What Makes a Great Macro Fund Manager? With Scott Bessent (New US Treasury Secretary)
Today’s guest was a key player on the George Soros team, who in 1992 helped the Quantum Fund make $1bn, shorting sterling ahead of the UK’s withdrawal from the ERM.
As Soros’s CIO, he was also dubbed ‘The Man Who Broke the Bank of Japan’ by the Wall Street Journal after making approximately $3.5bn on the Abenomics trade from 2012-2015.
In November 2024, he was selected as the new US Treasury Secretary, serving under Donald Trump. The role gives him responsibility for managing the US obligations and finances, including collecting taxes, managing the federal budget, enforcing fiscal laws & overseeing monetary policy.
Scott is widely acknowledged to be one of the world’s most highly respected macro hedge fund managers, and currently runs Key Square Capital Management. He has also taught financial history at Yale and is a prominent philanthropist.
In this episode, Scott explains the key ingredients in being a macro manager. He charts his journey, working with legendary investors such as Stan Druckenmiller and George Soros.
He opines on a range of key investment themes, including his thoughts on de-dollarisation, debt, commodities, the Ukraine rebuild, and AI. He also shares his analysis of the fast-evolving markets in both China and Japan.
Scott goes on to discuss risk, when and how he sizes positions, signposts that influence conviction, and dealing with information overload. A tour de force! Interview originally recorded in September 2023.
Keen to learn more about investing in the resurgent Japanese equity market? Check out our interview with the Founders of Arcus, a $2bn AUM Japan-focused asset manager who've been investing in TOPIX for 25+ years: • Japanese Equities: An Opportunity 25 ...
TOPICS:
00:00 - Intro
00:59 - Scott's Background
04:22 - Early Career
06:46 - Intro to Global Macro
08:28 - The Creation of Key Square Capital Management
10:24 - Navigating Information Overload
11:25 - Micro & Macro Knowledge
13:42 - The Sequencing of Macro Events
15:44 - De-Dollarisation & Economic Disruption
20:36 - Analysing the Japanese Economy
32:46 - Chinese Economy
37:18 - Macro Investment & Geopolitical Risk
39:09 - Thoughts on Ukraine / Russia Future
42:24 - Potential Impact of AI on Productivity and Regulation
47:10 - The Global Shift from Capital to Labour
51:20 - Closing Questions
58:45 - Outro
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All content on the Money Maze Podcast is for your general information and use only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. In particular, the content does not constitute any form of advice, recommendation, representation, endorsement or arrangement and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other decisions. Guests and presenters may have positions in any of the investments discussed.
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