Hello and welcome to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. For Ep2 of Season 2 we have something really special, finishing off the year strong.

I’ve chosen and carefully wrapped up a conversation with one of the most influential investors in the world, Lee Spelman, JP Morgan’s chair of global equities. Now advising on trillions of dollars of assets, Lee grew up in a family that didn’t even own stocks. Yet when she was told there was no way she’d get a job on Wall Street, that’s exactly what she did. She discovered it was her passion, combining a journalist’s skill for finding the story and a love of competition that sizzles in the performance-driven culture of public markets. She graduated from the Wharton School of Business, and has been an active alumna for decades, including serving as a Trustee. She started her career at Martin Simpson & Co, a brokerage specializing in tech research. Lee joined JP Morgan in 1989 and rose through the ranks. As a Senior Research Analyst, she covered computer hardware and software sectors in the US at the start of the digital age – sitting in the front row as the PC and the internet emerged, and on first-names with the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. She became MD and led JP Morgan’s US Equities group for many years, until starting her current global role in 2024. She’s married with two grown children, lives in Manhattan, adores art and travelling, and has never lost her love of the ‘newsroom.’ For years Lee has leant her time and influence to open doors in the investment industry for women and under-represented people, and she’s not done yet - now actively involved in JP Morgan’s Project Spark, a new initiative providing capital to funds managed by diverse, emerging alternative managers.

With the pod's Season 2, I am shining a light on some of the many brilliant women in the US investment world. Lee truly emanates her own radiance, and I am thrilled to share our conversation with you. Stay tuned in the new year – we have a line-up of cracking episodes with the personal stories of extraordinary investors. Thank you for your support in 2024 and see you in 2025!

WHAT'S IN STORE:

• I'm a competitive person. I like to win. And in investing there's a scorecard.
• So I think to be a good investor requires two … opposing characteristics. One is you have to have the courage of your convictions so that you can actually invest. But at the same time, you have to have the humility to know when you're wrong and to move on.
• You know, predicting the future is impossible. Let's start with that. I've ordered my crystal ball a long time ago. I'm still waiting for its arrival.
• I struggle with why more women aren't interested in investing. I think some of it comes down to risk. … women tend to do very well in school, outstanding students because they study and get the A. And then you come into investing and you could do all the work you want. It doesn't necessarily mean the stock you're going to pick is going to work.
• I try to keep an even keel and.. I try not to get angry when something goes wrong. … after a day or two goes by you say, you know, okay,… I can live with it. And you move on.
• The key as, as you're beginning your career ... is to become an expert at something. So when you're a junior .. try to just add value. Become an expert in some aspect of your job where you know it better than just about anybody else, because that …is how you get recognized.

FAVES

Film: Love Actually

Book: Anna Karenina, Lev Tolstoy

Music: Thomas McKean (singer-songwriter)

Quote: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful” – Warren Buffett

YouTube: Roger Federer speech at Dartmouth - https://youtu.be/pqWUuYTcG-o?feature=shared

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Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. I’m your host, Susannah Nicklin, and I’m hugely excited to launch Series 2 of the podcast with today’s episode.

For Series 2, I’m taking you on a trip across The Pond. We will meet US-based investors who have lived fascinating lives, sharing hard-won lessons and insights from their own journeys and the coal face of the markets. But I’m not bringing you just any US investors. You are going to hear from the top women investors in the US. It has been more than 25 years since I started in the industry, and despite much progress, I still see many all-male panels at investment conferences and not enough women running investment businesses or occupying senior investment roles. This series will celebrate and expand awareness of the brilliant women across the industry - and it’s for men as much as women. Research shows that men have historically been less likely to read books by or about women, while women read agnostically. If you’re a man looking for an information advantage, here’s a great place to start.

My first guest is Yrenilsa Lopez, the MD of Investments for the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which includes mission-driven lenders such as Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Yrenilsa has over 14 years of experience in private equity and debt investments globally, focused on impact and sustainable assets. At Momentus Capital, she leads a team focused on making impact investments, including an innovative form of non-dilutive investments specifically for businesses in the growth-stage and which create social impact within the communities they serve. Prior to joining Momentus Capital, Yrenilsa spent eight years with Women's World Banking Asset Management as its Portfolio Manager and Principal Investment Officer, where she led private equity transactions into gender-focused financial service institutions, fintech, and insurance companies in global developing markets. She has held board directorships in investment companies in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Financial Inclusion Equity Council (FIEC). Yrenilsa is based in New York and is an avid cyclist who has completed several 100-mile day rides.

We touch on the game-changing power that comes from your family’s belief in your abilities, standing up to implicit bias, badass women bosses, and structuring great win-win investments by taking the time to understand the needs of underserved communities. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did, and thank you so much for listening to Being Invested. Please stay tuned and spread the word!

WHAT’S IN STORE:

• It’s very important to not believe someone when they try to tell you you can't do something.
• One, you can't take it for granted that people will know you are worth what you are, so you can't stop working hard. Two, you have to believe and stand up for yourself when you know you can do it.
• High standards, being earnest and having a high level of trustworthiness are key. It makes others want to work for you and it makes others want to follow your example.
• There's no magic. It's just hard work and precision.
• Don't ever try to shoehorn yourself into a space that is not you. It's important to understand what value you bring, where you bloom and where you do your best work and place yourself in situations where that's valued.

FAVES:

Music: Juan Luis Guerra

Book: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Comedian: Janine Garofalo

Dinner companion: Lucille Ball

THANKS to the team:

Tom McKean, Sophie Hardy, Alexander Russell

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Welcome back to Being Invested, where we explore the personal stories of the people who make the markets. My guest today is the brilliant and indomitable Diana Noble. We talk about how motivation changes everything, how success can vary at different life stages, how going to Harvard for an executive MBA gave her the confidence to step into leadership, and what it takes to go from investor to business builder. Diana started in the vanguard of PE/VC in the UK and later was at the forefront of international development, taking bold career moves at each stage. She is now Deputy Chair of the Bank of England Court of Directors, a Board member of Wellcome Trust, Non-Exec Director of Brookfield Asset Management, and Chair of The Children’s Society. She also advises leaders of PE firms as the founder of Kirkos Partners. From 2011-17, Diana was CEO of CDC, the UK’s £5bn development finance institution (now called BII) where she led significant transformation and growth. Earlier, she was a partner at Schroder Ventures (now Permira) and founded e-Ventures and Reed Elsevier Ventures. She also led Operations for the Clinton Foundation’s Health Access Initiative, responsible for 43 countries and the scale-up of a global program giving children access to HIV/AIDS care. Diana has a first-class Law degree and was awarded a CBE in 2017. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

Thank you for listening to Being Invested and making Series 1 a success. We will be back after a summer break for Series 2 in the autumn – with a timely angle and amazing guests. See you then!

WHAT'S IN STORE

· “Two lessons I take from that time: one is motivation is everything. If you're motivated, you can do so much. If you're not, you're just going to bumble along. And the second thing is: we all need a little help at different times. And … you can be really lucky to have the right people in your lives to sort of steer you a little bit, not necessarily tell you what to do.”

· “I wanted to learn as fast as I possibly could and be put in scary situations and test myself. So, it was sink or swim, but I swam.”

· “Parenting is super, super hard … It's about leaning in, leaning out, being there, always being there, always listening, but holding back a bit on the direct advice.”

· “I like (investment managers to have) scars. I like failures - when (they) can really talk well about why it happened and why it won't happen again. I think if you hire people who've already got scars, someone else has paid for their learning curve and you're benefiting from it.”

· “For career changes, make sure you've got the right balance between the things you already know - because that's going to give you confidence on day one, and the things that you don't know - because that's the stretch.”

· “Flattery (should) play no role in your career decisions. Fine, be flattered, accept it because it's nice, but put it aside. Do not shortcut your due diligence about whether the role is going to be right for you, whether you can succeed.”

· “I was reasonably well known, I was making lots of money, but no one else was benefiting, really. And that just felt wrong for me.”

LINKS

Unleashed – Frances Frei and Anne Morriss

FAVOURITES

Video: George Saunders speech on Kindness - https://youtu.be/ruJWd_m-LgY?feature=shared

Quote: “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” Flannery O’Connor

Comedy: Flight of the Conchords

GRATITUDE

Sound: Alexander Russell, Design: Sophie Hardy, Music: Tom McKean

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