A Random Run In

Over the holidays I ventured with some friends to London. While it was a trip filled with memorable events, probably the most significant thing that happened was a chance encounter we had at an Indian restaurant in Mayfair.

My friends and I were at Chor Bizarre (highly recommended) and sat next to a couple in their late 50s. They heard our accents and asked if we were American, to which we replied that we were. The wife asked us what we did and we all replied that we worked in finance (one worked at a hedge fund while my friend and I are both in real estate).

This piqued her husband’s interest and he replied that he used to work in finance as well. It turns out that he was the former CEO of Global Investment Services at a gigantic Asset Management firm (Fidelity, T Rowe., Wellington, etc.).

Naturally we began to pick his brain. He said that the most important thing you can do to be successful is pick the right spouse. He said that you need to find a spouse that supports you and that makes you a better person, without that you can’t truly be happy. He also said that when you’re working somewhere you have to constantly examine the company’s morals. He advised that if a firm does not have a strong moral culture it won’t be prosperous in the long run and you’re better off getting out before the company’s fortunes turn.

However, what was truly interesting though was talking about what types of things he presently keeps busy with. In his retirement he does the typical CEO things such as serve on a bunch of boards, both charitable and for profit, but he also has a venture fund. He doesn’t run a typical venture fund that invests in startups, rather he invests in more esoteric markets that he finds to be inefficient.

One asset that he invests in are photography catalogues. His group approaches (or is approached) by photographers to buy their catalogues. There aren’t a lot of people who invest in this space so he is able to buy these assets for a fair price. Once he purchases them they essentially serve as a steady income producing asset. He tends to try and get the catalogues of the personal photographers of iconic celebrities because every time those images are shown he gets a check.

It was a great dinner and a tremendous learning experience. As my friend remarked afterwards, due to the gentleman’s poise and charisma it’s not a surprise that he ended up running a global asset management firm.