Meet the manager: Louis Florentin-Lee
Co-Manager of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust.
If you weren’t a fund manager, what job would you do?
Difficult question to answer. I’ve been happily employed in the asset management industry ever since leaving university. If granted sufficient poetic licence for an alternative career, I’d say a musician.
What was the proudest moment of your career?
Performing with my band at the Lazard summer party and not being pelted with rotten fruit.
What was the most difficult moment of your career and why?
Presenting and hosting a Q&A session with 500 fund distributors in Quebec, entirely in French. Have you ever heard Canadians speak French?
What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
When starting your career, be careful what you say in the office lift.
Away from the workplace, how do you spend your time?
My weekends are largely spent with the family, although in the summer I do enjoy occasionally casting a fly on an English chalk stream river.
“My weekends are largely spent with the family, although in the summer I do enjoy occasionally casting a fly on an English chalk stream river.”
Louis-Florentin Lee, Co-Manager of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust
Tell us about the last book you read or music you recently enjoyed?
I recently read ‘Paris 1919’, by Margaret MacMillan. It’s a fascinating account of the six-month period when Paris effectively became the centre of world government and the leaders of the three great powers reshaped the world order, with mixed results.
On the music side, last month I went to see my good friend and world-class blues guitarist Dan Patlansky perform in Camden. He’s a phenomenal musician and a wonderful human being as well. The dedication and commitment of these artists to their craft is something that I think we can all admire and learn from.
Where was the last place you went on holiday and why?
Last Easter we took the family to Japan. I wanted to show the kids a completely different society and culture. We had the most amazing time – would highly recommend.
In your personal life, what would you like to achieve in the next 12 months?
I need to improve my Krav Maga (a form of martial arts). A few years ago, our Head of Hedge Fund Sales broke my rib whilst we were sparring during a class. Twelve months later I underwent surgery to remove a lipoma that had developed as a result of the injury. We’re still great friends, by the way.
