In this episode of Fund Selectors, host Lucy Walker sits down with Ben Conway, CIO and Head of Fund Management at Hawksmoor.

Ben shares deep insights into Hawksmoor’s fund selection philosophy, including their unique approach to portfolio construction, the importance of absolute returns, and how they think about valuation through the lens of a fund’s own history.

The discussion covers the role of investment trusts, boutique managers, and why they avoid strategic and tactical asset allocation.

Ben also speaks candidly about the campaign to reform investment trust cost disclosures and the unintended consequences of regulation on fund buyers.

This wide-ranging conversation reveals what it truly means to build portfolios with discipline, curiosity, and a firm commitment to investor outcomes.

0:03 - Introduction by Lucy Walker

0:20 - Guest introduction: Ben Conway

2:22 - Hawksmoor’s bespoke fund research approach

3:59 - Rejecting strategic and tactical asset allocation

5:11 - Portfolio cheapness relative to its own history

6:42 - The importance of margin of safety

8:00 - Growth vs value and valuation dispersion

12:50 - The power of qualitative fund manager interviews

13:59 - The question every manager must answer: “Why now?”

17:28 - What good sales engagement looks like

21:05 - Portfolio construction and position sizing

24:55 - Common-sense mean variance optimisation

26:28 - Role of alternatives and fixed income

27:55 - Why Hawksmoor avoids strategy-based funds

30:02 - Ideal fund manager traits and boutique preferences

35:04 - Proportion of boutiques in Hawksmoor portfolios

39:02 - Turnover and portfolio changes through time

41:09 - Views on passive investing and the active/passive debate

45:09 - Investment trust cost disclosure campaign

52:58 - Statement of operating expenses initiative

55:00 - Concerns about inclusion of investment trusts in CCI regime

58:07 - Book recommendations and reflections on investment learning

1:00:11 - Behavioural bias: forming judgments too quickly

1:02:27 - Final question for next guest

In this episode of Fund Selectors, host Lucy Walker speaks with Shakhista Mukhamedova, Head of Global Manager Research Europe at RBC Brewin Dolphin. Shakhista shares insights from her unique career path, starting in structured products before moving into fixed income and alternatives. The discussion explores the evolution of fund research, the challenges of professionalising manager selection, and the importance of investment philosophy and behavioural analysis in fund research. Shakhista also reveals how her team distils complex information to identify high-conviction fund managers and why gut instinct can sometimes be as crucial as data. Plus, she shares her favourite book recommendations and discusses the behavioural biases fund selectors need to overcome.

10:15

Lucy

[0:03] – Introduction by Lucy Walker
[0:22] – Guest introduction: Shakhista Mukhamedova’s career path into fund research
[1:40] – How Shakhista became interested in markets and investing
[5:09] – Career journey at RBC Brewin Dolphin: from structured products to fund selection
[9:54] – Expanding into infrastructure, property, and alternatives
[13:02] – Leading a global manager research team: defining the team’s purpose
[17:02] – Evolution of manager research: from informal selection to professionalisation
[22:31] – The four pillars of fund research: people, philosophy, process, and performance
[23:45] – Why investment philosophy is often overlooked but crucial
[26:08] – The importance of understanding behavioural finance in fund research
[31:38] – When a fund “feels” wrong: the role of gut instinct in research
[37:01] – How Shakhista’s team collaborates across asset classes and investment solutions
[40:23] – Refining the due diligence questionnaire: from 50 pages to a distilled focus
[47:00] – Why Brewin Dolphin reduced its recommended fund list to high-conviction picks
[51:35] – Book recommendation
[57:22] – A past fund research mistake and lessons learned
[1:04:26] – Shakhista’s question for the next guest

In this episode of Fund Selectors, host Lucy Walker interviews Matt Piro, Global Head of Oversight and Manager Search at Vanguard. Known primarily for their passive strategies, Vanguard’s $750 billion in actively managed assets is a surprise to many. Matt shares insights into his team’s rigorous process for selecting external sub-advisers, the long-term philosophy underpinning their approach, and the challenges of navigating periods of underperformance. The conversation explores how Vanguard structures its manager research team, the role of deep analysis in evaluating managers, and the importance of balancing consistency and adaptability. A must-listen for those interested in active fund management and sub-advised strategies.

Timestamps:

• [0:03] Introduction by Lucy Walker
• [0:20] Guest introduction: Matt Piro, Global Head of Oversight and Manager Search at Vanguard
• [0:44] Vanguard’s commitment to active management: surprising industry perceptions
• [1:57] Overview of Matt’s role and team structure at Vanguard
• [3:26] The long-term approach to manager selection and evaluation
• [5:46] Balancing specialisation and breadth within the research team
• [7:50] Key elements of Vanguard’s due diligence process
• [10:30] Insights into behavioural analysis and skill-based attribution
• [12:25] A case study on identifying style drift in managers
• [17:30] How team dynamics drive decision-making in fund oversight
• [22:45] Adapting team structure to industry changes and new perspectives
• [29:04] The importance of search readiness and maintaining a strong manager bench
• [36:11] Case study: constructing a core global equity fund with manager diversification
• [43:34] Lessons learned from evaluating managers through volatile periods
• [49:02] Encouraging open dialogue and challenge within the research team
• [54:05] Matt’s book recommendation
• [57:02] Matt answers: “What is your biggest bugbear in manager research?”
• [1:00:02] Matt poses a question for the next guest: What’s a manager research mistake you’ve learned from?