When did your interest in financial markets start?
I grew up in five different countries and travelled extensively over the period. During this time, I was exposed to different economies and learnt to appreciate the extent of globalisation, and interconnectedness of markets from a young age. Over the years, this combined with my analytical mindset fostered an interest in financial markets. I decided to advance this interest in my undergraduate and honors degrees.
What did you study and why?
I majored in Finance and Economics in my undergrad at the University of Cape Town. This provided me with the building blocks to understanding businesses from a micro and macro level, further understanding the accounting of operations and how to derive a business’ value. I subsequently completed an Honors in Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management, which allowed me to specialise in the investment industry particularly exploring the theories of active and passive management. At this stage, I plan to further expand my investment knowledge and skills through pursuing the CFA charter, which I am currently in the process of doing.
What do you think equips you to do this job properly?
My natural tendency to be investigative, detail-oriented and to actively seek as much perspective/insight as possible from industry professionals, allows me to extrapolate data and information in a manner that adds value to Northstar’s investment process. My growth-oriented mindset and ability to apply a process consistently, yields objective and standardised inputs.
What do you love about investing?
I love the complexity of markets, understanding the different drivers of asset classes, individual companies, their competitive positioning within an industry and the evolution of performance through business cycles. These factors keep me constantly engaged and allow me to apply my mind in different ways. The fact that no two days are the same is truly exciting!
What do you find the most challenging part of your role to be?
Being flooded with information and having to filter through market noise can at times be challenging. It is a critical skill to be able to identify, condense and analyse key drivers to a company’s investment case, doing this efficiently and timeously. I find myself having more questions than answers, at times, as data limitations in the local equity space can lead to inefficient methods of rectifying information gaps.
Why do you think clients will do well at Northstar?
Northstar truly has their clients’ best interests at heart, which is a core value carried right through from the operations team to the research team. The rigor and dedication that each team has towards the common goal of providing quality service and returns to clients sets us apart from the ordinary firm. Through Northstar’s consistent investment process and team driven decision making, we are able to deliver the appropriate risk-adjusted returns for our clients.