Going Long

Sarah Williamson and David Neal discuss the history and evolution of IFM Investors, the importance of stakeholder engagement for infrastructure investments, adopting a "profit-to-member" philosophy, and more.

• Overview of the Australian superannuation pension system and how it is structured to give individual choice (5:46)
• How the "profit to member" concept drives investment decisions at Australian pension funds (9:32)
• The origin story and investment philosophy behind IFM Investors (11:45)
• Why an "open-ended" fund structure allows for a longer investment time horizon (18:00)
• The importance of considering all stakeholders, including local communities, when making infrastructure investments (16:01)
• How institutional investors can promote solutions for major issues like climate change (24:33)
• Advice for designing pension systems globally that focus on member outcomes (31:41)

For long-term investors, staying ahead of the curve is imperative. Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Group, joins the podcast to explore how Blackstone is navigating macro market shifts, the advantages of scale, and using data management capabilities to identify patterns and make better investment decisions.

Jonathan Hausman, Executive Managing Director for Global Investment Strategy at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan joins the show to explore OTPP's focus on long-term strategies and perspectives. Topics include:

• Understanding OTPP's Unique Investment Model: At OTPP, the key to success lies in a distinctive model for managing pension assets, which prioritizes independence, autonomy, and internal capabilities, enabling OTPP to efficiently manage assets on behalf of their clients.
• Navigating Geopolitical Challenges: Changing dynamics necessitate a strategic shift in investment focus, with OTPP favoring a targeted approach. Understanding and adapting to these complex relationships is crucial in the pursuit of long-term success.
• Adapting to a Changing Investing Era: As the investing landscape evolves, so too must institutional investors like OTPP. Hausman emphasizes the importance of embracing new approaches, particularly in the era of artificial intelligence.
• Addressing Climate Change and Social Impact: Hausman explains OTPP's approach to addressing climate change, aiming to reduce the carbon intensity of their portfolio by engaging with the companies they own and using proxy voting and partnerships to promote value creation while lowering emissions.

Investment management can sometimes feel like an intricate and complex industry, but does it have to be? Stuart Dunbar, a partner at Baillie Gifford, joins the Going Long podcast to explore the philosophy of “actual investing” – focusing on the fundamentals of deploying capital in the real world, and looking past that complexity to invest in projects that create value over time. Dunbar and host Sarah Williamson also discuss what are the common traits of long-term-oriented organizations around the world (15:11), navigating different ESG perspectives in global investing (31:16), and the need to embrace uncertainty and be on the right side of disruptive trends (37:52).

When sustainability and innovation are prioritized together, something transformational happens. Delivering social and environmental value creates new opportunities for generating long-term financial value. Lucy Parker, Strategic Advisor at the Brunswick Group, and co-author of “The Activist Leader: A New Mindset for Doing Business” joins the Going Long podcast to discuss how today’s leaders are stepping in to clean up broken systems, build sustainable businesses, and find their role in a new era of activist leadership. Parker and host Sarah WIlliamson discuss examples and anecdotes from “The Activist Leader,” exploring how integrating ESG goals into the core strategy of a business shifts the focus from a trade-off mentality to an investment mentality.  

The latest episode of Going Long features Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norwegian Bank Investment Management (NBIM). The conversation dives into how NBIM's mandate to benefit future generations drives its focus on responsible investing, the importance of alignment, transparency, and simplicity in executive compensation, and the need for longer holding periods to ensure continued alignment with shareholder interests.

Historically, the purpose of the private investment industry – whether public or private – has been simply to achieve a return. Bain’s John Connaughton joins the podcast to discuss how to break that stereotype, both within his organization and across the industry as a whole. Topics include:

• How mission and purpose drive its investment process and its dialogue with companies
• How Bain is improving the sustainability of its portfolio, including highlights of their latest ESG report
• Diversity and inclusivity in the private equity industry
• The history of Bain’s focus on philanthropy and community engagement, and more

Seventy percent of respondents of Nuveen’s annual Responsible Investing survey indicated that seeing the specific societal or environmental benefits of their investments is a critical motivator to participating in responsible investing. Amy O’Brien, Global Head of Responsible Investing for Nuveen, joins the Going Long podcast to discuss her team’s approach to meeting that demand, including the evolution of the phrase “ESG”, the guiding principles behind Nuveen’s proxy voting on environmental issues, the details behind the organization’s 2050 net-zero commitment, and more.

Rachelle Sampson is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business and the inaugural winner of the Panmure House Prize, an award for research into long-term investing and its relationship with innovation. Sampson joins the podcast to discuss her award-winning research, which analyzed the relationship between a firm’s investment time horizons and innovation, finding that long-term-oriented firms are more likely to produce breakthrough inventions. Listen to learn more about the project's background and a deeper dive on some of the innovations explored in the research.

What does fiduciary duty mean in 2022? Lori Heinel, Global CIO of State Street Global Advisors, joins the podcast to discuss how major shifts in the investment industry over the past decade have impacted organizational purpose, strategy, and outlook. Topics include:

• ESG and non-traditional reporting
• Navigating turbulent geopolitics as an asset manager
• Current market conditions and prolonged volatility
• The next frontier for long-term investing

Scott Sperling, Co-CEO of THL, joins the podcast to discuss how long-term investors can help build companies of lasting value. With a wide array of experience as a private equity investor and as chair of MassGeneralBrigham, Scott compares the governance models for middle-market companies and more mature organizations, how strategic incentives are critical to maintaining a long-term focus for both, and the wider impacts of inflation and globalization.

Looking ahead, we talk about the ideal “hospital of the future”, expanding telehealth and access to care, increasing cost efficiency, and investing in tech and academic medicine.

University endowments are meant to create long-term value by definition. In the case of the MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo), that long-term value supports not only world-class education but also cutting-edge research and innovation. Seth Alexander, President of MITIMCo, joins the podcast to discuss some of the strategic decisions his team faces, including:

• Staying resilient by investing across a wide array of asset classes, including real estate, venture capital, energy firms, private equity and more
• Building both macro trends and current events into their portfolio, and their relationship with external managers
• Working with MIT’s administration and alumni network, and MITIMCo’s board
• Measuring success across a 10+ year time horizon, and what MITIMCo will be investing in 50 years from now

What role do consultants and advisors play in fostering sustainable and inclusive business growth? Bob Sternfels, McKinsey and Company’s Global Managing Partner, joins the podcast to share insights on how the firm aims to deliver “holistic impact” to its clients, improving financial performance and positively impacting other stakeholders in the process. Other topics include:

· The new sustainable paradigm for global businesses – and how high the stakes are to get it right.

· The latest on McKinsey’s climate change efforts.

· What developments CEOs are watching in 2022 – COVID-related or otherwise.

· Key business trends McKinsey is keeping an eye on for the coming year and over the next decade.

With a history dating back to 1737, van Lanschot Kempen is one of the oldest independent banks in the world, giving Kempen Capital Management a uniquely long-term vantage point. CEO Erik van Houwelingen joins the podcast to discuss how Kempen has made sustainability core to its long-term investment strategy – topics include:

• The creation and purpose of Kempen’s Sustainability Centre
• The impact of Kempen's approach to engagement and active ownership
• The new trends in sustainability that will come to define the investment industry over the next decade

What makes a long-term CEO? Clarke Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Russell Reynolds Associates, joins the podcast to discuss the attributes that make executive leaders effective at driving long-term outcomes. Topics include:

• What factors are contributing to the steady decline in CEO tenure.
• How frequent turnover at the executive level affects companies’ ability to implement long-term plans - and what it means for investors.
• How successful companies are building diverse and well-rounded boards of directors.

Current projections show the New Zealand Super Fund peaking in size in the year 2070, making it among the foremost long-term investors today. How does this impact decision-making within the firm? Matt Whineray, CEO of New Zealand Super Fund, joins the podcast to discuss the practical implications of the Fund’s long-term investment horizon – topics include:

• The Fund’s origin and how its timeframe allows it to target uniquely long-term themes.
• The story behind the Fund’s historic standard-setting in 2017 for integrating climate trends into investment decision-making.
• How the Fund’s approach to engagement culminated in its participation in the “Christchurch Call,” a collaborative effort to engage the world’s largest social media companies to strengthen controls around objectionable content.

Anticipating new trends is a cornerstone of a long-term approach to investing. Christian Sinding, head of EQT Partners, joins the podcast to provide insight on how “future-proofing” plays a key role in EQT’s strategy for working with portfolio companies. Christian also discusses why he believes private equity is better positioned to make societal impacts, and the launch of a new private capital strategy, EQT Future, and more.

Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive Officer of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), joins the podcast to discuss the organization's unique "double mandate" - providing financial returns for depositors and providing constructive capital to Quebec's economy. Charles also provides insight into CDPQ's proven track record of climate-conscious investing, including a 60%​ reduction in portfolio’s carbon intensity by 2030 and a new $10B​ transition envelope to decarbonize major carbon-emitting sectors.

In focusing largely on wealth preservation, are fund managers stifling growth and innovation? James Anderson, a longtime partner at Baillie Gifford, joins the podcast to talk about why, for long-term investors, solving problems and making money for clients are one and the same – we also discuss the frequently changing landscape of ESG reporting, and what trends will come to define the investment industry over the next decade.

What role can the capital markets play in addressing climate change and putting the world on a path to long-term sustainability? Henry Fernandez, Chairman & CEO of MSCI, shares his views on the power of data in driving action on climate risk, the role of companies in meeting net zero targets, the recent impact of shareholder activism on business models, the launch of MSCI’s Net Zero Tracker, and more.

The recent growth of CEO pay is causing shareholders and policymakers to question companies’ compensation plans, especially against the backdrop of the pandemic. Bob Pozen, Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, joins the podcast to discuss the new trends and common pitfalls of executive pay plans, including the current state of regulation and “Say on Pay,” the prevalence of peer benchmarking, links to stock performance and adjusted earnings, and more.

The intersection of value and values is the existential issue at the core of business today. How to maximize return and impact, to “do well and do good”. Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England and current Vice Chair of Brookfield Asset Management, joins the podcast to explore the financial industry's transition to a more socially conscious and sustainable future. Carney discusses the current state of ESG investing and reporting, the impact of shareholder activism, long-term prospects for cryptocurrency, goals for COP26, and more.

Carney’s book, Value(s): Building a Better World for All, is available now.

Unilever is a household name and a global leader in consumer goods. Now, it is quickly becoming a global leader in sustainable business, committing to net zero emissions across all its products by 2039. Learn more from CEO Alan Jope about how Unilever is merging its vision of sustainable living with its multistakeholder approach to running the business. Jope also discusses carbon pricing across Unilever's new projects, new trends in "non-financial" disclosures, and his views on the impact of COVID-19 and the future of work.

“Long-termism is our national ethos in Singapore.” Chow Kiat Lim, CEO of GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, joins the podcast to share his views on how GIC’s long-term mission shapes its overall investment strategy, its approach to sustainable investing, its engagement with portfolio companies, and its cultivation of talent within the organization. Lim and host Sarah Williamson also discuss emerging trends and implications for investors as a result of the global pandemic.

APG Asset Management's motto is "a good income for today, tomorrow, and beyond". CEO Ronald Wuijster joins the show to shed light on the organization's long-term strategy and its impact on the Dutch working population. Wuijster explains the Netherlands's pension model and APG's role within it, and shares insights on trends in climate investing, investments in Chinese markets, and more.

Theresa Whitmarsh, head of Washington's state investment board, joins the show to discuss how long-term investing is ingrained into the organization's approach to portfolio mix, governance and management, and its fiduciary duty to Washingtonians. Whitmarsh and host Sarah Williamson also explore the impact of COVID-19 on WSIB's strategy and its long-term market effects.

The first stated mission of Harvard Business School was to educate leaders who “make a decent profit—decently.” Nitin Nohria, former Dean of Harvard Business School (2010-2020), joins the podcast to discuss why this approach is becoming the norm in the form of stakeholder capitalism (18:00) and greater awareness of ESG issues (23:00). We also explore the lasting impact of the work of Adam Smith on the heels of the announcement of the new Panmure House Prize (31:00).

Mark Machin (CPP Investments) joins the podcast to discuss why Canada’s pension plan places such a high priority on its long-term strategy. Machin and host Sarah Williamson go in depth on the current state of climate investment and goals for COP26, the importance of recent progress in corporate board diversity, and which 2020 market trends tell us about the next decade of investing.

Our first episode of 2021 introduces FCLTCompass, our new dashboard tracking long-term investments on a global scale. Listen to a special replay of our launch event, held on 10 December 2020, to learn more about the dashboard and its important findings. To learn more, visit www.fcltglobal.org

Mark Wiedman (Senior Managing Director, BlackRock) joins the podcast to discuss the evolution of fixed income and sustainability, how ESG-conscious companies are outperforming, the recent push for consolidated reporting, the decision-making behind BlackRock’s corporate engagement, and more.

Bill Thomas, Global Chairman and CEO of KPMG, joins the podcast to weigh in on the shifting landscape of business due to COVID-19, specifically how workforce recruitment has changed in 2020 [00:05:06], how online and remote work has affected companies worldwide [00:08:00], why a focus on new corporate metrics will drive more long-term thinking [00:20:42] and more.

Chief Justice Leo Strine, Of Counsel in the Corporate Department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, joins the Going Long podcast to discuss his views on the dichotomy of stakeholder capitalism and shareholder needs [00:01:35], varying global stances on ESG [00:12:32], the changing role of activist investors [00:19:06] and methods to improve corporate governance [00:37:31].

Adena Friedman, President and CEO of Nasdaq, sits down with FCLTGlobal's Sarah Keohane Williamson to discuss the importance of cooperative capitalism [00:09:56], the need for more diversity on companies' boards of directors [00:22:50], the new realities of public markets [00:27:10], and how coronavirus has completely altered the investment game [00:44:18].

Carmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman and CEO of EY, joins the Going Long Podcast to share how EY embodies long-term principles in the way it does business. Di Sibio discusses EY's long-term value framework [00:02:00], the Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation [00:08:50], the new norms of corporate governance [00:17:45], and the need for more data in the investor-corporate dialogue [00:27:25].

Amid today's evolving global business environment, corporate-level long-term thinking is more important than ever. Paul Polman, Co-Founder and Chair of IMAGINE, former CEO of Unilever, and FCLTGlobal Strategic Advisor discusses the need for long-term perspectives in many professional capacities. Polman shares the story of the shift to long-term strategies during his time at Unilever [1:16], the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the long-term mentality [28:40], the importance of corporate-investor dialogue and engagement [32:00], and lessons learned from Unilever founder Lord Lever [34:34].