A guest who’s seen it all, from all sides of finance… 💡

Our TWENTIETH episode’s guest has PLENTY of experience, in senior offices at multiple respected financial firms! Robert Donald has worked across the buy and sell side, covering the breadth of finance in corporate finance, equity research, portfolio management and hedge funds.

In this milestone conversation with our prolific guest, we zoom back to the beginning, trace the path Robert took, unpicking his reflections, learnings and lessons for us at the beginning of our career. A valuable episode, offering a holistic view of financial services - dive in! 🤝

Guest Contacts:

Robert Donald - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-robert/

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro 🎙️

3:42 - The Origin Story: The 10-Year-Old Who Read Annual Reports 📚

7:12 - Entering the City: Surviving the "Big Bang" Era 🔥

11:29 - The Pivot to Equity Research & Why He Left the Sell-Side 🚶‍♂️

17:22 - Entering the Hedge Fund World at GLG 💼

21:16 - What is a Long-Short Portfolio Manager? A Breakdown 📊

27:00 - Buy-Side vs. Sell-Side: Incentives, Risk & Exploiting Fear 😱

29:28 - Building at Schroders: The Helix & GIA Platforms 🚀

40:55 - Lessons from 40 Years of Market Crises 🌪️

45:26 - The Sailboat Analogy: A Masterclass in Risk Management ⛵

46:39 - A Veteran's Warning: Is the Market Priced for Perfection? 🤔

52:37 - What is "Risk"? A Multifaceted Definition ⚠️

55:18 - Final Reflections & Career Advice ✨

1:01:23 - The Biggest Takeaway: Be Curious, Work Hard, Stay Humble 💌

1:02:29 - Outro 👋

As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚

Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/

Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.