Smart Money – INN8 Invest’s Leigh Kohler on how the rules of investing are being rewritten

In this Smart Money with Alishia Seckam interview, Leigh Kohler unpacks how the role of Discretionary Fund Managers (DFM) is changing amid global uncertainty.

Kohler is the Head of DFM at INN8 Invest and has over two decades of experience in finance and investing.

He joined INN8 in 2020 and, prior to this, worked as the Head of Business Solutions for Sanlam Investments for over a year.

Kohler has spent the bulk of his career working at Glacier, which he first joined in 2003 as a Client Services Consultant.

During the 16 years he spent at Glacier, Kohler held multiple positions while steadily climbing the management ladder.

This began with his promotion to Operations Support Manager, followed by becoming the Head of Investment Administration.

Kohler served in this role for over four years before being promoted to Head of Glacier Research and then Head of Investment Solutions.

A key underlying philosophy that has helped Kohler throughout his career is his focus on transforming complex concepts into easy-to-understand messages, ensuring that all clients understand what’s going on regardless of their background.

Kohler secured an MBA in Finance and completed a Senior Management Development Programme at the Stellenbosch Business School.

The interview

In this Smart Money interview, Kohler explains how financial advisors need to change their mindsets to better manage their clients’ portfolios.

This is particularly important given current financial uncertainties.

Kohler then unpacks the pressures advisors are facing from clients, markets, and their own business models, as well as the key conversations that emerged from the INN8 Invest Summit.

He also outlines how he sees the relationship between advisors and DFMs evolving in terms of partnership and shared responsibility.

Kohler concludes the interview by sharing what, moving forward, will differentiate the DFMs that truly add value to advisers from those that don’t.

Watch the interview with Leigh Kohler below.