Samantha Hartard, Co-fund Manager of the Discovery Balanced Fund, shares her journey

The views expressed in this article are those of Samantha Hartard and not of Discovery Invest.
 

Samantha recently joined up with Chris Freund as the Co-fund Manager of the Discovery Balanced Fund. We caught up with her to find out a little more about her background and experiences.

After just one year studying a bachelor of accounting degree, Samantha realised it was not for her. She changed to an economics and finance degree, and quickly realised she had an aptitude and genuine interest in this field.

In her final year, she was completely won over by a presentation from JP Morgan and cut her teeth working for them as a junior analyst covering the healthcare, and oil and gas sectors.

It wasn't always easy

Up until that point, Samantha’s life had followed a textbook progression: high school, good grades, university, good grades, graduation, great job with an international company. “Then the Global Financial Crisis hit and I met reality. It was a case of last in, first out and next thing I knew, I had been retrenched.”

For the young analyst, it was a huge learning experience about what happens when a recession hits, and her first lesson in resilience. She laughs about it now, saying that if she could go back to the moment when she received her first salary, her advice to her younger self would be “buy Naspers. Buy lots of Naspers!”

From overlanding to the investment industry

Samantha took the opportunity to indulge in some introspection while “overlanding” across Africa for six months. And at this point, it becomes clear where Samantha’s passion lies. This is someone who is inspired by people, eager to learn about different cultures and absorb as many new and different experiences as she possibly can. “Overlanding” means you travel by getting on the back of a truck with a bunch of strangers and people get on and off the truck at different points. “It’s completely roughing it. I didn’t even know how to put up a tent”.

During this trip she connected with people from all walks of life, and learned that sometimes when there’s a storm it’s best to just dance in the rain.

“I came back with a completely different perspective,” she reflects.

Young as she was, Samantha already had a reputation as a hard worker and before she returned from her getaway, the manager who had originally hired her at JP Morgan asked her to join his team at Credit Suisse. Five years ago, she moved to Investec Asset Management. “You hear these names in the industry – Chris Freund, John Biccard, Gail Daniel. I just thought - all these smart people in one place. Let’s see what I can learn.”

Use your role to the benefit of society

She is quick to point out that there is more to the job than the glitz and glamour of rubbing shoulders with high-profile CEOs. “You end up doing client presentations and you meet employees sitting on a board of trustees.

I realised then that the value of my role lies in helping people who wouldn’t otherwise know how to save. I’m helping them prepare for their future, so that they can retire in comfort and with dignity. When you’re running retirement funds, there’s a different perspective to your work,” she observes.

See opportunities in everything

Looking back, Samantha says one of her biggest lessons has been about the power of compounding and opportunity. “I look back at the Global Financial Crisis and where markets were and where they are today. It’s an opportunity that I missed at the time. I just am so much more aware of it now. The power of compounding value, of being in something and sticking with it for a while so that you get that wealth benefit.

It might sound strange but I’m a little excited to see the next crisis come along because now I’m in a position to get in there and invest right at the bottom so I can ride the next wave up!”

The Discovery Balanced Fund

Samantha is no stranger to the Discovery Balanced Fund, having worked on the fund in an analyst role since she joined Investec five years ago. Commenting on the inflows into multi-asset funds, she points out that the South African equity market has been moving sideways. “I think people are moving into balanced funds because it offers them a diversified investment. Between 2013 and 2016, the average fund manager was generating returns in the mid-teen figures on an annual basis. There was so much liquidity in the world, the money needed to go somewhere. All the asset classes were doing well. It was almost easy and we’ve all gotten used to those higher returns, so now a return that matches inflation can be frustrating.”

She is quick to point out that the Discovery Balanced Fund performance since inception in 2007 has been spectacular. “The fund has been first quartile over 1, 5, 7 and 10 years to the end of July 2018. It’s amazing what Chris and the team have been able to achieve. The flows into the fund are also phenomenal. I think that’s due to a combination of Discovery’s massive distribution network and the fund’s consistent performance,” she says.

What to expect from Samantha

There will be no change to the fund’s investment philosophy or the management process. Samantha will be co-managing the fund with Chris, starting out slowly and then moving into a more active role. “I truly believe in earnings revisions as an investment style. There’s no disputing that this style of investing works and it’s very dynamic,” she says.

Copyright Discovery Ltd is the licensed controlling company of the designated Discovery Insurance Group. Registration number: 1999/007789/06.
Companies in the Group are licensed insurers and authorised financial services providers.

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