Ep 111: Mattias Westman & Akshay Bhutiani - Value amongst volatility; investing in Russia

In this episode, David is joined by Mattias Westman & Akshay Bhutiani of Prosperity Capital Management. A fund manager that focuses on investing in public companies across Russia and former USSR countries. They discuss the opportunities that this region provides to investors, citing examples of companies offering 20% yield whilst trading at three times earnings. Mattias and Akshay also discuss their thoughts on the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as well as why Mattias believes the likelihood of these tensions actually escalating to an invasion of Ukraine is low. Mattias Westman is based in London, but shares his time between London and Moscow. He has been investing in Russia since 1993 and lived in Russia full-time from 1997-2004. Mr Westman was a co-founder and Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Investor Protection Association. He has also served on the board of numerous Russian companies - including Lenenergo and Magnit. Mr Bhutiani joined PCM in 2008 as the firm’s first intern and continued as a member of the team throughout his final year of university, assuming a full-time role upon graduation. He is a member of the investor relations team and has broad-ranging responsibilities for marketing and client services across PCM’s investor base.