Jon Exley


“CDI is not fundamentally about negative cash-f low.” Jon Exley, Schroders


Greaves: Co-investment relationships can be quite important. In terms of being the first person a bank or asset manager calls, the key is the strength of the relationship and governance processes. Can you make quick decisions on complicated investments? Being a nimble and flexible investor can be a real advantage in this space. Atkin: You have got to be able to do six to nine months work on a deal and then walk away from it if you can’t find value. So finding a partner that you trust in the asset management space is very important. Mijakowska: It feels like there are more and more funds cropping up that invest in illiquids. They try to take the governance burden off the smaller schemes by deciding what the most attractive things to be in are. That is getting some traction. Payne: If we go back 10 years we were looking at very narrow, distinct portfolios that investment con- sultants were pushing people towards. Now it’s much healthier. Certainly the way that the schemes I work with are to give portfolio managers a wide brief and an objective, as opposed to saying: “I want you to invest in that asset class. Can you go into that area of the market and achieve this return?” Managers will do a much better job if you don’t tie their hands. Greaves: The challenge is then measuring success, isn’t it? Payne: Absolutely.


March 2019 portfolio institutional roundtable: CDI 17


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32