already heading towards a recession?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Geopolitics: how do elections and political risk influence our approach to portfolio construction?
• Markets wrap: what were the major themes of the last quarter and what changes did we make in portfolios?
• Market concentration: is this higher than average concentration unusual and what does it mean for investors?

In this BioTech special, with guest, Steve Sawyer, Investment Research Director at CapGen, Ian and Steve discuss:

• The current opportunities in BioTech
• What excellent looks like in a BioTech manager
• The challenge of equity manager research

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Oil: what has been driving the oil price recently?
• UK equities: why have UK equities recently hit all-time highs and what is their role in client portfolios?
• BioTech: why is BioTech of interest at the moment and how do we differentiate it from other tech endeavours?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• US Consumer: what is the state of consumption in the US and how does wealth disparity impact the consumer segment?
• Copper: what does the recent rise in copper prices indicate and how should investors consider copper within the context of a portfolio?
• Quantitative investing: what is Jim Simons' legacy and how should investors should think about quantitative investing more broadly?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• China: What is our prognosis on the equity rebound and how are we managing Chinese exposure within client portfolios?
• Japan: What is the current situation with the Yen and does it represent an investment opportunity?
• US employment: What is the current state of the US jobs market and what impact does the employment sector have on the overall economy?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Earnings season: what have we learnt from recent earnings announcements about investor positioning, and what are our expectations for the remainder of the season?
• Active vs passive: with the recent dispersion and pick-up in volatility - how should we be thinking about active vs. passive?
• Bonds: as upward pressure on yields continues, are bonds looking more attractive again, and what does this mean for credit markets?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Inflation: what is our prognosis and how do we expect the Fed to react to the data?
• Commodities: what should we expect to see from commodity markets in the coming months?
• Real Estate: what does the recent activity indicate about the US real estate market and where are the key opportunities?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Markets: what were the major themes of the first quarter and what might this mean for the rest of 2024?
• IPOs: what does the recent launch of Truth Social and Reddit as public companies indicate about the landscape for IPOs, and the health of the market more broadly?
• Private Equity: what is the current state of private markets and where are the challenges and opportunities?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Interest rates: what led to the interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan and what does this mean more broadly for interest rates?
• Gold: what has driven the recent rally in gold price and what is its role in portfolios now?
• Europe: what is the current state of the European economy?

In this credit special, with guest, Kunal Chavda, Investment Research Director at CapGen, Ian and Kunal discuss:

• The current shape of the credit fund market
• The credit opportunities we're exploring at the moment
• How we select managers, and the longer term trends we've observed over time

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• GRANOLA: are Europe's largest stocks healthy for markets? Is concentration no longer just a US problem?
• Recession: what do recessions in the UK and Japan mean for investors?
• Credit: how are we using credit in portfolios, and is public or private more attractive? 

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Earnings season: what have we seen so far and have there been any surprises?
• 60/40: is there still merit in 60/40 and do bonds still have a role to play?
• China: what is the current situation and what does this mean for investors?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Earnings season: what are we expecting and how will markets react?
• Interest rates: in a "one trade" world, which asset classes are least correlated to rates and are they attractive?
• Hedge funds: will the next few years be kinder to hedge funds, what is their role in portfolios now?

In this episode, Ian and Robert look ahead to 2024, discussing:

• Q1: what has caused the market turbulence at the start of this year, and what are the key data releases to look out for to indicate what lies ahead?
• Opportunities: what are the key opportunities you are interested in at the moment and why?
• 2024 Elections: how might these affect markets in the short and long term?

In this end of year special, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Macroeconomic and market dynamics: what were the trends and how did they affect asset prices?
• 2023 predictions: what were investors and pundits predicting for the year and how accurate were they?
• Looking ahead: what do you think is on the horizon for investors in 2024 and how are we positioned?

In this commercial real estate special, with guest, Ross Davies, Head of Real Estate at CapGen, Ian and Ross discuss:

• Key trends across different sectors of commercial real estate
• The current opportunity set in specific sectors
• How families can access and assess these opportunities

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• The "magnificent seven": why is there such a stark diversion between these stocks and small cap equities?
• Currency risk: how are we managing currencies in client portfolios?
• REITS: opportunity or value trap?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Latest economic data: what’s behind the market bounce?
• Debt markets: where are the risks and opportunities in public and private debt?
• Emerging markets: why have some proved so resilient, and which areas are we looking at?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Israel/Hamas war: how have the markets responded?
• World wars: how have world wars affected markets historically and what are the chances we're heading towards WW3?
• A multi-polar world: what do changing global power dynamics mean for asset allocators today?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Bonds: why are bonds selling off and what does this mean for other asset classes?
• Hard landing: what is the likelihood of a harder landing and what does this mean for portfolio construction?
• Defensive asset classes: what has been a defensive asset class so far this year and do you expect this to change?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Rates: the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve held rates steady this month, does this mean we have hit peak rates and what does this mean for markets?
• Oil prices: as oil prices hit a 10-month high, could this feed into structurally higher inflation?
• Innovation: what do higher rates mean for innovation?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Current outlook: what is the status quo for markets and do our views differ to that of consensus?
• China: why have China’s fortunes turn out so differently to expectations?
• Active research: what current opportunities are we buying into or monitoring?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Currencies: what's behind the big moves we've recently seen and what's the outlook for the dollar?
• Small caps: what's behind the recent momentum and are they still a buying opportunity?
• Earnings season: what are investors' expectations and do they differ from your own?

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In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Recession: what does the recent robust set of economic data mean for our base case of a recession?
• China: is more stimulus on the way given the economic weakness that we’ve seen in recent datasets?
• Commodities: what is the outlook for commodities at the moment?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss divergence and disparity in markets:

• Economic health: what are the strengths and weaknesses and are we still expecting a recession?
• Policy: having seen many key economies follow similar routes, is this about to change?
• Markets: the gap between growing momentum in the markets and the health of the economy.

In this episode, Ian and Robert take a more comprehensive look at what we're doing with client capital in terms of:

• Risk: are we upping the ante or hunkering down? Can you do both?
• Opportunities: what specific opportunities are we looking at?
• Private equity: what does the opportunity set look like today?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• The US debt ceiling: major threat or tail risk?
• Corporate earnings: how have markets responded?
• Emerging markets: how concerning is the rising tension between China and the West?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss ESG from a capital allocator's perspective:

• Green transition: where is our industry when it comes to the green transition and how do we play a part?
• The ESG Premium: will there be a longer-term premium attached to companies with good ESG characteristics?
• What about the S?: will this always be subjective and how can investors interrogate this properly?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Flash PMIs: with the recent data surprising to the upside - are we looking at a materially healthier global economy?
• Equities vs bonds: with the recent divergence between equities and bonds now showing in volatility - what's going on and why?
• AI: where are we in the evolution of AI?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Oil: What does rising oil prices mean for inflation and central bank policy?
• Hedge funds: How have they fared in this year’s volatility?
• Commercial real estate: as dealmaking picks up, is this an opportunity or are investors are catching a falling knife?

In this episode, Ian and Robert discuss:

• Credit Suisse: what happened and what does this mean for the banking sector?
• Central banks vs equity markets: as a long-term investor, which side do you take?
• Gold: are physical assets becoming more attractive?

Ian and Robert discuss the immediate aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and subsequent bailout.

• What happened and why? Is there a risk of contagion?
• What does this mean for the US banking sector?
• Is this a moment of opportunity in the VC space?