A quickfire Q&A with David Adeyemi.

Why did you choose to study economics?

Put simply, growth and development. As a native Nigerian the development story, or lack thereof, of emerging countries was of particular interest to me. How does a country manage its natural resources? How does it acquire competitive advantages that enable it to raise the incomes and quality of life of its people? Postgraduate studies shaped my compass and led me to value good institutions as critical to growth.

Why were you interested in an internship in investments? 

Capital is needed for effective economic change. As such, how capital is employed and deployed is of particular interest to me. I gravitated to industrial economics at university – I loved how the aggregation of micro business decisions fed into the macro big picture questions. Investment management was the natural next step to explore. I wanted to get an understanding of how managers analyse available data, how they build a case for particular investments, and ultimately how they implement their strategies given multiple constraints: fund mandate, ESG considerations, values and varying risks.

What attracted you to LPPI? 

LPPI’s long investment horizon and the nature of its eight funds initially attracted me. I grew up in Manchester and one of the major stakeholders in LPPI is the Lancashire County Pension Fund, my home county. The GLIL Infrastructure fund was also of particular interest due to its UK focus and investments in renewable energy.

Most importantly, through the interview process, I could feel LPPI’s culture through the actions of people I met. In my second interview I was surprised that Chris Rule – the CEO! – would take the time talk to me. And on my second day, Adrian Taylor – the CFO – walked over to my seat and had a chat with me. Many others have kindly offered their time, support and fed my inquisitive mind. 

There is open engagement at all levels where my mind is intellectually challenged. I feel comfortable asking questions and grateful for all the excellent feedback. 

What do you hope to do with the experience gained at LPPI? 

My longest rotation is with the infrastructure team. I hope to gain an understanding of the infrastructure space, direct and indirect, and experience the analytical processes and day-to-day work involved. I wish to experience how the various departments are interconnected and how this ensures a well-run investment management business. Lastly, I want to start thinking like an investor and learn, from my LPPI colleagues, about the different paths they took to get where they are. And where I wish to be in the near future. 

There is more to me than work...

Sports and keeping active play a huge part of my life. I have played football all my life, including through university and recreationally. But less so now due to injury. I took up and enjoy city cycling, sourcing parts and building my own single speed bikes.

I'm also a big NBA nerd. Go Bucks! I have run three fantasy leagues as commissioner for the last three years. Why ghe Bucks? Giannis Antetokounmpo (the Greek Freak) is Greek-Nigerian.

I enjoy mixology. I have l three years’ experience as a professional mixology expert and feed this interest with ad-hoc home experiments. I recommend the Boulevardier – in a rocks glass not coupe.

I also gym and enjoy fixing electronics.

I volunteer with a youth charity - the Global Vision Initiative - as a mentor with the 13-18 year old, predominantly BAME community. I mainly work on the Turing Scheme digital skills and cultural exchange, and I also help with the administration of the charity. I was previously a recipient of this support at the age of 13 and we travelled to Moldova and Denmark. I see it as a way of paying forward and helping young BAME kids broaden their horizons and achieve social mobility. Other groups have travelled to places like Canada and Ghana.