Rachel Elwell
The Architect
Structured and legacy-driven; builds the systems and institutions that last.
Rachel Elwell emerges as a quintessential Architect, methodically constructing a regulated, at-scale investment institution from the ground up in Leeds while holding together 18 disparate partner funds with competing beliefs and risk appetites.
“The value from active management on fixed income comes from really understanding what are your risks when it goes wrong. We've had a very benign credit environment for several decades now and I think sometimes people forget that it's not a free lunch.”
Active versus passive fixed income debateundated
“What's the cost of compromise? If partners come into that very fixed on what they already have and all of the detail of it, it's almost impossible to pool. So really working hard on how different are you to another partner if we put those things together, we can get these benefits of scale.”
Challenges of pooling partner fundsundated
“People think that cash is less risky, but it's not less risky when you've got high inflation. And people think that passive is less risky because you don't underperform a passive index. Whereas actually if what you're trying to do is manage long-term risk, passive can lead you down a much more risky route.”
Closing thoughts on investment industry irritantsundated
Money Maze Podcast: “Scale, Strategy, and Stewardship: Rachel Elwell, CEO, on Border to Coast’s Growing Power in UK Pensions”
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