Money Maze Podcast

• 175: "The Consultant’s Edge" - Are Investment Consultants Indispensable? With Michael Manning, CEO of NEPC

  From the 1950s onwards, the foundations of investment consulting were laid, as pension funds and institutional investors sought professional guidance on asset allocation and portfolio management.  This was enhanced in the 1960s & 70s by the introduction of Modern Portfolio Theory by Harry Markowitz and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) by William Sharpe.  Today, the investment consulting industry has become a vast cog in the investing machinery, increasingly extending its reach from institutional through to individual investors.  In this interview, Michael Manning, CEO of NEPC, with nearly $2 trillion under advice, sits at the epicenter of these developments.  We learn how the world of consulting has developed, the reasons behind its growth, how it has adapted, and its move into the individual market.   Michael then discusses the investment terrain. Is the US peaking relatively, and what might that mean? How to assess passive versus active? Is private equity due to disappoint? And how to assess the risk/returns of private debt, infrastructure and real estate.  The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG.  Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube 

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• 174: Money Maze Podcast Corporate Trailer

  Through direct, entertaining & insightful interviews with masters of the real life money maze, we hope to learn about different approaches to allocating capital, making business decisions and navigating the pitfalls that line the paths to prosperity. Each episode, with invite leading figures from the investment management and finance sector onto the show, who share their investment insights and career tips with our community. We're driven by a commitment to opening up the industry, which can often be shrouded in the fog of jargon and apparent complexity. To provide listeners with a wider perspective, we also occasionally feature guests from the arts or wider business world. The interviews is available completely free on all major podcast apps, on YouTube and via www.moneymazepodcast.com If you have any questions or guest ideas, feel free to email us at [email protected]. Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn ​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, World Gold Council, IFM Investors and LSEG.

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• 173: The End of US Equity Dominance? With Chris Wood, Global Strategist and Author of 'Greed and Fear'

   Chris Wood, former guest and highly respected global strategist, recently made a bold prediction, namely that the US stock market has reached its all-time relative peak, similar to Japan in 1989.  His recent commentaries include one describing Trump’s “Liberation Day” as “Impoverishment Day” and that Trump is the “Bull in the China Shop”.  In this conversation, Chris gives his take on whether US equities are peaking, or just pausing. Alongside sharing some thoughts on US equities, Chris also analyses the dollar, the bitcoin/gold dilemma, EM fixed income, private equity, and private debt.  ​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG. Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube

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• 172: Heroes or Villains? The Shrinking World of Shorting - With Carson Block, Founder of Muddy Waters

  Economic theory suggests that when competition decreases, remaining firms may have more market power, which can lead to increased opportunities to expand, innovate, or capture a larger market share. Does that analogy apply to the world of shorting? And even if you are considered one of the best in the business, can you stay afloat with a rising tide of bullishness and asset inflation? To discuss what’s changed and where might the opportunities lie, we welcome back Carson Block, who first appeared in September 2021. He discusses sourcing ideas and the warning signs and characteristics of companies they typically like to short along with examples of companies that meet their criteria. He discusses if AI can assist in screening for pattern recognition in potential candidates. He then reflects on the resilience needed to survive bull markets and hostile adversaries, and just as short-sellers leave the field, what may lie ahead! Recorded January 2025.  ​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG. Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube

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• 171: From Triumph to Trauma: The Dramatic Investment Arc of Neil Woodford, Founder of Woodford Investment Management

  Some of our conversations are deliberately different, and the man I interview here has cost me a lot of money! I also consider him a friend and somebody whose perspective I have valued.   It could be said that Neil Woodford, CBE, has had a career of two halves, the first of which encompassed extraordinary investment success at Invesco Perpetual and then at Woodford Investment Management (2014-2019).   At its peak, Woodford’s business managed £15bn and was backed by Hargreaves Lansdowne and St. James’s Place. Its clients included Kent County Council’s pension fund, a range of wealth management firms and 300,000+ retail investors.   Yet in 2019 the fund was suspended and then liquidated, following a shift in asset allocation from blue-chip public equities to illiquid, unlisted companies (he denies this was the cause of the collapse in this discussion). In the run up to the collapse, he experienced approximately £7bn of outflows.   Using an investment lens, here we try to examine and understand what went right, what went wrong and now what may lie ahead.   Neil remains under investigation by the UK Financial Conduct Authority at the time of this interview (March 2025).  ​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, World Gold Council, LSEG and IFM Investors.  Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube  

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