Thematic Investors: Scott Bessent a Global Macro Veteran on the Path Ahead

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Legendary basketball coach Pat Riley was once quoted as saying, “Keep the main thing, the main thing”, which is a great tip for anyone wishing to enter the field of macro investing on the global stage. Everyone has similar data but the secret is how you interpret that intelligence in terms of risk, economic indicators, and even a bit of financial market history.
In this latest installment of the Thematic Investors podcast, host Kieran Cavanna welcomes a guest who has successfully blended those aspects into becoming one of the great macro thinkers in the hedge fund world. Scott Bessent, Founder of Key Square Capital, has built his career from early investigative journalism roots to a financial analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman, to a Middle Eastern family office, and on to becoming the CIO of Soros Fund Management. Delve into a captivating discussion with Scott as he offers insights into global financial markets spanning Japan, China, Europe, and the United States, unveiling the future landscape for investors and emerging trends.
Further highlights from Scott include:
how a Yale Career Advisory job posting, (complete with sofa bed) led him to reboot his career focus after being on the fence as a computer scientist or journalist.
his transfer to the London office of Soros Fund Management, and his big bet on the Quantum Fund.
a view of data analytics today and how his investment style is a mix of liberal arts, math, and Excel formulas.
his thoughts around the abuse of the “exorbitant privilege” in the United States, and what that means for national security and the future debt trajectory.
his run-in with Sam Bankman-Fried.
thoughts on artificial intelligence and whether it’s inflationary or deflationary, and how hyperscalers who are investing trillions in new data center projects may be working us towards an electricity shortage.
how the lead-up to the 2024 election is impacting financial markets and what sort of outcomes could occur if a Republican or Democrat becomes president.
And more.
Connect with Kieran Cavanna:
Old Farm Partners
Kieran Cavanna is the Co-Founder and CIO of Old Farm Partners. Old Farm is a hedge fund allocation firm focusing on small and mid-sized hedge funds, as well as co-investment opportunities with $600m under management. Prior to Old Farm, Mr. Cavanna worked at Soros Fund Management where he served as the Head of the External Manager Selection team. Mr. Cavanna and his team performed due diligence on and allocated to a select group of hedge funds that deployed a wide variety of hedge fund strategies. Prior to Soros, Kieran was a Partner and the Head of Research at Titan Advisors, a $5b fund-of-hedge funds. In total Mr. Cavanna has been allocating to hedge funds for 18 years. Mr. Cavanna started his financial career at KPMG Consulting as Senior Analyst. Mr. Cavanna graduated from the University of Richmond with a BA and received an MBA from Vanderbilt University.
Key Square Capital Management
Scott Bessent serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for Key Square Capital Management, a New York-based investment partnership that he founded in 2015. Formerly Mr. Bessent was Chief Investment Officer for Soros Fund Management (SFM), the investment vehicle for the Soros Family and their foundations, from 2011 to 2015. He has been a well-known investor in the macro space for more than two decades.
From 1991 to 2000, Mr. Bessent was managing partner of SFM’s London office, including the period of the British Pound devaluation. He was previously associated with Brown Brothers Harriman, The Olayan Group, Kynikos Associates and Protégé Partners.
From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Bessent was an adjunct professor at Yale University, where he taught economic history. He is profiled in the book on macro investors, Inside the House of Money, and features prominently in Sebastian Mallaby’s history of hedge funds, More Money than God. He is a frequent speaker on economic and investment panels.
In 2017, Mr. Bessent published two articles in The International Economy magazine: one on the suppressing effects of low real interest rates on volatility, and one discussing whether other countries are at risk for “Japan Disease.” This summer he wrote a piece refuting Larry Summers’s assertion that central banks, especially the Federal Reserve, are unprepared for the next economic downturn.
Mr. Bessent resides in Manhattan with his spouse and two children. He is a trustee of Rockefeller University where he chairs the investment committee and is a member of the executive committee, the Yale University Council and Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. Mr. Bessent is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale University.