Kirk Sims (Teacher Retirement System of Texas) "Fostering Opportunity"
Successful Investors
Kirk Sims is an opportunity builder. With a career shaped by seizing the right moments at the right time, Kirk works every day to create valuable opportunities for emerging managers. His multifaceted background cultivated guiding principles that spearhead his current investment approach. With the goal of leaving the industry better than he found it, Kirk works diligently to embark some of his hard-earned wisdom on the next generation of investment professionals. Kirk now heads the Emerging Manager Program at the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas, an initiative that focuses on building...
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Katherine Molnar (Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System) "Diversification 101"
Successful Investors
Intellectual curiosity is a guiding principle for Katherine Molnar, CIO at Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System (PORS). Katherine began investing as a teenager with the money she earned from summer jobs. She regularly questioned the critical elements of investing and often explored deep technical details in search of an answer. Eagerness for knowledge is a through line in Katherine’s career, motivating her to find innovative methods to strengthen portfolios. Prior to working at Fairfax County PORS, Katherine spent a decade at AIG Investments (later Pinebridge Investments) where...
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Charmel Maynard (University of Miami) “Paying It Forward”
Successful Investors
Growing up in Trinidad, Charmel Maynard was exposed to a wide array of cultures and backgrounds—an experience that taught him the sky’s the limit. Now, as CIO and Treasurer at the University of Miami, Charmel utilizes data-driven and DEI-focused methods to strengthen his investment processes. Throughout his career, Charmel stressed the importance of context when it came to investing, focusing on the “why” rather than just the numbers. Charmel attributes much of his success to the mentors who guided him throughout his career. Now, as a seasoned investment professional, Charmel...
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Aoifinn Devitt (Moneta Group) “Finding Clarity“
Successful Investors
Aoifinn Devitt compares her career journey to a “patchwork quilt”, each with a unique meaning and purpose. Her continual quest for knowledge is evidenced in her approach to investing, community-building, and continuing education. Aoifinn currently serves as CIO at Moneta Group. She also founded The Fiftyfaces Podcast in 2020, a series dedicated to sharing the untold stories of individuals in the investment world. As an avid learner, Aoifinn approaches life with a healthy dose of curiosity. Whether she is performing manager due diligence, interviewing a guest on her podcast,...
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Shannon O'Leary (Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation) "Saying It Out Loud"
Successful Investors
Shannon O’Leary is the Chief Investment Officer of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, a $2 billion community foundation. Since joining the Foundation in 2019, Shannon has thoughtfully implemented DEI and ESG investment strategies to create a portfolio that supports grant creation and includes investments that are in line with the Foundation's mission. Shannon will call out the elephant in the room (and the elephant hidden in the room next door). Her emotional acuity and analytical prowess have served her investment teams well throughout her career—from sharing grades on...
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Ted Seides (Capital Allocators) “Compelling Narratives”
Successful Investors
As host and founder of the internationally recognized Capital Allocators podcast, Ted Seides gathers insights from an elite group of asset owners and asset managers. Ted’s own story encompasses a wealth of stories. His unique skillset includes capturing the essence of a firm or person in a genuine and compelling narrative. During his 20 years on the investment side, Ted listened to numerous manager presentations at Yale and worked with a subset of managers at Protégé to help them build their story. Recognizing the unique value in developmental discussions with both CIOs and managers, he...
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Marcello Sallusti (Engadine) “Connecting the Dots”
Successful Investors
Marcello Sallusti leaves very little up to chance. His success as an investor comes from an incredibly principled and methodical approach to investing. Decisions are qualitatively evaluated and quantitatively researched during the consideration stage, then reconsidered before execution. While data collection is a necessity, Marcello finds the most meaningful insights come from connecting the dots. Adding to the challenge, the ever-accelerating information cycle leaves little time for evaluation before a decision must be made. In Marcello’s own words, “Not taking action would be to...
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Matt Earl (ShadowFall) “Policy of Truth”
Successful Investors
Short specialist fund manager, Matthew Earl, unearths companies with suspicious or unreliable business practices. Putting his money where his mouth is, Matt shorts these snaky companies—sometimes sharing his research when there’s a strong public interest. Matt’s career is filled with research projects in which he delineated what many others struggled to see, from identifying flawed business models to recognizing signs of aggressive accounting. Among the most public of Matt’s endeavors lies Wirecard; he started raising concerns about the payment processing company in 2015—five...
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Ari Bergmann (Penso Advisors) "The Edge in Hedges"
Successful Investors
In 2007, Dr. Ari Bergmann saw an iceberg approaching. Looking at the housing market, Dr. Bergmann’s firm (then called Sentinel Advisors) noticed the leverage of the banks increasing and the banks’ exposure to the housing market increasing—but no one seemed to be hedging the risk. After recognizing the house-of-cards situation, the team decided to open their own overlay, betting against the banks. Dr. Bergmann is adamant that a strong hedging strategy is not designed to be an “insurance policy.” After all, the insurance companies are the only ones making the money, not the...
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Dusty Granet (Green Trading Capital) "Green Trading"
Successful Investors
As a bond analyst with AIG Investments, David “Dusty” Granet was charged with hedging the insurer’s risks associated with the European carbon markets. He quickly became hooked with the asset class. His passion for geopolitical supply and demand, as well as the environmental attributes of these up-and-coming markets, inspired a new career path. The shift in social and investor expectations towards climate action requires companies to confront and adopt measures to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gases to our planet. Investors in this space aim to use the potential of carbon and...
info_outlineAoifinn Devitt compares her career journey to a “patchwork quilt”, each with a unique meaning and purpose. Her continual quest for knowledge is evidenced in her approach to investing, community-building, and continuing education. Aoifinn currently serves as CIO at Moneta Group. She also founded The Fiftyfaces Podcast in 2020, a series dedicated to sharing the untold stories of individuals in the investment world.
As an avid learner, Aoifinn approaches life with a healthy dose of curiosity. Whether she is performing manager due diligence, interviewing a guest on her podcast, or exploring the role of psychological safety in decision-making, Aoifinn keeps asking questions until clarity is found. Her astute listening abilities help her to identify inconsistencies and uncover truth.
“I don't want to hear all about the wins, I want to hear about the losses, I want to hear about the lessons learned. I want to see some humility in that manager's discussion of what went wrong. I want to see realism.”
In this episode we discuss:
1. How making the complex clear elevates the quality of communication
2. The importance of bringing a healthy dose of skepticism to every conversation
3. The benefits of continually seeking more education and knowledge
4. How producing The Fiftyfaces Podcast has influenced Aoifinn’s leadership style
Aoifinn Devitt is the Chief Investment Officer at Moneta, a St. Louis-based independent RIA with more than $20 billion in AUM. Her background includes investment banking, consulting, and corporate law. In addition to Aoifinn’s formal education in business and law, she holds an MSc in Applied Neuroscience from Kings College London. She is currently continuing her study of neuroscience through a part-time PhD at King’s College. Aoifinn continues to produce and host The Fiftyfaces podcast; this generous contribution to the investment community includes over 200 interviews with investment professionals.
Resources:
· The Fiftyfaces Podcast | Turning the Tables
· The Fiftyfaces Podcast | On the Pulse of a People-Driven Industry
· The Fiftyfaces Podcast | Sustainability as a Recurring Theme and Driving Force
Listen to Other Successful Investors:
· Shannon O’Leary (Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation) | Saying It Out Loud
· Ted Seides (Capital Allocators) | Compelling Narratives
· Matt Earl (Shadowfall) | Policy of Truth
Chapter Summaries:
[00:03:40]
Simplifying Complexity
[00:07:43]
Working in Corporate Law
[00:10:50]
Experiencing Booms and Busts
[00:13:47]
Introducing Skepticism
[00:18:05]
Entering Investment Consulting
[00:23:30]
Launching Clontarf Capital
[00:30:23]
CIO at the Chicago Police Pension
[00:35:45]
Transitioning to Federated Hermes
[00:37:00]
Bringing Neuroscience to the Investment Arena
[00:42:43]
Producing Fiftyfaces
Disclaimer: This podcast is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. All content in this podcast reflects the opinions and views of the speakers. This podcast is for informational purposes only, without representation as to accuracy or completeness. The guest(s) on this episode did not have a client relationship with SEI Novus at the time of recording.