The Fiftyfaces Podcast

A series that showcases the diversity and richness of the investment world through showcasing inspiring investors and their stories.

The Fiftyfaces Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Aoifinn Devitt, with 465 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Aoifinn Devitt hosts The Fiftyfaces Podcast, a business show with 465 episodes published.

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  Episode #378

  Episode 378: Anwiti Bahuguna of Northern Trust: The Golden Era of Customisation

  Sep 29, 202638 min

  Anwiti Bahuguna, who is Co-Chief Investment Officer at Northerm Trust Asset Management, where she has spent over three years. She was previously Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Multi-Asset Strategy for Columbia Threadneedle Investments, and has a PhD in economics from Northeastern University. Our conversation starts with her study of labor economics inspired by her mother, who was also an economist. We discuss how she considered an academic career, then evolved into an asset manager, when she discovered a passion for that instead. We dig deeply into the role of multi-asset strategies and how this strategy has matured over time, as well as the differing way that clients are thinking about them in a portfolio. We compare the role of client solutions - whether custom indices for very large institutional asset owners, or index plus returns. We discuss customisation as a "base layer" in client solutions today, as well as the differing levels of risk appetite. A special thank you to our sponsors at Baillie Gifford and GCM Grosvenor. Baillie Gifford is a long-term investment manager, dedicated to discovering the innovations and changemakers that deliver exceptional growth opportunities for you. GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management solutions provider, with more than $90 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return strategies. For over 50 years, the firm has helped investors navigate the complexities of alternative investing through a flexible, open-architecture platform. GCM Grosvenor is also focused on what’s next. Through its Elevate strategy, the firm supports the next generation of private equity leaders, making seed investments in emerging managers and providing the resources, network, and strategic guidance needed to help them grow. With nearly $800 million raised for its inaugural Elevate Fund, GCM Grosvenor is helping drive innovation and expand access across private markets. Learn more at gcmgrosvenor.com .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #377

  Episode 377: Keith Williams of Crestline Investors: Striking a Balance in Private Credit and in Life

  Sep 22, 202634 min

  Keith Williams is Managing Partner – Credit Strategies and Chief Investment Officer at Crestline Investors Inc. Crestline has a suite of strategies across direct lending, fund liquidity solutions, insurance and reinsurance. Keith was previously a director at Goldman Sachs and an Executive VP at McKinsey in their Recovery and Transformation unit. Our conversation with Keith starts with the work ethic that was instilled in him during his young adult years and how the years working in restructuring shaped his approach to difficult assignments and thinking about tradeoffs. We move then to his launch of the credit strategy within Crestline and some of the ups and downs that came along that trajectory. We end with reflections on what really matters, pulling the lens back to focus on the importance of family and balance. A special thank you to our sponsors at Baillie Gifford and GCM Grosvenor. Baillie Gifford is a long-term investment manager, dedicated to discovering the innovations and changemakers that deliver exceptional growth opportunities for you. GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management solutions provider, with more than $90 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return strategies. For over 50 years, the firm has helped investors navigate the complexities of alternative investing through a flexible, open-architecture platform. GCM Grosvenor is also focused on what’s next. Through its Elevate strategy, the firm supports the next generation of private equity leaders, making seed investments in emerging managers and providing the resources, network, and strategic guidance needed to help them grow. With nearly $800 million raised for its inaugural Elevate Fund, GCM Grosvenor is helping drive innovation and expand access across private markets. Learn more at gcmgrosvenor.com .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #376

  Episode 376: Robert Holley of Baltimore Fire and Police Pension Fund: Resilience and Resourcefulness - Building a World Class Investment Team

  Sep 15, 202629 min

  Robert Holley is Executive Director and Pensions Investment Manager at the $4 bn Baltimore City Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System. He has had a career that has spanned both the private and public sectors in financial services. Our conversation charts his journey from the private to the public sector and the investment beliefs that he has developed over time. At Baltimore F&P he has taken a particular interest in achieving excellence in governance, given the constraints that are natural in public fund organisations. This has involved a compelling YouTube video ( linked here in this Linked In post ) which touches on resource building, partnerships and collaboration and how to scale a lean organisation. We discuss the current asset allocation at the fund, how it has evolved over time and how it is likely to evolve given the current funding challenges faced by public funds. Finally we look at investment office governance and how to create a sustainable organisation where the centre holds for the long haul. A special thank you to our sponsors at Baillie Gifford and GCM Grosvenor. Baillie Gifford is a long-term investment manager, dedicated to discovering the innovations and changemakers that deliver exceptional growth opportunities for you. GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management solutions provider, with more than $90 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return strategies. For over 50 years, the firm has helped investors navigate the complexities of alternative investing through a flexible, open-architecture platform. GCM Grosvenor is also focused on what’s next. Through its Elevate strategy, the firm supports the next generation of private equity leaders, making seed investments in emerging managers and providing the resources, network, and strategic guidance needed to help them grow. With nearly $800 million raised for its inaugural Elevate Fund, GCM Grosvenor is helping drive innovation and expand access across private markets. Learn more at gcmgrosvenor.com .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #375

  Episode 375: BONUS Episode: A conversation with Mark Steed of Arizona PSPRS: Ipswich Town Football Club investments, AI and Decision Making

  Sep 15, 202636 min

  This bonus podcast captures some of the audio we recorded in London on September 4, when we were delighted to host Mark Steed, CIO of the $27 bn+ Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System for a breakfast in London. Our agenda was ambitious, intending to cover three main areas: Football, AI and Decision-Making. We barely got through the first one. We started with the investment by the fund in Ipswich Town football club - an investment made post-Covid that returned (based on publicly available information) 10x on its initial investment to date, traced the value that the fund created through infrastructure and personnel investment and discussed the future for other similar football club investments. The discussion revealed a fascinating intersection of luck, skill and aligning stars - starting with a bold investor with a streamlined and friction-free governance regime. The investment at the time was less than 0.4% of the pension fund’s size so line-by-line approval was not necessary. The management of the investment from afar was achieved by employing a liaison from one of the fund’s manager relationships - a real estate expert, who proved to be critical in catalysing the necessary real estate and infrastructure improvements in the stadium and surrounding facilities. The value-add approach extended to deepening and broadening the team too - the ultimate investment in talent - paying up for star players, investing in a good manager. This proved to be pivotal to enhancing the morale and the performance of the team. The team just secured a promotion to the Premier League earlier this year, its second since the PSPRS investment (its first in 2024-2025 was short-lived), and the pay-packets and team valuation have soared. We discussed the surge in interest in investing in sports teams, the price inflation that is accompanying it and the perceptible development of sport as an investment that is now taken seriously. It is not just a game. Finally - because all stories need both a story arc and an ending, we discussed the recent reduction in the PSPRS stake in Ipswich Town and the entry of Ed Sheeran among a group of other investors. It is true that sports are unifying - uniting a politician, a CIO and a musician. In this follow up podcast recorded 6 days after that breakfast we finished the thoughts that we didn't have time to capture and have a full discussion on the topic of AI and decision making. A special thank you to our sponsors at Baillie Gifford and GCM Grosvenor. Baillie Gifford is a long-term investment manager, dedicated to discovering the innovations and changemakers that deliver exceptional growth opportunities for you. GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management solutions provider, with more than $90 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return strategies. For over 50 years, the firm has helped investors navigate the complexities of alternative investing through a flexible, open-architecture platform. GCM Grosvenor is also focused on what’s next. Through its Elevate strategy, the firm supports the next generation of private equity leaders, making seed investments in emerging managers and providing the resources, network, and strategic guidance needed to help them grow. With nearly $800 million raised for its inaugural Elevate Fund, GCM Grosvenor is helping drive innovation and expand access across private markets. Learn more at gcmgrosvenor.com .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #374

  Episode 374: Cary Krosinsky of Yale - The Right Kind of Transition Momentum

  Sep 8, 202639 min

  I’m joined today by Cary Krosinsky who appeared on the podcast in 2021. I have put his previous podcast is here . I invited Cary back after 5 years which have been transformative for the field of sustainability with notable headwinds and tailwinds that have shifted the emphasis of the field. He has written a new book called Transition Momentum, and in advance of its official launch in Montreal at BDC on September 8. See www.sfipublishing.com In our conversation we discuss his activity over the past five years and the central argument of the book, which is that we're not making sufficient momentum towards the sort of transitions that we require on the environmental side. That's obviously primarily climate change, but it's also on the ground environmental degradation that's occurring in different parts of the world. We discuss why GDP may not necessarily be the best way to measure success and end with the 10 misunderstandings of sustainable financing. This and many more frameworks form the basis for this challenge to conventional thinking and hope for a richer future. A special thank you to our sponsors at Baillie Gifford and GCM Grosvenor. Baillie Gifford is a long-term investment manager, dedicated to discovering the innovations and changemakers that deliver exceptional growth opportunities for you. GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management solutions provider, with more than $90 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return strategies. For over 50 years, the firm has helped investors navigate the complexities of alternative investing through a flexible, open-architecture platform. GCM Grosvenor is also focused on what’s next. Through its Elevate strategy, the firm supports the next generation of private equity leaders, making seed investments in emerging managers and providing the resources, network, and strategic guidance needed to help them grow. With nearly $800 million raised for its inaugural Elevate Fund, GCM Grosvenor is helping drive innovation and expand access across private markets. Learn more at gcmgrosvenor.com .

  ListenShow Notes

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