20 Dec 2019 2 min read

#foreverafundmanager

By Emiel van den Heiligenberg

Two years ago our team mate Kevin suffered from a stroke. Each year, the AA team raises money for charity at Christmas and this year we want to raise money for Dyscover, a small charity that helps people with speaking difficulties. They have been a fantastic help for Kevin!

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Kevin was and still is very much a part of the Asset Allocation team’s DNA. We still regularly mention his name - new team mates know Kevin from the ‘war stories’ we tell and even though they might never have worked with him, they probably have met him on team events.

Kevin has a sharp, critical mind. I once referred to him as one of the Statler & Waldorf characters from the Muppets, known for their continuous opinions and critical ‘feedback’ from the balcony.

Kevin is still recovering at home. As with many stroke victims, the road to recovery for Kevin has been a slow one and there have been severe disappointments along the way. However, Kevin has been an example to us all to persevere in the face of adversity. He keeps fighting to improve his mobility and his speech, with help from Dyscover through regular speech therapy sessions.

We went to visit Kevin recently to deliver him some Christmas presents and best wishes from the team. Kevin loves to talk and not being able to express himself as smoothly as before clearly frustrates him. I suspect he would really like to give us some ‘constructive feedback’ on why our view of the markets is wrong, but that’s quite difficult at the moment.

Given the situation, the next best option is for Kevin to listen. We spoke to him about our detailed preparations around the UK elections, our outlook for 2020 and how we view Trump and the trade war at the moment. Kevin wouldn’t be Kevin if he didn’t make clear where he agreed or disagreed. #foreverafundmanager.

Visiting Kevin, communicating with him and seeing how difficult and frustrating that can be for him makes it easy to understand the value and importance of the work done by Dyscover. Dyscover is a wonderful charity providing long-term practical support and opportunities to people with aphasia, focussing on speech therapy. They have been a tremendous help for our team mate and many others, and we hope that you will join us in donating to this worthwhile cause.

Please visit our justgiving page if you would like to find out more.

 

Emiel van den Heiligenberg

Head of Asset Allocation

Emiel is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the team’s investment and business strategy. He claims to have been a promising lightweight rower at university until French fries got the better of him. Reflecting his love for rowing in a team, he firmly believes that excellence can only be achieved by a great team made up of motivated individuals that are also eager to work together. To this end he is the self-proclaimed inventor of the verb 'teaming' to acknowledge that shaping a top team and culture of excellence is an ongoing process. Outside of work-family obligations, Emiel’s spare time is filled by a passion for shark diving and skiing. Prior to dedicating his career to portfolio management in 1996, Emiel worked as a policy adviser in the Dutch Ministry of Finance and he graduated from Tilburg University in the Netherlands ages ago. When not glued to his Bloomberg screens, this Dutch man is hooked on computer games, peanut butter and his favourite dark beer made by Belgian monks.

Emiel van den Heiligenberg