Connecting To The Future: A Blueprint for Dynamic Leadership

[Music] thank you again and hi everyone Muhammad AB War welcome to the stage thank you for joining us today Dan thank you it's really great to be in ABAB always and uh a big credit goes to his Excellency Ahmed zabi for bringing the world of Finance here in this great platform to discuss and sort out problems maybe so let's talk about some of the problems on the table here the next conversation we're going to have is based on connecting to the Future a blueprint for dynamic leadership it's a brand new book by yourself and let's go through some of the I guess reasons why you wanted to write the book and what are some of the key messages that you're attempting to convey in its narrative what's the inspiration here and what is it all about yeah thank you so the the the book is really it's about transformation it's about what inves Corp has done in the last uh seven years it's about leadership and it's really about the voices of uh the talents and the team that has made this uh Journey uh work it's about uh looking at change and not being fearful of change uh and it is really about uh making people realize uh that there are no limits to the Ambitions and what they can uh achieve and in the book you talk about uh adaptation and Agility when it comes to leadership what's the best piece of advice you can offer those of us in the room when it comes to building adaptive and Innovative teams this is something that a lot of businesses struggle with what is the secret Source in your view so you know uh I mean one of the we talk a lot about the experiences in the military and particularly with the flying Fighters and being in Fighter Squadron and I think it's humbling uh when you bring the fighter uh pilot experiences in the uh in the business because in uh flying Fighters there is no nothing you can do by yourself you can't succeed by yourself you can't uh you know you can't get to the Target by yourself you can't uh uh achieve the task by yourself it's all a team work and uh there's nobody who says I am the best fighter pilot or I am it's always your part of the best team uh you can't be you know pulling 9g and uh somebody not looking after your sex so I guess it's it's it's a really it's a team uh work and it's a team sport so what's harder flying a fighter jet or growing your a well they I mean you know I think I think wherever you are and uh it's obviously more exciting than the fighter jet but uh I think whe whether you are in the military or you are in the business there are common things you know there's leadership to be done there's Target to uh uh to achieve and there are people to look after and and they're they're in in in here or there is the same the book looks great I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing so thank you for sharing a brief synopsis with us um let's talk about business um how is business invest goov is growing it's scaling tell me about the footprint today and where we stand what do the latest numbers tell us so we're uh we're now around uh just over $50 billion of AUM uh really truly Global we have 14 offices from Tokyo all the way to uh uh New York uh we do private Equity we do real estate we do uh hedge funds we have a big credit business uh and we uh we're doing infrastructure uh I think you know like everyone else has said today that last year was uh not an easy year for for everyone uh but I think that we have seen the worst of uh of things uh I think from now on we can hope that interest rates particularly in the developing uh markets are not going to go higher uh we see inflation weakening uh and we have uh keep looking for opportunities so walk me through that because you know all day we've been hearing about uncertainty in the economic and political Cycles but the good news is that valuation starting points for many assets are also starting to come down as a result of higher interest rates people are getting paid to hold cash I was actually speaking with uh one prominent investor this morning on CNBC and he said expect the best multi-asset return since 2019 in the year ahead so I'm really getting the sense that optimism is starting to come back and that seems like a view that you share right absolutely no no we do I mean obviously I think uh uh what we we continue to see I mean take Europe for instance there are obviously uh where uh maybe uh a market that was harder hit than even the United States because uh in Europe interest rate were really zero at time in some countries was negative uh but if you are sitting there with a big uh portfolio that you paid 04 and now you have to pay 7 8 10% of the total cost you have to to divest you have to sell uh and for people like us who have uh you know some dry power that's uh that's a really good opportunity uh so that's the way how we we look at you know the market going forward so when you look at your investment thesis for the year ahead what are the sectors and asset classes that are most attractive to you right now so we uh in in uh you know we invest in North America we invest in Europe we invest in the Gulf uh India and China and in all those markets uh we are concentrating on consumer consumer uh related businesses we can uh businesses that are in the services sector uh Healthcare uh we like uh and anything to do with education and Technology what are some of the trends that you're seeing in the PA market right now so I we obviously people are after quality still uh and uh I think anything businesses that are are non- cyclical businesses that uh are well L uh well managed have cash flow and have a you know a path to Better profitability is doing well and still in in big demand and what does the deal flow look like is there enough liquidity out there to to make these transactions happen so I think the there is obviously the deal flow has slowed down but like I said to you to the example we did in we we see in Europe uh I think uh you we are seeing deals uh if you're able to uh you know find the liquidity to to do them we're also walking away from deals because uh you know people are still uh wanting high prices and uh maybe not you know to to the level we we are happy with can I ask you about the real estate element of the portfolio as as well obviously some sectors of the real estate industry have come under some pretty significant stress as a result of higher interest rates you only have to look at the CR Market in North America for example as a case in point how are you reading Global real estate right now where are the opportunities and are you perhaps a little more encouraged about the outlook here given the trajectory for rates in 2024 which seems to be on the way down at least in the developed markets so then you know in real estate uh uh we have a a very strong business started in the US and then in Europe and uh in the Gulf uh in the last few years we were really lucky uh you know about seven eight years ago we started getting out of uh some of the sub sectors of real estate that we we thought that will be uh hard hit in in in crisis so we got out of a lot of retail we got off a lot of office uh and we really concentrate on uh multif family businesses uh real estate we concentrated on logistic uh real estate and uh student housing those sectors have really uh I think stood the test of time during covid uh they obviously went into some stress but they are really some of the best sub sectors that you can invested in real estate and is it your view that we will see some kind of positive momentum in in global real estate next year as a result of the rates trajectory I I think so I think so because you know if you look at the demand and the expansion of uh uh that's happening because of the gdps growth that's happening around the world uh real estate is uh you know it get affected because of uh you know High interest rate but it also get lifted with uh growth in economies I wanted to ask you about China as well I know this is an area that you've been focusing on uh looking at China right now the data has been quite weak at least for the last six months perhaps even through the course of this year there seems to be a disinflation trend that's setting in in China now and I'm wondering what that means for some of your investment decisions there is investor concern around some of the data some of the numbers we're seeing out of China warranted this is the world's second biggest economy so in China we are are we really see uh we're very positive about the fundamentals we still think that you know China is a is a great economy we continue to invest uh in it we have good investment and good partnership there on technology on food business uh and on consumer and services uh so the fundamentals are still there I think China is going through uh time where uh you know the growth has been slow the recovery from the pandemic has not been uh as as good but uh long term I think China is is a great market for us and you're building out a Yuan denominated PE Fund in China is that right well it's we're looking we're looking at that and uh uh it's something uh I think worth uh looking at uh because of how big is that market is and how uh how big the initiatives to invest inside China can I ask ask you about the gulf as well where do you see the opportunities in our part of the world so the I mean the gulf I think is uh really is in its best times uh now uh you know because of the visions that are that are there the Transformations that are happening the strong leadership that is there it's a region I think when you look at all emerging uh markets it it really scores very high because uh you know you don't have uh uh currency risk it's a it's a region that's investing in itself it's a region that's investing in the future whether it is in medicine or renewable energy or uh uh and so led by UAE and uh the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the the numbers of growth that's happening in gdps are uh amazing uh we see uh great opportunities in infrastructure we see great opportunities in uh private Equity we uh uh uh public markets are doing uh very well as you know we recently put an IPO in ababi uh so it's uh it's a region that's really doing very well now and uh you mentioned I think we also spoke about it before invest Capital trading live on the adx Mad are here obviously a very important strategic partner but was there any other consideration as to um why abudhabi was chosen as the listing destination for for the business so I mean abudhabi is we we have uh it's a deep Market it's uh there's a lot of liquidity here we were really very happy with the IPO it's a long-term U play for us uh they we were very also happy that uh 32 35% of the book actually came from outside the region from the United States from from Europe uh and it's it's great it's a an IPO that uh guarantees 8% for at least three years so uh it's good more listings to come sure I mean we uh uh we continue to uh look at opportunities and we have many companies uh we've just listed uh in the Indonesian Stock Exchange uh company called mother care uh and there are few that we're looking to uh to do in the region and outside before we wrap up I wanted to ask you about the Outlook uh for the year ahead as well a similar question that I asked Ray Delio only an hour or so ago um your thoughts on 2024 number one in terms of a risk perspective what's the biggest risk that investors in the room need to be aware of when they're assessing market conditions and and uh investment opportunities next year and then um secondly what is the opportunity um what excites you the most about the year ahead in terms of uh uh again in in investing and where the opportunity is so uh I hope I don't contradict ralo but uh I I mean we're really we're optimistic about 2024 I think it's it's the year where we will see the interest rate coming down where we see inflation is in starting to get in uh in control we it's a it's a year we think that investors will start having confidence in deploying their their money uh and we continue with the I think the sectors that we have uh uh we see still a lot of opportunities in business services and education in uh uh renewable we want one of the uh platforms that we are launching uh uh soon is our climate Solutions uh so we see a lot uh in that it's uh it's a platform that uh really you know uh invest in the uh uh in in the businesses that are not Venture but they're not the big infrastructure but those that are you know proven proven technologies that need support to to continue obviously really critical coming into cop this week as well uh what does it mean for investors another question that I've been asking throughout the course of of this year how critical is this for ESG investment Community to have this conversation happening in this region I think it's it's really important I mean it uh first of all it really uh it talks about really the significance of this region uh to have cop you know cop is probably uh as important as the United Nation meeting in New York where you know you have uh everyone coming to sort out and discuss and debate uh problems uh I think it's really important also that the presidency of uh cup has already gotten a lot of uh political consensus around uh uh you know the participation for reducing uh emissions uh and I believe it's uh something we all need to be uh you know think thinking about and taking it seriously I yesterday I don't know if you saw Her Excellency maram is talking about that you know our uh our uh climate and our environment is really needs help and uh it's it's everyone's effort just finally um to go back to my regional question biggest risk in the year ahead what do you think it is I think uh geopolitics is is always a risk you know I think uh private businesses we really do not know how politicians think sometimes and what uh they can uh what can happen uh other than that I think uh like I said we're uh we think we've seen the worst of you know the financial and the economic challenges where should we expect to see a this time next year when you and I are on stage talking about the latest from invest do you have a Target well we I mean our Target our uh long-term Target is 100 billion uh a dollar a uh we continue to do that all markets is and all businesses are uh responsible for that okay we'll watch it closely Mohammad we leave it there thanks so much for speaking with me today I appreciate please make you feel welcome ladies and gentlemen