Two in Twenty

With Investment Week’s - Women in Investment Awards round the corner, we took the opportunity to talk to one of the front runners and truly delve into what it means to be a ‘marketing influencer’ and a ‘marketing role model’.  In today’s episode Twink is joined in the virtual studio by nominee Alex Leay, Group Head Wholesale Marketing & Head of UK Marketing at HSBC Asset Management.

Themes covered in this podcast:

·       The key marketing areas Alex focuses on

·       Adjusting to a leadership position and how to motivate the right standards and behaviours 

·       Changing leadership styles 

·       Challenges experienced over the past year or two and turning things around

·       What marketers should focus on to be a leader in their field

Introducing the participant:

Alex is the Global Head of Wholesale Marketing and the Head of UK Marketing at HSBC Asset Management. Throughout her 14-year career at HSBC, she has held numerous senior marketing and propositions roles, covering various asset classes and client segments. Prior to HSBC, Alex was Global Head of External Comms at Thomson Reuters, where Portfolio Managers were one of her favourite client groups! Alex leads the HSBC Asset Management Working Parents group and holds a BBA in Management from Lancaster University and a post graduate qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

ETFs have been one of the most successful financial innovations in the past few decades and are heading for yet another record year. But what makes ETFs so successful and attractive to investors?

Ready to provide the answers are Nic Basson, marketing strategist in ETFs, and Alex Olivares, head of EMEA campaign marketing at Invesco, who join Twink in the virtual studio to discuss the history and opportunities for ETFs.

Themes covered in this episode: 

·         The history and landscape of ETFs

·         The differences between ETFs and mutual funds

·         The growth of ETFs and why more and more investors are using them in their portfolios

·         The next stage for ETFs

·         Key considerations for marketers when looking to market ETFs

Introducing the participants: 

Nic Basson was head of marketing for Source ETF before its sale to Invesco in 2017, where he had a number of senior roles, recently responsible for Marketing Strategy and Planning at Invesco for the EMEA region. Prior to this he worked in equity sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch covering EEMEA and LatAm equities. Nic also holds a Master of Commerce from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Alex Olivares is head of EMEA campaign marketing at Invesco. Prior to that he held various global marketing roles at Source ETFs, Capital Group and AllianceBernstein. He enjoys learning about seemingly disparate topics and has worked in management consulting, US politics and investment banking. Alex holds an MBA from TRIUM (London School of Economics, New York University, HEC Paris) and a BA in English Literature from the University of Chicago.

Unsure how the UK pensions industry actually works? Not to worry, we have it covered in today’s AIM High episode: The legacy and leadership of the UK pensions industry. Accompanying Twink to discuss this subject is Charlotte Moore, a freelance Communications Consultant and Jo Sharples, Partner and CIO at Aon.

Themes covered in this podcast:

·  The UK pensions industry landscape and how defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes have evolved

·  The challenges pension schemes face in relation to the UK government’s ‘investments big bang’ push

·  Are the UK government and the UK regulator at odds with each other over risk?

·  The knock on effect of Osborne’s pensions reforms and freedom of choice

·  Challenges for DB and defined contribution (DC) pension schemes in the next 5 – 10 years and how pension schemes will evolve

·  How marketers of institutional houses can do a better job in communicating with gatekeepers of big pension schemes

Introducing the participants:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning freelance journalist and communications consultant who specialises in pensions. She writes regularly for a number of publications such as Professional Pensions and IPE. Charlotte also helps asset managers produce readable blog posts, white papers, monthly updates and book chapters.

Jo Sharples is a Partner in Aon's Investment Practice and is the Chief Investment Officer for Aon’s DC Solutions. She has over 20 years of experience in the pension and investment industry and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Joanna is responsible for the development and implementation of delegated investment solutions for DC pension schemes, working closely with Aon’s UK delegated team.

Welcome back to another episode of AIM High. In today’s podcast we take a slightly different approach as Twink is joined in the studio by Benjie Elston, Director and Head of Sustainability at White Marble, who shares the findings from our latest in-depth investor research. 

Accompanying Benjie and Twink is Ross Duncton, Head of Marketing & Direct at BMO Global Asset Management (EMEA), who shares his reflections on how he managed to achieve such great success in this space.  

What’s covered in this podcast? 

• Which asset managers rank as leaders or laggards within ESG and responsible investing 
• Why might an asset managers fall behind in this space 
• The process behind BMO’s success  
• Qualities marketers need to drive responsible investing within their organisation 
• Key findings and insights from WMMs recent investor research  
• The nuances between institutional and wholesale audiences  

Introducing the participants: 

Ross Duncton is a highly experienced marketing lead with over 15 years of experience working in the financial services industry. Formerly with Prudential and Acromas Financial services, Ross has a thorough understanding of financial marketing, product management, commercials and operational capabilities. 

Benjie Elston, Product Director, heads up the sustainability practice at White Marble, leading the way in pushing the development and education of ESG for clients and the wider industry. With 12 years of business development experience within the asset management industry, Benjie has experience as a product specialist for Newton’s ESG team, assisting those looking for help to find clear brand and product articulation. 

Digital technology implementation continues to evolve and the way we interact with social media is transforming too. With all this evolution, it is clear firms not investing time and resources into their social media creation and distribution strategy risk being left behind. 

Best practices for creating content and social engagement is therefore the topic of today’s episode where Twink is joined by Vince Gorgan, Director of Marketing at Lord Abbett and George Owen, Founder & Director of Itch Media. 

Themes covered in this episode: 

• The starting principles and expectations we should have when planning social content 
• How the industry is evolving and embracing social 
• Best practice for creating and sharing on social 
• What a good creative brief looks like 
• Convincing stakeholders of the merits of social (budgeting & resourcing).  
• Key considerations when creating content for social channels 

Introducing the participants: 

Vince Grogan, Lord Abbett’s Director of Marketing, is a 28 year veteran of the financial services industry, with a broad range of clients under his belt across the US and Europe at firms including Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Oppenheimer Funds. Vince has extensive experience developing and successfully executing integrated marketing strategies spanning digital, content, channel and core marketing. 

George Owen founded ITCH in 2013, leading a team of filmmakers, animators and editors in delivering content solutions to clients across multiple sectors. Significant growth in the last few years thanks to their results-focused creative executions has seen ITCH create global campaigns for the likes of Ernst & Young, Nestle and Canon. Prior to ITCH, George worked in the wonderful world of reality TV working for the likes of Endemol and the BBC. 

The FCA Assessment of Value reports came into effect in September 2019 due to a lack of transparency in the financial industry. The reports were introduced to prompt asset managers to assess the value of each fund and take corrective action if it does not offer good value. However, the ambiguity and lack of understanding of what is involved in these reports has brought with it concerns from across the industry as asset managers question what value these reports will provide to the end consumer.  

In today’s episode Twink is joined by three industry experts; John Bennett, Head of Adviser Proposition at Sparrows Capital Limited; David Ogden, Head of Compliance at Sparrows Capital; and Esther Armstrong, Marketing Consultant at White Marble Marketing, to discuss the ‘good, bad and the ugly’ of the new FCA Assessment of Value reports.  

Themes covered in this podcast: 

• An introduction to Assessment of Value (AoV) reports 
• How the asset management industry has responded and what lessons have been learnt  
• The accessibility and purpose of the AoV reports 
• Improvements that can be made to AoV reports and the next steps 
• Tips for marketers to help drive better consistency and clarity with AoV reports  

John Bennett has a financial services career spanning 30 years in the City of London. He has a broad range of experience having advised HNW individuals as Managing Director of the financial advisory arm of a top 20 accountancy practice as well as with Man Investments as Head of UK Retail Distribution and subsequently at UBS, managing UK distribution for their alternative investments platform. 

David has a wealth of experience in compliance having joined the regulator IMRO in 1992. Since ending his time there, he has held positions in compliance in both retail and institutional investment management. Following on from his thirteen-year spell as Head of Compliance at Seven Investment Management, David has now taken the compliance reins at Sparrows Capital. 

Esther Armstrong is an award-winning writer and content strategist within the investment management industry. Esther joined White Marble back in 2020 as a marketing consultant and brings over a decade of experience in financial services marketing and communications, previously holding positions at Money Observer, Interactive Investor, Portfolio Adviser and BNY Mellon.   

Giving presentations is a required skill in modern society and while it can seem easy enough on the surface, delivering cut through presentations that truly engage audiences is a very much sought-after skill.  

In today’s episode Twink explores how to make presentations impactful and deliver cut through for your audience as she is joined by the experienced Dylan Emery, Editorial Director at Last Word Media.  

Themes covered in this podcast:  

• What do the best presentations have in common? 
• Differentiating through messaging to engage audiences 
• How marketers can help fund managers think differently about pitch content 
• How to deliver cut through in online events 

Introducing this week's guest:  

Dylan Emery is an experienced editorial director within the asset and wealth management industry. He co-founded the publishing, research and events company Last Word in 2005 and is a regular chairman of investment conferences and awards ceremonies. In addition to Dylan’s editorial flair, he also runs an improvised theatre company which regularly performs in the West End and around the world.   

A learning mindset is crucial for a digital focused world. In the past 18 months all industries have undergone a digital evolution with work processes and culture being transformed. In this moment, having the drive and ambition to be consistently learning can be a business’ differentiator, while those that are unable to learn and adapt are the ones who are left in the dark.  

In today’s episode Twink delves into the importance of a learning mindset with Farley Thomas, Founder & CEO of Manageable and Barbara Rupf Bee, Head of EMEA at Allianz Global Investors. 

Themes covered in this podcast: 

• The importance of a learning mindset 
• The difficulties when asking questions, especially in early career 
• How can we instil greater curiosity into our own approach and that of our teams? 
• The evolvement of recruitment in the asset management industry 
• How are businesses best channelling and encouraging ambitious, curious individuals – without the manager or business feeling challenged themselves? 
• Is the desire and opportunity to learn in our mid careers, changing the roles we seek and decisions we make?

Introducing the participants: 

 Before founding Manageable and True Dawn, in 2020 and 2014 respectively, Farley spent over two decades in client-facing roles, focused in financial services. For over ten years he directed global functions and businesses at one of the world's largest banks and has led teams in over 30 countries. Farley has accumulated management, sales, marketing and product-development experience and is a language scientist with a habit of learning a little about a lot of languages. 

Barbara joined AllianzGI in 2019 from UBS, where she led its wealth management business in Germany. Previously, she served as the Head of EMEA Global Client Group at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management responsible for distribution and business development. Barbara spent eight years working with teams in the UK, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Asset Managers Group, a specialist asset manager focused on Emerging Europe, Russia and Africa. 

The Middle East is considered by many as an opaque market, it can be difficult to know who the end investors are and the industry is extremely relationship driven, making patience a key contributing factor to the success of asset managers in this region.  

In today’s episode Twink looks to unravel the fundamentals of the investment industry in the Middle East as she is joined by two industry experts; Nigel Sillitoe, CEO of Insight Discovery; and Emmanuel Laurina, Head of Middle East & Africa at State Street Global Advisors. 

Themes covered in this episode:  

• Nature & fundamentals of the Middle Eastern investment industry 
• Key considerations to being successful in the regions. 
• Choosing the appropriate marketing strategies and tactics  
• Leveraging globally produced concepts for marketing content or campaigns in the Middle East 
• The Middle East and sustainability  
• Emerging trends over the last 12 months 

 Introducing the participants: 

Nigel Sillitoe is a high-profile executive within the financial services sector and a regular speaker on the conference circuit being voted one of the most influential executives in the offshore financial services industry in both 2018 and 2019. CEO of Insight Discovery, Nigel has worked with numerous clients for strategic communications including one of the largest asset management companies in the US and the biggest asset management firm in Europe. 

Emmanuel Laurina is an experienced sales and marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience within the investment management industry. Having started his career with BNY Mellon in 1997, Emmanuel now heads the Middle East and Africa region at State Street Global Advisors as well as being a member of the company’s senior leadership team, EMEA’s executive management team, and EMEA’s diversity and inclusion committee. 

Growing an audience, as we’ve all experienced, is a difficult task. In our increasingly digital world it can feel hard to compete with all the other companies now pushing seemingly endless quantities of content out online. If the pandemic has reaffirmed anything over the last 12 months it is that quality matters more than quantity. The businesses that thrived in the pandemic are the ones that got the content right and at the right time.  

In today’s episode Twink explores content to build audiences as she’s joined by Kennedy Lynn, marketing analyst at White Marble Marketing and Vered Zimmerman, founder and managing director at FinText. 

 Themes identified in this podcast: 

• Key considerations when trying to build audiences  
• Measuring the success of your content approach  
• Managing consistency across all departments 
• How to compete and get through on social media 
• Mistakes asset managers make when attempting to building trust with audiences 

Introduction to the participants: 

Vered Zimmerman is an experienced investment writer who helps financial services firms stand apart in a saturated, noisy market. Starting her career in maths and computer science, Vered soon realised she could use Natural Language Processing to generate better content and point to what readers find engaging. This led to the creation of FinText in 2019, a company that provides investment marketers data-backed insights on content clients want to read.  

Kennedy Lynn is a recent graduate from University of Westminster in London where she obtained her master’s degree in digital business. Since then, Kennedy has concentrated on learning and improving her data analysis skills and recently joined White Marble Marketing to use her analysis skills to help maintain and grow White Marbles benchmarking service.