SALT Talks

Ruston Smith is the Chairman of the Tesco Pension Fund (DB and DC) and Tesco Pension Investment Ltd, Non-Exec Chair of JP Morgan Asset Management (EMEA), Non-Exec Chair of Smart Pension Ltd, Non-Exec Chair of PTL Ltd, Independent Trustee and Chair of the Funding and Investment Committee for the BAE Pension Fund, Governor of the PPI and Chair of GroceryAid (charity for the grocery industry). 

Due to the pandemic, pension funds in the UK and Europe were hurt, but are set to return much of their strength as we return to normal. The relative strength of pension plans is due in part to strategic de-risking that started back in 2006. This has involved a significant reduction in equity holdings and an increase in bonds. “The Pensions Regulator is really keen that UK pension funds have a very clear journey plan, which basically is a plan to de-risk so you get to a point of funding where essentially you can have just a low dependency on the employer that supports that pension fund.”

As we approach the end of the pandemic and the vaccine rollouts are near completion, there will be an opportunity for a more sustainable recovery. This necessitated investments in areas like infrastructure and job training, important to jumpstart the economy.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Gert Dijkstra is the Senior Managing Director at APG Asset Management, responsible for Global Networks and Peers and for Investing in the Netherlands. Formerly he was Chief Strategy & Communication and member of the Board at APG Asset Management.

More and more, asset management companies are placing an emphasis on investing in socially responsible companies. APG created GRESB, standing for Global Real Estate Sustainable Benchmark, now used by over 180 asset managers. This measures responsible environmental behavior like energy and water reduction. Pension fund management companies are beginning to collaborate in order to streamline the ability to evaluate and monitor institutions’ commitment to key environmental factors like carbon reduction. “We can report on listed companies with regard to their sustainable development goals and results.”

Adherence to ESG commitments involves communication with clients and shareholders. Five-year sustainability goals are set and these standards are weighed along with the likelihood of investment returns. 20-30-year targets are also overlaid in building a global portfolio aligned with long-term ESG goals.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Andrew M. Cuomo is the 56th Governor of New York. Governor Cuomo is the Dean of the nation’s Democratic Governors and currently serves as Chairman of the National Governors Association. Prior to his election as Governor, Cuomo served as the 64th Attorney General of New York. From 1997-2001, Cuomo served as the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton.

A deeply divided and polarized nation has presented unique challenges in getting control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Large swaths of the population will refuse to abide by guidance or direction simply because of their dislike and distrust of the political party delivering the message. These issues were exacerbated by President Trumps denial of the facts where he intentionally downplayed the seriousness of the virus. “It was just total government incompetence. It was a denial, in that the President now admits he lied about it… He was afraid that if they knew the truth it would hurt the economy.”

The Biden administration must put almost all of their focus into getting COVID under control and administering the vaccine coupled with stimulus aid to people and states. In the meantime, effective public messaging can allow economies to function while maintaining safe protocols to limit COVID spread.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Mishal Kanoo is the Chairman of The Kanoo Group, one of the largest, longest-running and independent family-owned groups of companies in the Gulf region. He holds chief positions as Chairman/Director of various reputable companies, including AXA Insurance Gulf, Gulf Capital, KHK & Partners Limited, Dalma Capital, Johnson Arabia LLC and KAAF Investments.

Started in 1890 in Bahrain, The Kanoo Group has been effective at avoiding the generational drop-off as control passes down. Often times, there is a disconnect between a family group’s founding and the third generation of control. The Kanoo Group has maintained longevity by treating each generation as an opportunity to change. “We were lucky in that every generation within my family looked upon the new one as a rebirth of a new business.”

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Anthony Scaramucci is the Founder and Co-Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital. He also the founder and chairman of SALT Conference, a leading global conference that brings together leading investors, creators and thinkers to discuss big ideas in the world of finance, technology and public policy. He is the author of four books: The Little Book of Hedge Funds, Goodbye Gordon Gekko, Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole (a 2016 Wall Street Journal bestseller), and Trump: The Blue-Collar President.

Growing up in the blue-collar town of Port Washington on Long Island offered Scaramucci the chance to hone his business skills that set the stage for the rest of his adult life. Selling Newsday magazine subscriptions around age 12 to help with his family’s bills served as a formative experience. “There was a seminal moment for me, and I believe this happens to everybody, you figure out somewhere between 11 and 17 what you're doing for your life… For me, I love sales.”

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Top voices in venture capital provide insights into how startups are leveraging and driving the revolution in working, communicating, and staying healthy brought about by COVID-19. This first installment of the SALT Talks: Pandemic Venture Investment Series, presented in partnership with OurCrowd , includes a survey of general pandemic investment trends and disruptive approaches to funding startups.

Featuring Steve Krausz, Managing Partner of U.S. Venture Partners, moderated by Alec Ellison, Chairman of OurCrowd U.S.

Introduction by Jon Medved, Chief Executive Officer of OurCrowd.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Abdulmohsin Al Omran is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Family Office Co. BSC(c) (“The Family Office”), and Chairman of the Board of Petiole Asset Management AG, the investment arm of The Family Office, based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Born into one of the oldest families in Riyadh, Al Omran set out from an early age to gain experience in different areas of finance with an eye on moving his country’s economy into the 21st century. Despite having 25% of the world’s oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is transitioning towards a more diversified economy that sees data as the new oil. “If I wanted to renew my passport or my driving license… I could do all this digitally … the private sector including the banks are trying to catch with what the government has been doing in the last five years.”

The next stage in Middle East development will center on the rapid modernization of the financial technology space and sovereign wealth funds made of diverse and strategic investment portfolios. This new approach is guided by the four C’s: Commitment, Client, Culture and Cost.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Deven Parekh, Managing Director of Insight Partners. He also manages the firm’s largest investment team, doing deals across the spectrum of venture, growth, and later-stage leveraged transactions.

Heading into the pandemic, investment from Insight Partners was expected to slow down, but that ultimately was not the case. Technology investments have proven resilient in the age of COVID as it becomes even more integral in socially-distant environments. Major companies and industries had to compress 6-7 years of e-commerce investment into six months in order to meet the pandemic-induced demand. “I think what people underestimate is how much they touch software in their lives.”

With the continued upward trend of AI and data collection/analysis required, tech sectors like software will see huge growth. Predicting a 15% a year compound as an industry, expect to see category winners grow more than that, resulting in more companies at half a trillion- or trillion-dollar market caps.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

A Democratic trifecta in congress and the presidency is the best-case scenario for the advancement of the cannabis industry. Initially, expect to see a Biden White House use executive orders that address the decriminalization and rescheduling of cannabis. Though, the start of the administration will be consumed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Support for cannabis has grown steadily over the years and has become a bipartisan issue. In congress, legislation will likely focus on passing a new version of the MORE Act. Such a bill will likely make it to the floor for a vote but would struggle to earn the 60 senate votes needed (if the filibuster remains intact). “There’s a lot of parallels here from 2008 in the marriage equality issue with Obama… We could have the same thing with Biden and Harris [supporting cannabis].”

• David Culver, Vice President of US Government and Stakeholder Relations for Canopy Growth Corporation.
• Patrick Martin, Principal & Director of Midwest Public Strategies for Cozen O’Connor.
• Erik Huey, President of Platinum Advisors
• Melissa Kuipers Blake, Shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Jonathan Medved is a serial entrepreneur and according to the Washington Post “one of Israel’s leading high tech venture capitalists”. Medved currently is the founder and CEO of OurCrowd, the leading global equity crowdfunding platform for accredited investors and angels. OurCrowd has $1.2B in commitments and has made investments in 200 companies and funds, and 30 exits since its launch in February 2013.

Venture capital has long been inaccessible to the majority of investors who don’t have $5-$10m available for a limited partnership. A crowdfunded platform gives individuals and institutions an opportunity to invest in venture portfolios. “Today, these private companies stay private much longer. When they finally go public, most of the money has been made by smart investors in the private markets and those are venture capitalists.”

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci.