Celebrating our Three Year Show Anniversary

We would be the first to admit we were naive when we started and seriously underestimated the difficulties in running a podcast; not least COVID, the technology challenges, time needed from research to release, and everything in between, but we are thrilled the show is now reaching over 2 million people through audio, video and social media per year in more than 100 countries.

Each episode, we feature leading figures who share their industry insights, their investment approaches, lessons and career tips with our listener community. Every interview is available completely free on all major podcast apps, YouTube and via moneymazepodcast.com.

We’re driven by a commitment to opening up the investment and finance worlds, provoking thinking, empowering our listeners with perspectives on business strategies and priorities & valuable tips on building a successful careers.

One of our aims is to bring more transparency to an industry often shrouded in the fog of jargon, and apparent complexity therefore helping more people - not only industry insiders - learn how some of the world’s most prominent institutions allocate capital. We’re dedicated to playing our part in improving the industry, and therefore are especially proud to highlight leading women in finance, as well as those from diverse backgrounds.

We are also exploring launching an online Money Maze financial learning course that will enhance understanding of companies accounts and do deep dive analysis of balance sheets. Please reach out to us at info@moneymazepodcast.com to hear more.

To mark three years since the podcast’s inception, I welcomed back Peter Harrison, the show’s very first guest. Peter is the CEO of Schroders, and first appeared back in March 2020, just before COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns changed all our lives.

In that first episode he shared his career story, the firm's vision, ESG considerations, the growth of private markets and much more. In our update episode, released earlier this month, he shared his analysis on the investment landscape in 2023 and gave some compelling insights into the scale of the opportunities that Asia still offers. He also covers the importance of data science skills for the workforce, the growth of private markets and the vital need to protect natural capital (which he labeled as the single biggest & most undervalued asset class in the world). You can find both these interviews in our podcast feed.

We often like to provide a wider perspective to our listeners, and so we also feature prominent authors, professors, thinkers and members of the wider business world on the podcast. For instance, in January I interviewed General Petraeus, former CIA Director, who gave some fascinating insights on the Ukraine war and wider geopolitical themes. And just before Christmas, Simon Sebag Montefiore, a bestselling author, appeared on the podcast to discuss the under-acknowledged impact of dynastic family power on world history.

Earlier this year, featured guests have also included Jen Prosek, Founder & Managing Partner of Prosek Partners. Prosek advises some of the world’s most respected finance firms and is known for leading the recent revolution in private markets communication. She shared her advice on financial marketing, including its importance for fundraising & the value of multimedia content in driving brand awareness. So it’s a great one for those looking for tips on how to improve their firm’s marketing & communications strategy.

And just before this, I also spoke to Michael Birshan, Global Co-Leader of McKinsey’s Strategy & Corporate Finance practice. He covered how the firm is focusing on the key business challenges and opportunities of 2023, including the transition to net zero and its immense financial implications.

In total, we’ve now released over 80 episodes since starting the podcast in 2020. For each interview, we conduct detailed research to ensure a range of key topics are covered. Many of our interviews are also released in video format via our YouTube channel, as well as via all major podcast apps.

Our mission is to share and educate and hopefully inspire people and to do it for free so I’d like to say thank our four sponsors, Schroders, Bremont Watches, LiveTrade and Mintus, whose kind support ensures we can run the podcast without a paywall, ensuring insights and ideas can be shared with all.

A special shout out to our wider team for their help in producing and promoting the show. This includes Oliver Bodmer, who heads up our marketing & strategy, Matthew Passy and The Podcast Consultant team, who edit our episodes, and Vovi, a first-class marketing agency who designed & launched our new website last year. I’d also like to thank Anna Bea our external marketing consultant, and all of the excellent interviewees who’ve agreed to appear on the podcast. And of course, a huge thanks to our listeners who make the show possible!

I’d also like to share a few details on our aim to do our bit to improve the financial services industry. This year, we plan to feature more women on the podcast, highlighting the opportunities in finance to a traditionally underrepresented demographic. To help achieve this, we’ve partnered with GAIN UK. Standing for ‘Girls are Investors’. This excellent charity is working to improve female representation in the investment management industry through free resources, events and programmes. Set up by Tilly Franklin, CIO of the Cambridge University Endowment Fund and past Money Maze Podcast guest, they’ve reached over 15,000 students since launching, helping to place hundreds of young women into valuable summer internships (many of which lead to full-time roles). If you’d like to volunteer as a mentor, or your firm would like to get involved, please visit www.gainuk.org to learn more!

We also have a sizable proportion of students who listen to the show, and we now support 8 university business & finance societies, helping the early careers talent pipeline in the finance sector. I’ve spoken at a few of these universities and hope to do many more.

To connect listeners with job vacancies, we now have a Careers page on our website too. Here we share the latest jobs shared with us by our Sponsors and Corporate Partners, giving you one easy destination to apply to a variety of roles in the finance sector. Visit moneymazepodcast.com/careers to start applying today!

In November last year, we also highlighted the excellent work of The Felix Project, via our episode with Justin Byam Shaw, the charity’s founder. The Felix Project is a London-based nonprofit which redistributes surplus food from the hospitality and retail sectors to almost 1,000 charities, primary schools and holiday programmes. Instead of this excess food going to waste, The Felix Project’s redistribution work has ensured the impact of the cost-of-living crisis has been mitigated for thousands of Londoners. The problem is vast however, with millions of people across the UK experiencing hunger on a regular basis. To learn more or volunteer, head to thefelixproject.org.

Via our Corporate Partnership programme, we now host a number of events throughout the year. This includes opportunities to meet podcast guests via intimate events, including dinners, talks and live music performances. Corporate Partners also have the opportunity to feature on our Curated Podcast spin-off series and have the additional benefits of joining our network.

You can also enjoy more free finance content thanks to our Curated Podcasts series, our spin-off show aimed at professional investors. These episodes offer detailed and nuanced insights into some of the finance sector’s most innovative firms. Interviewees on the series include senior figures from firms such as BlackRock, Ruffer, Partners Capital, Sagard and Lansdowne Partners  To listen, search ‘Curated Podcasts - With Simon Brewer’ on any podcast app, or visit our website. We’re just releasing ones featuring 2 Oxford University spin-out firms; fascinating!

In addition to all major podcast apps, you can now watch full episodes via our YouTube channel. To subscribe, simply search ‘Money Maze Podcast’ on YouTube!

Stay tuned for plenty more informative episodes in 2023. We’ve got many more interesting guests in the pipeline, as well as a Super Allocator series (which features interviewees from some of the world’s biggest pension & sovereign wealth funds).

To celebrate the show’s anniversary, we’re re-sharing the top 3 episodes of 2022. In first position, just ahead of Joan Solotar of Blackstone & bestselling author Michael Lewis, was Dame Kate Bingham, Managing Partner of SV Health Investors and former Chair of the UK COVID-19 vaccine taskforce.

If you have a few minutes, we’d love you to leave a quick review of the podcast via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also sign up to our newsletter below, ensuring you won’t miss a new release! If you enjoy the show, we’d love it if you could recommend it to a friend or colleague too.

Finally, if you have any questions or guest ideas, feel free to message myself and the team via info@moneymazepodcast.com.

Once again, many thanks for listening and we hope you continue to find the show interesting!

Kind regards,

Simon Brewer & Will Campion