On November 21, 2018, New Horizons Career Club leadership team was invited by Canadian Club Toronto (CCT) to join the luncheon session with Mark Machin, President, CEO of CPPIB.
– About the speaker –
Mark Machin was appointed President & CEO in June 2016, where he is responsible for leading CPP Investment Board and its investment activities. Prior to joining CPPIB, Mark had a 20 year career at Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently Vice Chairman of Asia ex-Japan. Mark has been based in Asia for more than 20 years where, among other roles, he ran the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs in Asia ex-Japan for six years. Mark was a member of Goldman Sachs’ Asia Management Committee and the Firmwide Capital Committee.
– About the event –
Mark Machin ppointed President & CEO in June 2016, where he is responsible for leading CPP Investment Board and its investment activities. Prior to joining CPPIB, Mark had a 20 year career at Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently Vice Chairman of Asia ex-Japan. Mark has been based in Asia for more than 20 years where, among other roles, he ran the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs in Asia ex-Japan for six years. Mark was a member of Goldman Sachs’ Asia Management Committee and the Firmwide Capital Committee.
At the an opening to his speech, Mark greeted all guests, especially today’s youth table New Horizon Career Club with a warm welcome in Mandarin.
During the speech, Mark discussed how the organization engages in capital markets and the disruptions impacting the world economy.
“We are living and operating in a time of disruption. Language, demographics, health care are just some of things being disrupted”, said Machin.
Demographic
The senior demographic has doubled since 1980, and is expected to double again in the upcoming years. “Predicting the future so we can benefit from its growth is crucial to success”, said Machin. One of the biggest disrupters is the growing aging population. 2 years ago, for the first time there was more seniors than children in Canada.
Technology
Reflecting on his recent trip to Beijing, Machin shared he was laughed at when trying to buy a coffee with cash. China has rapidly transitioned to a cashless society. CPPIB invested in China 10 years ago, which has proven to be a great choice.
Climate Change
In 2008, CPPIB started thinking about how climate change would affect their portfolio. In response, they began investing in renewable energy.
Whether disrupters are technological, demographic, economic or climate change related, CPPIB has chosen to embrace them, rather than get scared. They have implemented risk management measures to ensure success. CPPIB has become a disrupter by actively engaging in trends and disrupting the status quo.
After 20 years, CPPIB is one of the largest and best managed pension fund. Machin told the audience they are committed to embracing economic, social and climate changes in order to create good investments for over 20 million Canadians.
– Q & A –
Speaking to his time in China, Machin said one of his biggest concerns is the growing tension between US and China. “I hope two countries can work together in a collaborative way. If they can, it will benefit the entire world”. Machin expected stress to increase in markets correlated to Chinese manufacturing and export growth. He said this will create interesting investor opportunities.
At the end of the speech, a question from the audience asks for Machin’s opinion on Bitcoin. He responded saying he believes in blockchain technologies, but hasn’t seen any crypto currencies that are as efficient as they should be.
“That’s a discussion for some day in the future”, said Machin.
Many thanks to our partner Canadian Club Toronto and Mark for hosting the luncheon session with a deep discussion on “Investing for Canadians” and current world economy. We enjoyed the learning experiences and looking forward to future Canadian Club Toronto’s events!
