The Hedge Funds Club Good Life Interviews – Part 51: Terry Mahony

HFC boss Stefan Nilsson caught up with seasoned asset management veteran Terry Mahony in Kuala Lumpur. Terry, currently Deputy Chairman of VinaCapital, has had a long and distinguished career, including serving as CIO of Latin America at Barings Asset Management and CIO of Emerging Markets at TCW. Here he talks about tea, the joy of life, Mozart and much more.

From where and how do you get your daily general news updates?

Newspapers via email and traditional hard copy! Brokers reports and email flashes, news services, magazines. There is a plethora of sources of information and it is important to distinguish between “need to know and nice to know” information.

What do you do to unwind on a weekend?

Read books, literature and topics. Cultural trips, when one can travel again.

Can you name a great book you have recently read?

Hilary Mantel’s “The Mirror and the Light”.

Your soundtrack of choice?

Mozart concertos.

What drink do you start the day with and what drink finishes it?

English breakfast tea and chamomile tea.

What’s the worst money mistake you’ve made?

Not buying Amazon.

Have you ever had a great mentor and what did you learn?

To be honest and fair.

What gives you energy?

The joy of life.

How do you stay grounded and focused as a person in these turbulent and fast-changing times?

Keeping physically fit and mentally alert.

Can you name a terrific restaurant that you love?

Oribe, a Japanese restaurant in KL.

What’s your favourite museum in the world?

The Louvre in Paris.

You are an international man who have worked and lived across the world. You are now in Kuala Lumpur. What brought you there?

It is our second home and as result of Covid was here when lockdowns began.

Are you active on social media and what do you actually use it for?

Not really and find it the blight of our times.

Do you have any secret guilty pleasure that you are prepared to reveal here?

Not really and, if I did, would I give my secret away?

What kind of battle dress do you normally put on for work?

Nothing worth mentioning.

Do you celebrate your wins? If so, how?

Not really.

What’s the coolest, most awesome thing you keep in your office?

My collection of Ganeshes.

What makes you happy?

Having a wonderful wife and good friends.