Finding the Front

Our special guest is one of Australia’s legendary stock pickers, Mr David Paradice AO, the founder of Paradice Investment Management.   The Paradice Investment Management team manage a phenomenal amount of money - around $17 billion in assets under management. Its namesake founder, David Paradice AO, is so passionate about his craft. In this deep dive, David shares his experiences on just about everything from growing up in Scone in the Hunter region, boarding school, trying to find a job, how he made his way into the public markets, building a funds management business, his team, his love of picking stocks and the small cap sector, meeting with management, doing the work and how there is no “short cut” and his current views on the markets. He also shares his thoughts on why he learns from Warren Buffett but doesn't follow him - they have their own way of doing things including going out and picking the stocks, doing the numbers, working out if something is cheap or expensive and then having a real crack at it! Plus we hear first-hand about his love of giving back, the game of Polo, including meeting the Queen and of course, family.  Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 4:03 - Tales from growing up on a 150 acre farm just outside of Scone, NSW 10:37 - Paradice's first role as a research analyst at a stock broker, investing through the 1987 crash 15:38 - The pressure of managing others people’s money 17:59 - Paradice's five-year stint managing small caps at Mercantile Mutual/ING Group + Why company visits are not a chore 19:34 - Why Paradice decided to go out on his own despite the knock backs 23:09 - The super funds that have supported Paradice IM + How the Paradice team's culture has evolved over time 27:17 - What company visits reveal to stock pickers and analysts + Why Paradice wants to take inspiration from Warren Buffett but not follow him 30:33 - Why Paradice respects businesses and funds who cap their returns + Is managing too much money a bad thing? 33:21 - Should portfolio managers be generalists or sector specialists? 36:12 - How Paradice and his team approached the 2008 GFC + how they make a decision on when and what to deploy cash into 42:39 - 'Part of the skill is sticking to the right stocks so that your performance doesn't get belted during the bad times' 44:40 - A good investment can be expensive - but if they grow at 30-40%, it's warranted 46:26 - Receiving the Order of Australia for philanthropic services 48:50 - How Paradice's selection of funds has grown over time + Why doing the work, even at the earliest hours, is what makes the difference  51:28 - Current market views: Trump, Musk, China, growth, commodities, themes 57:32 - Commodities, threats with AI, gold, bitcoin, silver 1:01:53 - Working with Geoff Wilson's Future Generation, supporting the Taronga Zoo Foundation, and other charitable pursuits 1:06:01 - Health, work and life balance, trust, love of polo, teamwork, the Queen

Our special guest for this Ep is Jennifer Westacott AO and what a conversation it is – an inspiring story of one of Australia’s leading women. After growing up in public housing in a troubled family environment, Jennifer became (amongst lots more) Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia for some 12 years, Non-Exec Director of Wesfarmers, Chair of Future Generation Global, the first female Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Board Member of energy company ATCO Australia and Co-Patron of Pride in Diversity. Over her journey Jennifer provides her first hand insights into the housing shortage in Australia, her views on Corporate Australia, meeting Donald Trump and when he was President and other international leaders, the role of the Private Sector and her views on WA as an economic power house of Australia including her take on policies making mining difficult. She discusses energy supply and her role with ATCO. She also provides her highly qualified perspective on Tertiary education and where it goes next, and the building of the new airport and city in Western Sydney (which she Chairs) which is a game changer for Australia. Jennifer was awarded a Centenary Medal and an Order of Australia. This really is an inspiring story with a national perspective.

For all those who love property and seek some insight into the property development sector and current property market - look no further. Our special guest for this brand new episode is Nathan Blackburne, the Managing Director of one of Australia’s leading property developers Cedar Woods Properties that was established way back in 1987. Nathan is a leader in his field. He comes from a family upbringing steeped in property history and his national journey to his current role, including 17 years in Melbourne and some 23 years with Cedar Woods provides some very valuable insights. Nathan shares his perspective on the opportunities but also the challenges of Australia’s property market. There are some such excellent takeaways. 

In this fantastic new episode of Euroz Hartleys Finding the Front we have a very special guest, Dr Nina Webster, the CEO & MD of clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Dimerix (ASX:DXB). Nina has more than 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry and has a wonderful story of starting out as a trainee lab technician to working hard, building her knowledge base through some serious education (including a PhD) and extending herself in her career roles, to becoming a leader of a company, Dimerix, that is working to improve the lives of patients globally with inflammatory diseases such as the fast growing and well known kidney disease. This is a fascinating insight into the nature of biotech companies, their growth path and their challenges. Nina speaks so well and reflects on her journey so far with many insights and takeaways on her experiences and the biotech industry as a whole.