2014 SUMMER
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E N I Z A G A M
LUXURY TRAVEL YACHTS TECH TRENDS
FASHION BUSINESS DAVE MCKEAN LOVE EXCELLENCE
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LOVE EXCELLENCE
CONTENT
The place to go for all your shopping needs and desires, check out the latest and greatest gifts.
HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING Yves de Contades looks at fast trading and dark pools, and discusses whether it is illegal trading or a technological advantage.
30 32 TALKING TECH This season’s pick of the latest, hottest gadgets in the world.
PUBLISHERS
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16 British Sailing Season Extreme Sailing Series and British Classic Yacht Week
International eXcellence, is a celebration of all that is truly outstanding, online, mobile and in print, courtesy of The eXcellence Group. As the name suggests, we are all about excellence from around the world, presenting the best brands, products, artists, designs, businesses and people who are passionate about their life and work. For all advertising enquiries please call: +44 203 289 9779 or 07957 246845. Copy enquiries to: editorial@internationalexcellence.co.uk
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Discovering moravia and silesia 48
exclusive EXPERIENCES
VESTRA WEALTH & THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
Create your own personal bucket list with our help. Have a look at a selection on offer from Love eXcellence.
Alain de Botton enlightens us on the marriage of philosophy and wealth management.
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PARKOURS CITY OF FASHION
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LEGENDARY DAVE MCKEAN
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LIPPER FUNDS AWARDS 2014
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EDITORIAL
Welcome to our Summer issue of International eXcellence. The sun is shining, the evenings are long and there is a definite feel of holiday in the air. Check out where to be this summer, what events are not to be missed and what to buy before you get there. Remember to press pause every now and then, soak in the positive summer vibes and get the most out of this fantastic time of year. In the meantime, immerse yourself in eXcellence and enjoy our Summer issue of International eXcellence!
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ROYAL ASCOT
WIMBLEDON
FESTIVAL OF SPEED
HENLEY REGATTA
17th - 21st June Royal Ascot is one of Europe’s most famous race meetings, and dates back to 1711 when it was founded by Queen Anne. Over 300,000 people attend this social highlight. ascot.co.uk
23rd June - 6th July The world’s oldest major tennis championship at south London’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, is the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. wimbledon.com
26th - 29th June The Festival of Speed is the largest motoring garden party in the world and the theme this year is ‘Addicted to Winning – The Unbeatable Champions of Motor Sport’. goodwood.co.uk
2nd - 6th July Henley Regatta was first held in 1839 and has been held annually ever since, except during the two World Wars. It is undoubtedly the best known regatta in the world. hrr.co.uk
SUMMER What’s On in the UK... It’s all about being outside this summer, with horses, tennis, cars, boats, flowers, yachts, planes and so much more. Pack your picnic hamper, don’t forget the Pimms, and obviously put an umbrella in just in case, then get outside and enjoy!
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BRITISH GRAND PRIX
6th July Held at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, it is the oldest continuously staged Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, along with the Italian GP. silverstone.co.uk
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HAMPTON COURT
PANERAI BRITISH
FARNBOROUGH
FLOWER SHOW
CLASSIC YACHTS
AIRSHOW
8th - 13th July Drawing crowds of over 160,000 visitors in the course of a week this is the largest of the RHS flower shows. There will be as many as 50 display gardens. rhs.org.uk
12th - 19th July Now in its 11th year, the regatta is perfect for classic boat enthusiasts to enjoy some fantastic racing, there will also be many social events held in the sailing clubs of Cowes. britishclassicyachtclub.org
14th - 20th July Celebrating 100 years of Aviation History, from WW1 through to today’s modern technology, this is one of the world’s largest exhibitions and air displays. farnborough.co.uk
VEUVE CLICQUOT POLO GOLD CUP FINAL
GLASGOW COMMONWEALTH GAMES
20th July A sparkling collection of celebrity guests and high octane sporting action are the twin hallmarks of the annual polo Final for the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup at Cowdray Park. The event is rated one of the most exciting and stylish occasions of the English sporting season and is the premier polo tournament in the world at 22 goal (High Goal) level. cowdraypolo.co.uk
23rdJuly - 3rd August This summer, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will bring together thousands of elite athletes, friendly volunteers and excited spectators to join an incredible festival of sport and culture. The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow as it hosts the XX Commonwealth Games, which have been a permanent fixture in sport since the first was held in Canada all the way back in 1930. glasgow2014.com
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VENTURE CUP
AUSTRIAN FORMULA
LE VELE D’EPOCA A
MONTREAUX JAZZ
POWERBOAT RACE
1 GRAND PRIX
NAPOLI
FESTIVAL
7th - 21st June This ultimate offshore powerboat race, featuring 30 international teams will re-trace the most famous powerboat race in history - the London to MonteCarlo race of 1972. ventureoffshorecup.com
22nd June Returning to the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 2003, it will be held at the Red Bull Ring the new name for the A1 ring, the track layout is still the same as before. formula1.com/races
2nd - 6th July Naples joins the PCYC’s Mediterranean Circuit, an acknowledgement of the Neapolitan regatta’s burgeoning status on the classic sailing scene. paneraiclassicyachts challenge.com
4th - 19th July Founded by Claude Nobs in 1967, over the years the Montreux Jazz Festival has become an unmissable event for music fans in Switzerland and around the world. montreuxjazzfestival.com
SUMMER What’s On around the World... Plenty of places to go this summer as well as Brazil! The F1 calendar continues apace with races in Austria, Germany, Hungary and Belgium. The Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge have events in Naples, Marblehead, Nantucket, Mahon and Newport. There are some wonderful cultural opportunities, such as the Tango Festival in Buenos Aires, and the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival is sure to be spectacular.
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SAN FERMIN
96th PGA
BUENOS AIRES
PEBBLE BEACH
FESTIVAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
TANGO FESTIVAL
CONCOURS
6th - 15th July Held annually in the city of Pamplona this deeply rooted celebration has become probably the most internationally renowned fiesta in Spain with over 1000000 people. sanfermin.com
4th - 10th August This year the Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY. as 156 of the best players in the world compete for the coveted Wanamaker Trophy. pga.com
13th - 16th August The largest tango dance tournament in the world, also known as El Mundial de Tango, started out in 1998. Since 2009, it includes the Tango Dance World Cup. festivales. buenosaires.gob.ar/tango
17th August Originally a small social event paired with a road race, the Pebble Beach Concours has grown into the top-ranking collector car competition in the world. pebblebeachconcours.net
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
HAWAII FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
27th August - 6th September The 71st Venice International Film Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. Actress Luisa Ranieri will be the host of the inauguration ceremony on the stage of the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido), and the closing ceremony during which the winners of the Lions and the other official awards will be announced. labiennale.org/en/cinema/
29th August - 7th September This seven-day Festival features a roster of over 80 internationally-renowned master chefs, culinary personalities, and wine and spirit producers. Co-founded by two of Hawai‘i’s own James Beard Award-winning chefs, Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, the Festival will showcase wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and exclusive dining opportunities. hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com
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SINGING IN SILESIA MUSHING IN MORAVIA Yves de Contades discovers excellence off the beaten track in Moravia and Silesia, the little known regions of the Czech Republic. International eXcellence Magazine went off in search of something different in the Czech Republic, looking for adventure, mountains, history and landscapes. Ryan Air have now started flying direct to Ostrava so it’s a quick and easy, if spectacularly uncomfortable jaunt over Western Europe (it takes skill to make a seat that badly, or is there some deal going on between Chiropracters and Ryan Air we don’t know about!). Once there it’s a short journey into Ostrava and you are ideally placed to wander over Moravia and Silesia, exploring at will. Think of it as Tintin in Moravia and you will have a good idea of the scenery and architecture that you will pleasantly discover in your travels. My companions and I commenced our journey with a trip to the Troyer Hotel nestled in the Beskydy mountains which are the largest in West Carpathian. After a lovely dinner of chicken and delicious dumplings, typical of the region, we indulged in a few bottles of the southern Moravian red Frankova which remained my favourite for the trip and is smooth and velvety with a little hint of spice. Up bright and early to catch a swim in the lovely Spa pool before breakfast and a ride up to Pusteveny by cable car. The view from the cable car is magnificent, you are bang
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in the middle of rolling hills and mountains overlooking lush green valleys as far as the eye can see. You can do a number of activities here, skiing in season, hiking, mountain biking and there is a serious marathon that takes place every year, for those who want a proper challenge and a unique experience. The Addidas Continental B7 race was started by the famous mountaineer Libor Uher taking in 7 mountains, above 5000 feet, covering 96 Km and the fastest complete it in 12
This page: Stramberske Opposite: Salt Cavern
“" Relaxing in a moodily lit salt cavern set in the mountainside."”
hours! There is also a winter version racing up that compete with any of the top garages of and down the mountain for 24 hours, this is the time. macho stuff ladies and gentlemen. The town of Stramberske has the most Next we take in the Tatra Museum of classic picturesque cobbled village square of cars in Kopřivnice. This is a little known wooden chalets overlooked by a fairy tale treasure trove of classic cars, with every body castle tower that Rapunzal would have shape from the 40’s to the 70’s when Tatra been pride of, and may even have had to was the name in cars in the Eastern block. grow her hair a little longer. It is also home There is definitely an investment opportunity to numerous Spas, such as the Lašské Beer here snapping up some of the more prized Spa, that specialise in beer or wine baths with models for sale abroad. Look out for the each on tap for drinking. You can even finish Czech Hero Ride classic car rally organised off by relaxing in a moodily lit salt cavern set by the Chateau Loučeň Concours d´Elegance, in the mountain side. You will be so relaxed a great way to enjoy the area in style. Tatra I would heartily recommend ordering the really made some stunning classic beauties travel back to the hotel beforehand.
Whilst the area is dominated by Empire architecture there is also a good smattering of post war communist buildings which are always fascinating. So much of it pre dates post modern architecture on a grand scale, mixed in with communist industrial utilitarian factories typified by the Michal Coal Mine which is now open to visitors. If you like to really feel your history and have any penchant for photography then do not miss this. This is a very raw experience. Vast rusting black machines surrounded by a conveyor line of rooms designed to prep, clean and equip an army of miners to descend deep into a tight shaft. They extracted a ton of coal per person per day on average. The colours of these
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rooms are a distressed worn green made luminous by the flickering luminescent, florescent tubes filled with brown-green breathing and protective equipment. It is a surreal experience to be in an environment with such single purpose and it begets a large amount of respect for the men who worked and survived in such harsh conditions. The hulking great black Victorian machines are artworks in themselves, and it must have been an extraordinary, but dangerous life to work in and amongst them every day. Continuing with the mining theme is Landek Park which is another mine that is open to the public and takes you down the main shaft to get a taste of the working conditions for the miners. Ostrava was known as the industrial centre of the Czech Republic and this is due to the Lower Area of Vítkovice which was the main mining and iron smelting complex which has now been turned into a Steam Punk gothic dream museum and concert area. This complex includes the Gong, a gas container converted into a concert hall and stages music festivals and events both inside and out. This area is a European Heritage Label site national monument and is being brilliantly used as a social and historical entertainment park. Imagine black iron trains rusting in the middle of a sprawling industrial vista of cranes, pipes and towers, all interweaving between gas containers and sprouting chimneys. Look out for The Colours of Ostrava Music Festival in this city of steel. We dined and rested at the lovely boutique and historic design Zámek Zábřeh Hotel, which also has a beer and wine Spa. The rooms are stylishly renovated and they have live local music in the restaurant which is very popular. We spent the following day in Kunin bowling with the lovely and welcoming mayor who also showed us around Kunin Castle which is an architectural gem, displaying modern building methods way before their time,
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check out the attic for a very modern style thinking and design. This is a splendid castle rich in history and character and the guide is passionate and well informed. Our glorious evening was spent singing in Silesia at the Avalanche Hotel in the Jeseníky mountains. This is a marvellous complex of chalets set in rolling verdant hills, perfect as a family bolthole from which to ski, play and explore the surrounding countryside.
Bond style recovery Spa at Karlova Studánka Spa, which is right out of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. An entire village given over to a Spa providing two centuries of cures for various ailments. Do pop over to Příbor to see the birthplace of Sigismund Schlomo Freud, you can even sit on the couch. The father of psychology was clearly a little loopy himself, brilliant but chock full of nuts, some of his early theories were hilariously misguided.
Early morning saw us indulging in a little
Finally it was time for a little R&R Czech
“" Jet over for the weekend for some adventures "
Top: Miura Hotel Below Left: Czech Hero rides Concours d’Elegance Below Right: Ostrava Masaryk Square
Laske Beer Spa
“".. indulging in a little Bond style recovery Spa .."”
style with a wander through the cafes of the magnificent Imperial Masaryk Square in Ostrava and relaxing at the Park Inn Hotel which has an excellent restaurant, Then gliding out to the legendary Stodolni Street for a few of the local beers and some dancing. Radegast Beer brewed in Nošovice was my favourite and for good reason, it is excellent. Aptly named after the God of Fertility, it has no doubt been responsible for much fecundity. So what’s excellent about Moravia and Silesia? Quite simply it’s the history, the architecture, the adventure sports, the landscape and the people. This is a country steeped in a rich history that is still undiscovered by the average tourist. The architecture mingles
wood folk natural with Gothic Empire and Grand Empire Style. The people take great care maintaining and preserving their cultural heritage for others to enjoy. Everything is immaculate and clean set in undulating hills of unsurpassed beauty. Perfect for families or couples who want to relax in beautiful surroundings or for thrill seekers looking for adventure sports and to take in the sites. I can recommend Mushing with Huskies across the snow driven landscapes, where else offers this only a few hours from London? Jet over for a weekend for adventures you can dine on for weeks. Best of all, it’s unbelievable value for money, but that won’t last forever. Combine a work-pleasure trip and take a look at property investment while you are there.
The Miura Hotel located right on the 36-holes PGA Golf Course of Čeladná is a great place to stay, combining graphic art and post modern design with a smart collection of modern art: such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Henry Moore, Tony Cragg and David Černý. The Miura was conceived and designed by LABOR13, the architectural studio in Prague, led by Albert Pražák, Martin Vomastek and Jiří Bardoděj, it is the start of a new trend of modern design hotels making the best use of unexplored spaces. Discover this land before everyone else! For the best guidance and travel: www.czechtourism.com www.travellersczech.com
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BRITISH SAILING SEASON Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff and Panerai British Classic Week.
The two big sailing events in British waters this summer are undoubtedly the Extreme Sailing Series with the Extreme 40 Catamarans and the Panerai British Classic Week, part of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. Both very different races but with many things in common, they engender great passion from the participants and, unusual for sailing events, are exhilarating, exciting and fun for all to enjoy. “The concept of Extreme 40 is to bring the sailing to the public and not the other way round,” explains Herbert Dercksen, CEO of TornadoSport, which developed the 40ft catamaran in 2005 and build the boats The Extreme Sailing Series takes place in glamorous locations all over the world, Act 1 in Singapore, Act 2 in Muscat, Oman, Act 3 in Qingdao, China, Act 4 in St Petersburg, Russia, Act 5 in Cardiff, Act 6 in Istanbul, Turkey, Act 7 in the Mediterranean (to be confirmed) and Act 8 in Sydney, Australia. This is the Formula One of sailing with Catamarans and pulls in the top Olympic sailors from all over the world. French sailing superstar Loick Peyron, Britain’s three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams, Austria’s doubleOlympic Gold medalist Roman Hagara, fivetimes America’s Cup sailor, Bernard Labro from France are just a few of the faces who
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have graced the event. Look out for British Olympian Leigh McMillan who won the last two seasons overall and is our favourite again for this year. Also keep an eye on the Alinghi who are constantly threatening to topple the Wave, Muscat from it’s pole position. The Extreme 40 Catamaran was designed by Olympic champions Yves Loday and Mitch Booth with the intention of taking the Tornado, the fastest boat in the Olympics, and making it twice as big and even faster. The boat is essentially a twin hull with a rope platform sprung between them with a giant sail that can easily be fitted into a 40ft shipping container. This means that it is easy to transport to the races all over the globe and is tremendously exciting and manoeuvrable to sail. These boats really do turn on a dime, which is essential as they travel at over 30 knots and you often get three or four careering towards each other to get the best line. The Olympic athletes who compete in these races are both master sailors but also expert tacticians as the course is short and the slightest mistake will lose you the race. International eXcellence magazine has been attending these races for four years now and it gets more exciting every year. We will be there again this summer in Cardiff and heartily recommend it to everyone as a great day out.
Previous winners: 2013 season results 1. The Wave, Muscat 2. Alinghi 3. Red Bull Sailing Team 2012 season results 1. The Wave, Muscat 2. Oman Air 3. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 2011 season results 1. Luna Rossa 2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 3. Emirates Team New Zealand
For the more daring you can even join the race and sail with top Olympic athletes, now this is the experience of a lifetime and something you can really dine out on. Each Catamaran takes on a fifth man who is not a professional and they can enjoy the race from the pilots seat, so to speak. It is like sitting next to Lewis Hamilton in F1, just make sure you listen and move when they tell you! To find out more and to get involved go here: extremesailingseries.com/guestexperience Panerai British Classic Week 2014
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From the modern to the classic, the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge is the other big sailing event that International eXcellence Magazine never misses. It is the classic yacht event of the year and takes place on the Solent in Cowes. Though true aficionados follow it in every gorgeous location all over the world: Antigua, Antibes, Argentina, Napoli, Nantucket, Barcelona, Newport and Cannes. This year is the tenth year that Officine Panerai have been supporting the classic yacht race and it is being celebrated as “10 Years of Passion” with special events for each of the Regattas in the challenge. The calendar now spans 11 different Regattas ending in Cannes at the end of September. Definitely an unmissable wrap party. Last year International eXcellence Magazine sailed with the Cetaweyo captained by David Murrin in the Panerai British Classic Week and the boat narrowly lost the race to Saskia captained by Murdoch McKillop, so look out for a return grudge match this year. Of course it’s friendly in the club house afterwards, but out on the water, it is taken very seriously indeed. The races were tremendously exciting with good winds and great weather. The race is all down to tactics, communication, speed, proficiency and as with everything a little
help from Lady Luck on the day. Another one to watch in this exhilarating race is the Athena (Earl of Cork and David Glasgow), as they will be looking for pole position this year. The boats are separated into classes, class one being defined as modern boats built in the spirit and appearance of a “classic”. The other three classes separate the Vintage Yachts and Classic Yachts dependent on size, but it is the overall winner title that is coveted most. There are parties and dinners around the races and it is both a tremendous racing experience and a wonderful social gathering. So far the yachts Mariska (Big Boats), Jour de Fête (Vintage), Sagittarius (Classic) and Freya (Spirit of Tradition) have been presented with Officine Panerai watches as the four winners of Les Voiles d’Antibes. These sailing watches are stunning and great collectors pieces, see the link below for more information. The race this year takes place between the 12th and the 19th of July and is organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron, The club’s patron is Queen Elizabeth II and the club’s Admiral is Prince Philip. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world and was founded over 200 years ago by 42 gentlemen interested in sea yachting.
Cowes is magnificent this time of year and this is truly one of the great events of the British Social Calendar. Grab a group of friends and come luxuriate in the atmosphere of these classic sailing races. Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge Regattas Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta April 17th – 22nd, 2014 Les Voiles d’Antibes June 4th – 8th, 2014 Argentario Sailing Week June 19th – 22nd, 2014 Le Vele d’Epoca a Napoli July 2nd – 6th, 2014 Panerai British Classic Week July 12th – 19th, 2014 Marblehead Corinthian Classic Yacht Regatta August 8th – 10th, 2014 Nantucket Opera House Cup August 13th – 17th, 2014 Mahon XI Copa del Rey de Barcos de Epoca August 26th – 30th, 2014 Newport Museum of Yachting Classic Yacht Regatta August 29th – 31st, 2014 Vele d’Epoca di Imperia September 10th – 14th, 2014 Cannes Regates Royales September 23rd – 27th, 2014
For more information please go to: britishclassicyachtclub.org paneraiclassicyachtschallenge.com rys.org.uk panerai.com/en/
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City of London Parkours Time is Money
Photography Yves de Contades
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Joseph jacket Joseph trousers Dunhill shirt Oswald Boateng tie Bally shoes
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Etro trousers Dunhill knit Bally shoes Lacoste scarf Dunhill gloves Dunhill flat cap Dunhill computer case
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HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING Yves de Contades looks at fast trading and dark pools. If you invest in the stock market, have a pension or life insurance and have never heard of High Frequency Trading then it is extremely likely you have lost money to this practise. High Frequency Trading is essentially the use of computer programs known as algorithms and high speed internet connections to find out what stock trade is being made and to then buy or sell that stock before that trade can be made, taking an instant commission from the price jump. It’s like invisible Gazumping only much faster and you only get in the middle of the trade for a millisecond. Traders have to know a trade is being made and get in on it making a small percentage on the exchange, with no downside. They can see that someone wants to buy or sell so they can quickly get in the middle of the trade, marginally raising the buy price which is taken as profit. The percentage earned may be small but it carries no risk and it can be done many, many times.. High Frequency Trading accounts for over half the profits made in the stock market today, which means that High Frequency Traders are taking a small percentage of a very large amount of money. We are talking in the billions here. So how does High Frequency Trading work. You can now trade on many stock exchanges as they defragmented in 2007 and the stock
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market has become much more volatile as computers can adjust prices instantly, meaning that any buy or sell will result in prices moving up or down instantly. High Frequency Traders have been investing vast sums of money to obtain faster internet connection speeds to market exchanges, as even a millionth of a second will give these traders a big financial advantage.
It would be like the estate agent not only taking his fee but being able to tell the buyer and seller of the house two different prices. Neither would know the true price and the estate agent pockets the difference. The estate agent tells the buyer that it will cost a million and the seller that it will be ten thousand more. He does not have to buy or sell himself, he merely has to be able to hide the true cost from both parties.
Most trades are made on slow internet connections which means that people with high speed connections can be informed of a potential trade and get in the middle of it, pushing the price up and pocketing the difference.
Now obviously it’s not worth doing this for houses as the cost and time of the transaction is too high.
The company with the fastest connection gets in before the original stock offer is completed, buying and selling it to the buyer at a slightly higher price. The connection speeds are measured in millionths of a second, but all that’s really important is to be the fastest, or fast enough to buy and sell before the buyer order gets through the exchange. Imagine you could find out who wanted to buy all the houses in your area, knowing how much they would pay for the houses, and knowing that for a million pound house, they would all still buy it if it was £10K more. You would buy all the houses around and sell them on, knowing that each time you would make £10K profit.
But here’s the bit to pay attention to: Imagine if a computer program could do this instantly at no cost at all in a millionth of a second on every house purchase in the world. You could just sit there and watch your bank account total spin around like the speedometer of a Ferrari with no brakes. To be fair High Frequency Traders have to invest a lot of money in high speed connections to the exchanges, these need updating often as they are competing with others to get there first. They also have to pay in various ways to get the information that a buy is being made. However once those costs are met you are essentially taxing every transaction made on every trade you can catch. How do HIgh Frequency Traders find out about these deals? Sometimes they pay the
“"..outright stealing..or a technological advantage.." banks for access to the exchange so they can see the deals happen. They also offer small amounts of stocks to sell at a low price and once these offers are taken up, they know that there is a buyer looking to get more. They then buy these and sell them to the buyer in a fraction of a second, making the money on the slightly higher price they have managed to sell it for. The price goes up the moment people are buying it to reflect the rise in demand/value. All this is automated using very fast software. The reason these trades can be made without anyone knowing who is buying what from whom is down to the rise of new exchanges known as Dark Pools. These are market exchanges that sit in hard drives in banks and trades are made in secrecy hiding who is on either end of the trade. All the major Wall Street Banks have Dark Pools and they bring in a lot of revenue. The first thing that came to mind is Richard Pryor in Superman Three when as a programmer he figured out that the company he worked for rounded off to the nearest penny for every account, but the
money rounded off did not go anywhere. So he just sent the cents rounded off for every employee straight to his own bank account. Even he was surprised at the cash the next morning. HIgh Frequency Traders are effectively taking money from every pension fund, investor, insurer and exchange in the world, without giving any service in return. They are an invisible tax. The irony is that the press constantly warn about computer security and that some poor hacker might steal a few quid from his bedroom in Lobnya. These banks are paying coders multi millions to write these algorithms. If they are sitting in bed, it’s in the plushest suite of the Waldorf Astoria and they are definitely not alone. “Keep the jacuzzi running Devushka, I’m almost done”. Is that outright stealing or is it a technological advantage and therefore just business? You decide. High Frequency Trading may have its place, but the way many companies are using it leaves little room for doubt. Some companies are having to hide huge profits
illegally to stay off the radar. It’s like being Al Pucino in Scarface: “Then you’ll find out your biggest problem is not bringing in the stuff... ...but what to do with all the f***ing cash!” But for the best explanation read Michael Lewis’ book Flashboys: waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/ products/michael+lewis/ flash+boys/10357557/ The company that brought all this to light against fierce opposition: iextrading.com/ The New York Attorney General is currently looking into High Frequency Trading see here at Reuters: reuters.com/article/2014/04/24/ us-nasdaq-omx-investigationidUSBREA3N1BT20140424
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TALKING TECHNOLOGY Enjoy these latest tech offerings which demonstrate real innovation, f lair and a willingness to risk all for success. There are more tech startups in a month now than there used to be in a year a decade ago. Kickstarter is a major factor as you can start a tech revolution with a good concept and some artwork with no capital up front. Genius really, all it takes is either a great idea or an idea that grabs people’s attention in some way. It does not need to be clever, just fulfil a need. Simple is always best. It’s that idea, that makes you think “surely someone thought of that before” or “I was just thinking that myself”. Sometimes ideas have a time, a synchronicity and many people are
thinking the same thing. It’s whoever goes out and does it first and spreads the concept out to the most people. Every business or concept has a tipping point where it suddenly takes off. It’s getting to that point that counts. Look at Oculus, not even out of the starting gate and purchased by Facebook. Of all the great ideas that get started it’s often down to luck. It’s almost the curse of technology that whatever you can develop could be superseded by something faster, better and
cheaper in 6 months, hell even 6 weeks. Many have invested substantial fortunes in businesses that were out of date by the time they reached the market. But then the money is there to be made if you can be the fastest. Of course it’s never the first wave that make the money, look at Psion who made handheld computers every bit as good as smartphones now. There is very little that iPhone are doing now that Psion were not doing first, they were just too early, Apple caught the second wave and made the money.
OCULUS RIFT The Oculus Rift is the next step in gaming, a virtual reality headset that every kid dreams of having.
Designed by Palmer Luckey who wanted to make a quality headset that every gamer could afford. He is aptly named, as once launched on Kickstarter it was soon snapped up by Facebook and now has most of the major video companies building it into their games. The headset turns with you and gives you a complete immersive 360 field of view for a heightened playing experience. It will be hilarious to watch gamers with this on as their heads spin round to fight of their virtual enemies. 4 Player matches will look like a row of maddened meercats stuck to the sofa. oculusvr.com
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MICRO 3D PRINTER Boasting Micro Motion Technology for precision printing every time and funky consumer orientated colour schemes, the new Micro 3D printer promises to retail at $349 and so bring affordable precision 3D printing to your desktop. themicro3d.com
PANONO CAMERA This camera when launched upwards senses when it is at the pinnacle of its upward climb and takes a complete 360 birds eye view of the entire scenery providing you with a complete memory of the event, holiday, landscape, moment and it’s geo tagged so you know exactly when and where you took it. panono.com
INTIMACY DRESS Daan Roosegaarde from Capetown has designed a dress that combines technology with social fashion. The dresses are made out of opaque smart e-foils that become increasingly transparent based on close and personal encounters with people. studioroosegaarde.net
TOR BROWSER Tor is a brilliant browser that keeps your information safe. It means that shopping sites and search engines will not personalise their content to you for their benefit. It means that your location and browsing habits are not being collated and sold on to Amazon and other shops for product targeting.
torproject.org
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Summer is here, make sure you’re prepared for those perfect picnics and fantastic social events. Love eXcellence is our beautiful luxury on-line shop. Wonderful gift ideas from the everyday to the extraordinary - candles to submarines, chocolate to space travel, champagne and cuff links to polo lessons. Fantastic furniture to enhance your home, radios, speakers, glassware
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and comfy cushions. Amazing accessories for you, beautiful bags, gorgeous jewellery, sublime sunglasses and wonderful watches. There’s also plenty for the art, fishing, boating, cycling, motorbike enthusiast and fitness fanatic. Something for everyone. Happy Shopping!
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Bib&Sola Carafe and Glass Set £156
The MARTA Social Set is offered in 8 colours: black, blue, green, orange, red, rose, white, yellow. Each set is hand blown to create these collectibles. The design is achieved through the movement of colour blown into the glass, a technique that is fiendishily difficult to achieve let alone master. Each piece is truly unique.
Victoria Tryon Alia Blue Topaz Small Earrings £4,690 These18kt white gold with blue topaz and diamonds earrings are from the Alia collection and were inspired by Victoria’s visit to the Middle East. Capturing the mystery and unique culture of the Arab world, her designs reflect the distinctive architecture and geometric shapes seen in textiles and interiors associated with the region.
Meunier & Cie Champagne Brut £35 This round, fruity and extremely well balanced champagne has surprising hints of flavour, giving it unique definition, which makes it an exquisite drink. The house of Meunier upholds the skill and care required in the age old process of wine production enabling them to produce some of Europe’s finest champagne. Lip Watch GDG Automatic Milanese Chrome £250
Oxford Vaughan SpeedBird Sunglasses £1,000
This is the evolution of the historical GDG Automatic model. The union of a vintage watch with a bright silver milanese strap transforms the historical GDG model in a contemporary and eye catching watch. Its French retro design is amazing. The case’s vintage design, the automatic movement and the embossed indexes make this model unique. (1872842)
The SpeedBird is an elegant evolution of the iconic aviator design – a true classic with ageless worldwide popularity. Oxford Vaughan is born out of three generations of style, craftsmanship and design. Only the most exacting standards of quality and finish are acceptable.
Zeta Burgundy Red Hidee Handbag £450 Hidee’s distressed handworked unlined leather finish is for those seeking a sophisticated aesthetic. Designed by an Irish Designer, made in London from luxury Italian Leather. The handbag cleverly splits the bag to give a top and bottom compartment, where you can store your heels, up to 11cm high!
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loveexcellence.co.uk Black Megaphone iPhone Speaker £335 This stunning passive amplifier from en&is, designed for the iPhone, is made of ceramic with a wooden frame.
William Curley White Chocolate and Raspberry Bar £5 Curley’s Toscano white chocolate bar has been blended with freeze dried respberry pieces creating a bursting sensation of tangy fruit complimenting the sweetness of the chocolate.
Sterling Silver Wing Bangle £239 This beautiful bangle is made in sterling silver, but also comes in 24ct gold plate. Unique and stylish from Jana Reinhardt Jewellery. The Wing bangle comes from the Wings Collection, featuring feathery, fashionable necklaces, earrings, and bangles in angelic sterling silver or 24ct glitzy gold plate.
The Articulate Macro Gallery Frame £49.99 This is a fabulous showpiece for displaying your children’s creations properly. This frame allows instant framing of four pictures in both orientations at once.
Wazuka Garden Tea £48 Sometimes a tea comes along that is beyond exceptional. This is one of them. Rich, silky, heavy umami notes engulf the palate, with notes of spring greens. Tasting Notes: Think of broad beans, edamame and kale; heavy body, silky texture, rich umami finish.
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Revival DAB Union Jack Roberts Radio £199 This fabulous combination of the latest technology and vintage styling comes complete with gold plated fittings and will awaken any interior with its fifties spirit. The beautiful radio also offers an amazing 120 hours of battery life.
Vivid Audio B1 Floor Standing Loudspeakers £12,500
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Moulded by serious rethinking of dynamic loudspeaker design, the Vivid Audio B1 loudspeaker is any passionate audiophile’s dream. Ultra high performance, technology and aesthetics converge to create this unique loudspeaker. The Vivid Audio B1 is a mid-sized, floor standing model. Every aspect and component of this loudspeaker has been scrutinized and reinvented to create a dynamic and boxless sound. Desert Boot Suede Denim Blue £120 Suffolk Shoes made in England. Available in sizes: 36 - 47. Moisture managing fabric vamp lining. Leather lined tongue, and sock. Suede leather lined heel for durable grip. Unlined quarters. Woven Toe and Heel stiffeners for extra breathability. Hand-crafted Microporous antislip rubber sole units. Comfort foam insock. Pineapple Glory Cushion £75 Individually crafted cushion, which features a gold and black sparkle encrusted pineapple designed and hand-stitched in London by BITTEN. Dimensions: 50 x 50cm. Includes a luxurious UK made 100% duck feather inner. The Pebble Watches from Bulbul £285 The slightly asymmetric 316L Steel Case holds a Swiss Made, Gold Plated, Four Jewels Ronda Movement with up to ten years battery life. It comes in a choice of 5 colours, all with double sided Italian Leather Straps: matt golden steel on brown strap, stone grey titanium coated steel on grey strap, matt steel on brown strap, matt steel on black strap and black steel on black strap.
BBQ Oven Mitts £13.95 The perfect gift for men and any keen barbecuer, from Victoria Eggs. Handsomely patterned with BBQ essentials and printed onto 100% organic unbleached cotton, they are handmade in Britain and available in Green and Grey. Pop Retro Phone Handset £14.99 The original retro handset, designed for Native Union by David Turpin. Inspired by the classic 1950s Bakelite phone, enjoy timeless style in fun collectable colours. Plug into your mobile phone, laptop, iPwad or tablet for easy use with Skype or VOIP and stylish communication.
Jordan Solid Rubber End Dumbells £23 Stylish and durable black rubber finish will not chip or damage machines. The unique J-lock system helps prevent loosening of the dumbell head and minimises maintenance. Chrome easy grip handles. internationalexcellence.co.uk
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EXPERIENCES
Visit our online luxury shop Love eXcellence and take your pick from the different experiences on offer. loveexcellence.co.uk
FLY INTO SPACE Be one of the first Space Explorers and join the history books. Fly into space in the XCOR Lynx Mark II Spacecraft. Just you and the pilot and experience the Earth as only the rare few have seen it. Be one of the first to see the blue marble that is Earth floating in a bed of stars and make history. Become an official astronaut and experience real astronaut training, both on the Desdemona Simulator and in an L-39 Albatross Fighter Jet, before embarking on the XCOR Lynx Spacecraft. 38
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HELICOPTER DAY TRIP
POLO ZERO TO HERO
LEARN TO SAIL
Take an exclusive helicopter trip to the luxury, historic hotel, Amberley Castle with Amadeus Aviation. Depart from Battersea in their Agusta 109 helicopter and enjoy a tour over London and the complimentary champagne bar before heading off to Amberley Castle.
Cool Hooves Polo will coach you extensively in all aspects of the game, you will then take part in a two chukka polo match and find time to enjoy a continental breakfast, refreshements and a Champange lunch at the member’s Clubhouse. This is a group activity for a minimum of 6 people.
This two day Start Yachting Course from the RYA is the ideal introduction to yacht sailing. Courses run throughout the year from the marina in Gosport. Enjoy a weekend away on board and come away with an official RYA certificate upon successful completion of the course.
“Create your own personal bucket list ... don’t wait for tomorrow, seize the day, pick one and do it!”
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DAVE MCKEAN International eXcellence Interviews the great British artist Dave McKean. Dave McKean is one of the leading and most prolific artists in Britain, most known for his Sandman covers with writer and film maker Neil Gaiman. He is a photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker, musician and his commercial work has been used for some of the best album covers, comic covers, leading brand advertising and films. He has recently collaborated on books with Richard Dawkins and Heston Blumenthal and is constantly in demand. He also recently completed his latest film Luna about a couple who spend a weekend at the seaside after losing a child, which explores the fragile relationship between fantasy and reality. His work employs so many different techniques it is difficult to pin down, he uses collage, photography, illustration, objects, sculpture, computers, photocopying, pretty much anything that he feels will make the final work better and he is accomplished at all of these skills. His work often has a dark and mythical flavour with a powerful emotional punch and really needs to be seen in the flesh, do try to catch one of his exhibitions if you can. He is one of International eXcellence’s favourite artists and we will keep you updated on his new work as it appears.
• Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? I grew up in Berkshire, west of London. I had a basically happy childhood, living in a village, and easy bike ride away from fields and woods. I played piano and started performing in bands at secondary school. I can’t remember not drawing, initially animals
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and dinosaurs, football players and soldiers. My mother worked at the local infants school, and was hugely supportive of everything I did, my father also played piano, in stride style, and could draw, but he never got to pursue these talents professionally. He died when I was twelve. I think he wanted me to be an accountant or something safe and financially secure. I think we would have had some arguments when I hit my teens, and especially when I wanted to go to art school. • What was it about comics that made you want to become a visual artist and what other media influenced you? I loved the combination of image making and storytelling. I also had a Super8mm. camera to play with, so I was always drawing comic strips and making little films.
• What were the biggest challenges to succeed as an artist? I’m still working on that one. It depends how you define success. Initially I just wanted to be able to work full time doing creative things, drawing and painting, illustrating books and comics, design. I’ve tried to keep a balance between commercial work and my own work. It took a few years for those two strands to converge. But I realised pretty quickly that the personal work I was doing was much stronger and more satisfying than the paying jobs, and also almost always led on to bigger and better things, whereas the jobs were forgotten. If you define success in the most important sense, creative success, then I’m still chasing that goal. I have done a few books, and finally
a film, that I’m happy with, but there is always so much to learn, and the work can always be improved. • How did the lifelong collaboration with Neil Gaiman come about? We were both working on a magazine called Borderline that never happened. Neil was a struggling journalist and I was still in art school. I was writing and drawing two stories, and Neil was writing three I think. A group of us would meet up in London every month and show each other the work we were doing. I think we were both very ambitious. Neil wanted to write comics full time. He’d written a short story called Violent Cases in a workshop, and gave it to me to read. I thought I could turn it into
a comic story, and Paul Gravett at Escape magazine wanted me to do something, so I thought it might work out. In the end it became a much longer story than the 6 or 8 pages Paul wanted, but he decided he still wanted to publish it. That became our first published book. We showed it, still unpublished, to editors at DC Comics, and never looked back. • You illustrated all the Sandman comic covers, any particular ones stand out for you and why? It was interesting doing a cover a month for seven years on Sandman because it functioned as a diary. They charted my changing taste and interest in different media. I started using photography and Photoshop during the run. I played around
with colour photocopiers and multiple exposures, typography and sculpture. So in a way, they all bring back memories of where I was, what music I was listening to, the conversations with Neil as the series developed and a concentrated period of growth in my life. I barely looked up from the drawing board, and it was only when it was all done, that I realised Sandman had created quite a stir and had found an audience outside of the usual comic store crowd. • How did you keep such complex work to tight deadlines that are typical in the comics industry? Initially Neil was well ahead and would give me complete scripts to read and work from. But the complexity of it all started to internationalexcellence.co.uk
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mean that Neil was taking longer and longer to complete his scripts, and I was working from outlines, and then just brief telephone calls. But the covers themselves only took me a day each, so I was able to work on other books and then music industry projects and my own work. But I had a strong idea of what sort of covers I wanted to do, and who I was speaking to. My imagined audience read comics, but also was attracted to certain record covers, book covers, art and design. What I was doing was unusual for comics, but not at all unusual for book or record stores. • What other great collaborations have you enjoyed working on over the years? I’ve been lucky. I did Arkham Asylum with Grant Morrison when he was starting to stretch creatively and really look outside the comic medium for inspiration. We both loved Dennis Potter plays and Jan Svankmajer films, and a lot of that ambition went into the book. I’ve worked a lot with the extraordinary Iain Sinclair on books and films; I love walking around in his head for a while. I’ve done a few projects with John Cale, a book with the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, and two huge books and restaurant projects with Heston Blumenthal. I’ve worked with Michael Sheen on the film version of his Passion of Port Talbot theatre project, and with Wildworks, the site-specific theatre company who produced it. I’ve had a long working relationship with sax player and composer Iain Ballamy, and music producer Ashley Slater. I’ve now done three books with David Almond and another three with SF Said, and many others over the years. All of these have been wonderful, creative collaborations, and I’ve enjoyed playing with other people’s toys. I’m still looking for more interesting and provocative partners. • You have also illustrated many leading commercial campaigns and music album covers over the years, which stand out for you? The long term ones really, it’s been great to develop an ongoing world of imagery for certain artists; Iain Ballamy, Bill Bruford, Michael Nyman and Bill Leeb of Frontline Assembly stand out. I run Feral records with Iain, so those covers and cd boxes we’ve
created together are my favourites. Advertising jobs are usually pretty compromised affairs, although some of them have gone through fairly easily. • You mix all forms of illustration, collage, digital, photography and styles in your work. How do you approach a particular brief or idea, could you take us through the creation of one of your favourite works? They are quite different, but there’s usually a text that keys everything, either a script, or a brief or lyrics, something that I can grab hold of and work from. Sometimes I’ll write my own brief if necessary. This keeps me focussed on what has to be communicated. Usually the style, tone, colouring, general feel of the piece will be inferred from the brief, the text is everything. The cover for John Cale’s Circus CD was inspired by the lyrics of many of the songs, including some Velvet Underground material that he performed in this live concert. Also it came from my memory of seeing Elton John’s Captain Fantastic album cover by Alan Aldridge when I was a kid and loving all the little stories and details. So I did my own darker, seedier version for Cale. The CD covers for Bill Bruford were left entirely up to me. I liked Bill’s sense of humour and the intricate textures he created with his band Earthworks. Also, having moved to jazz from Yes and King Crimson, I thought it would be good to keep a slightly otherworldly, surreal atmosphere to the packaging to bridge the gap, and also to add a little real world grit to the backgrounds to suite the jazzier, earthier nature of the music. • You’re also an accomplished musician, what do you play and what music do you love? I play piano and drums, and sing if pushed. I love all sorts of music; it’s been a huge part of my life. I love jazz, and great singer songwriters; I love folk music from around the world, especially tango and Spanish music. I like some orchestral music, especially from the early 20th. Century, and I like some minimal, abstract, industrial, and generally noisy stuff. Not so keen on opera (mostly for that very narrowly focussed singing style) or country music, or the huge chart
led commercial pop/rock middle ground, although even here there are performers and bands I really love. My own music tends be pretty uncatagorizable with influences from all of the above plus cabaret and the strain of surreal and humorous songwriters peculiar to England – Ivor Cutler, Jake Thackray… • You have also produced three illustrated travel books, can you tell us a little about these? I’ve always sketched while travelling, but I started making my little Postcard From… books after a visit to Vienna with my family. I bought the kids sketchbooks and we all made drawings of the city and the paintings by Klimt and Schiele we saw. It was wonderful, my kids remembered everything from the trip with a clarity you only really get when you draw, when you really pay attention. I’ve made several city books now, and I’m continuing with Naples, Venice and Prague. They are not definitive travel books in any way, they are just my impression of what I happen to see while there, the people, streets, food, art, music and buildings. • What great mentors or influencers have you had in your life? So many. Certainly I had four really great teachers while at art school, George Glenny taught drawing and semiotics, Malcolm Hatton taught design and gave me commercial work in the evenings, Jim Kane had a real professional edge to his expectations of us as students, and Leo de Frietas was a visiting lecturer who is still a good friend and agent provocateur in my life. The big guns are Picasso and Miles Davis for their restless reinventions of themselves, and then so many more, from Marshall Arisman who delivered a life changing talk at the ICA while I was still in college, to Lorenzo Mattotti who continues to teach me with every mark he makes. • In 2008 you worked on The Fat Duck Cookbook with Heston Blumenthal, what interesting challenges did this unusual tome present? A cookbook has none of the important information you really need, you can’t taste, touch or smell the food. So I tried to create
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imagery that attempted to fill in some of these gaps with abstract representations of how the food played with your senses. There were also biographical details to illustrate and some specific stories that Heston wanted included. Also, he wanted an Alice in Wonderland playfulness, and also some of the science was very particular. He was wonderful to brainstorm with, a genuinely open minded, completely engaged collaborator. I can see how he has progressed so far so quickly. • You recently produced the book “The Magic of Reality” with Richard Dawkins, what was the process there and how did you and Dawkins work together? Again, a fascinating experience. I was a huge fan of Richard’s writing, and championing of the scientific method in how we decide what is true and false in our lives. The science here was very specific and important to get accurate, so this needed a bit of adaptation from my usually more impressionistic style. But once I got into the swing of it, it was wonderful, only slightly spoilt by a dreadfully conservative and difficult publisher. I still feel the book could have been so much more exciting, but I’m happy with my drawings, and that it got done at all. • What are you reading now and what great books or comics would you recommend? I’m reading almost exclusively non-fiction at the moment, I want to know things. I love Tom Holland’s historical books and the various popular science writers around at the moment. And I never get tired of reading biographies; I’m reading Michael Powell’s at the moment. I don’t read any regular comics, but I pick up the odd graphic novel, or compilation when something jumps off the bookshelves. I recently discovered Gipi’s books, which are really beautiful, and elegantly told. • You create the imagery for many children’s books, what do you love about them? Well, first of all there is still a feeling, especially in England, that books with illustrations in them must be for children. Fortunately that
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is changing, but it’s a slow process. I love the openness and imagination in children’s books, but also I think they’re a wonderful and safe place to talk about really rather serious things that we all face, to a young audience – a gentle rehearsal for our adult lives, a way to discuss difficult things. The best kids books live with us as we get older and change their meaning as we re-contextualize them. • You have directed quite a bit for film and television, including the film Mirrormask and Luna, are you working on a new film projects? Yes, I’ve just finished Luna. My collection of short films will get a proper release later this year and I’m starting to plan a new feature film called, at the moment, Callisto and the Wolves. Another collaboration with Wildworks. • What is your favourite activity when not working? I play badminton, music, and cook; I love driving around the UK, picking an area to explore. I can highly recommend a drive around Scotland. • What actions do you take to keep a certain quality of life? I prefer to do my own projects, or work I have a high degree of control over, rather than be a cog in a large machine. I think my main responsibility to the people who like my work is to make that work the very best I can. Which means I don’t do a lot of conventions, signings and personal appearances, I’m just too busy getting the work right. It also means I can stay at home with my family, and feel like I have strong foundation below me in the people and the place around me. I determined a few years ago to only have work and play days. That sounds obvious, but when you’re self employed it’s so easy to spend a day trying to work when I just don’t feel inspired, or not working and feeling guilty about it, rather than just taking a day off and forgetting work, or buckling down and doing the work. One or the other, not the awkward nothingy days in between. I have a few really close friends who’s opinions I trust. Especially with films, I try
and show them work in a state that I can still change it. It’s so helpful to have another pair of eyes look at something that I’ve spent so long trying to shape. I like a few regular ticking clocks in my week – every Monday and Wednesday I play badminton, every Tuesday I’ll play music, every first Thursday of the month I’ll perform at a songwriters club, every Friday lunch I take off and go out and read the newspaper. Obviously life gets in the way sometimes, but I like these little regular ticks, the rest of my life is so chaotic. • What are you working on now and what are your plans for the future? Luna is the big thing for me at the moment and starting to plan Callisto. I’ve finished a new book of short comics called Pictures That Tick 2: Exhibition, which I’m really happy with. I’m working on a book of paintings and drawings inspired by silent cinema called Nitrate, and a new graphic novel called Calligaro. Also a book collecting all the Dreaming and Sandman Presents covers I did for DC Comics called Dream States as well as anniversary editions of Mr. Punch and Arkham Asylum. I’m going to be playing my live 9 Lives show at the British Library in June, and I’m working with Iain Ballamy and the poet Matthew Sweeney on a theatre project for next year. I have a bunch of other things on my drawing table, or rattling around my head and sketchbooks at the moment. - Could you list a few things, people, works that you consider excellent? Well, excellence tends to get recognized, because there’s an awful lot of good, and even very good in the world, but not a lot of excellent. But some lesser knows examples? Chris Wood I think is the best singer songwriter around at the moment. Benet McLean, Jason Rabello and most of all Stefano Bollani are staggering piano players. Mattotti continues to inspire me. I think Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry are wonderful filmmakers in this digital age, and of course Charlie Kaufman is a great screenwriter. On Luna I’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing people, not least Dhafer
Youssef and Emilia Martensson who sung on the soundtrack. There are so many‌
Find out more here: davemckean.com allenspiegelfinearts.com keanoshow.com centuryguild.net petitspapiers.be ryeartgallery.co.uk galeriemartel.com
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Dave McKean’s The Sandman
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LIPPER FUNDS AWARDS 2014 Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the winners of the Lipper Fund Awards 2014 UK. The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence, a global family of awards that celebrate exceptional performance throughout the professional investment community. Franklin Templeton Investments and Jyske Invest collected the top Group Awards. The full list of Group Award winners include: Franklin Templeton Investments Best Fund Group Overall - Large Jyske Invest Best Fund Group Overall - Small Cazenove Best Equity Fund Group - Large Orbis Best Equity Fund Group - Small AXA Best Bond Fund Group - Large Marlborough Best Bond Fund Group - Small Cazenove Best Mixed Assets Group - Large The Co-operative Best Mixed Assets Group - Small “This year’s Lipper Fund Award winners
have set an incredibly high standard in realizing impressive returns to their investors. The Awards commemorate their expertise of the collective funds management industry and their ability to outperform the market,” said Robert Jenkins, global head of Lipper Research at Thomson Reuters.
The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence also include the Extel Survey Awards, and the StarMine Analyst Awards.
“It is critical we recognise the expertise and passion that active fund managers bring to the market” said Jake Moeller, head of UK & Ireland Research at Lipper. “At a time when fees are coming under increasing scrutiny, we commend those who are able to convert knowledge to performance”.
Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company, is a global leader in supplying mutual fund information, analytical tools, and commentary. Lipper’s benchmarking and classifications are widely recognized as the industry standard by asset managers, fund companies and financial intermediaries. Our reliable fund data, fund awards designations and ratings information provide valued insight to advisors, media and individual investors.
In addition to the group awards, trophies were presented to 35 individual fund awards. Details of all winners can be found here and the Lipper Fund Awards’ 2014 methodology can be viewed here. For further information, please contact Lipper as noted below:
For more information, please contact markets.awards@thomsonreuters.com or visit excellence.thomsonreuters.com
Lipper data covers more than 266,000 share classes and over 126,000 funds in 61 markets. It provides the free Lipper Leader ratings for mutual funds registered for sale in over 40 countries. You can see all the Funds Award Winners listed here: http://www. internationalexcellence.co.uk/portfolio/ lipper-funds-awards-uk The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence recognize the world’s top funds, fund management firms, sell-side firms, research analysts, and investor relations teams. internationalexcellence.co.uk
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VESTRA WEALTH AND THE SCHOOL OF LIFE International eXcellence attended a small soiree last night at the Groucho Club hosted by Vestra Wealth and Alain de Botton from the School of Life. Now at first glance it may seem an odd marriage to team a philosophy/ psychology school with a wealth company, but it is without doubt a very good idea indeed. So how does philosophy bed with wealth? It’s all to do with quality of life. Wealth managers are not just about increasing or preserving wealth, they deal with the passing on of wealth, future planning for children and relatives, the partage of accumulated goods and the bequeathment of a quality of life that all of us wish for our children and loved ones. As David Scott said in the informal discussion (people were encouraged to participate and raise ideas, rather than just listen passively) men in Ireland are not often incited to share their emotions or opinions on wellbeing and we all recognise that England prides itself on a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity. “Pull yourself together man” is such an ubiquitous British quote. Whereas in France psychology and wellbeing are frequent topics of discussion over dinner and few French evenings will not bounce from sex to politics to philosophy over the course of a few glasses of wine. Knowledge and change are vital to improve our lives and recognising the need for change is hard when we are culturally encouraged to battle on in negative circumstances. We are as a culture becoming more knowledgeable and if wealth companies are making philosophy a part of their culture 48
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then change will be much easier. Since 2008 more and more people are asking their wealth manager to provide advice and guidance to improve the quality of theirs and their children’s lives. It is about the life experiences that really bring meaning and create worthwhile memories. Not to mention that philosophy now deals with more than just the abstract concepts of life and where did we come from, delving into how we live our lives and how we can make them better in every sense, from social to cultural to communal. For change to be effective it must be cultural as we are more affected by our immediate peers than anything else. Our very environment and society has to carry through these changes. Malcolm Gladwell talks about Mavens who are the effectors of change, people who both connect with many others, but more importantly are trusted by them. Mavens are those that seek out the very best information and love passing it on and crucially, the information they impart will be acted upon. Wealth companies by their very position as advisors to people with a large financial influence on society are ideally placed to be such Mavens and improve the quality of the service and the lives of their clients. This will have a trickle down effect and be followed by other companies that seek to emulate success, as long as the transmission of quality in our lives brings the right rewards. Many at the wedding were cynical but perhaps this is a strange marriage that
Alain de Botton
might just work out well because of their differences. Vestra Wealth was established in 2008 aiming to be a new breed of wealth manager which put understanding clients at the heart of its founding principles. It believes that its partnership with The School of Life is an extension of that client-centric thinking and a demonstration of its ‘beyond money’ approach. The first philosophical essay in the series will have ‘Change’ as its theme and be authored by John Armstrong, former Philosopher in Residence at the Melbourne Business School. Subsequent themes in the 12-essay series will include ‘risk’, ‘courage’, ‘family’, ‘decisions’, ‘value’, ‘envy’, ‘love’, ‘ethics’, ‘trust’, ‘ambition’ and ‘legacy’. David Scott comments: “We are looking to develop a much deeper understanding of the issues that drive attitudes to wealth. People have very different values and priorities, and understanding that diversity is key to a successful client partnership. We believe that, along with our core principles, this partnership with TSOL will help us and many of our clients reach a better understanding of their future wealth needs.” Alain de Botton comments: “At first sight, philosophy and wealth management might seem worlds apart. One is concerned with hard practical decisions, the other seems preoccupied with fascinating, but non-urgent questions about the meaning of life, with no particular end in sight. At TSOL, we believe
often the pattern is far from obvious close up. Despite the prestige of change, in reality we are often deeply disturbed by change. It’s not surprising. We learn how to cope – and thrive – in a given order of things. You know how the system works; you feel you have come to understand what works and what doesn’t. Then a big change comes along and your hard-won knowledge no longer seems to work. The rules have changed. You built up good relationships with people, but they no longer run the show. Strategies that proved themselves over many years no longer bring the results you want. There’s a new vocabulary, new buzzwords, new Abstract for Change essay by John Armstrong expectations. We live in a culture that is always encouraging us to change. The fashion industry, To deal well with change we have to do an for instance, thrives on rapid shifts of unexpected thing: we have to get to grips preferences. It has to persuade us that what with our own values. was great last year isn’t much good this year. A car manufacturer wants to get us to change David Scott, Founding and Senior Partner, to their latest model. A new restaurant hopes Vestra Wealth said: “The cult of change in to get us to alter our dining habits. There are society, be it in fashion, technology or the many forces at play, encouraging us to feel media, distracts from the fact that people often feel exposed and uncertain during that change is good and exciting. times of change. But our relationship to change can be better or worse. We can use change well or we can “But navigating change, financial or be baffled and distressed by change. We can otherwise, becomes easier after thinking grow or diminish. This essay explores key clearly about your priorities, understanding problems that can occur around change. We the full ramifications of the change that is tend, for instance, to be adept at recognising happening, including its precedents and and responding to small, short-term changes. patterns, then making decisions on the basis It’s not surprising. That’s what comes naturally. of these and the resources you have available. We have evolved to be good at it. Yet, in order “This is a fundamental part of the wealth to deal well with the big challenges of life we management process – preparing clients need to be able to grasp and deal with long- for change and helping them deal with and term changes. And the tricky thing is that thrive during change.” in taking a new approach to business. Our mission is to connect up the most important ideas from culture, philosophy and the humanities with the problems of business life. On paper for example, the point of a wealth management firm is to grow your money year by year. But the full promise of a firm is much deeper: it is to help to promote a good life around money. This is a bigger, more complex but far more interesting story. The question then is what would actually help a client flourish in connection with money? That’s what we are hoping to explore with this series of articles”.
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DANIELLE DE NIESE SUPPORTS SOHANA RESEARCH FUND
The renowned and glamorous soprano Danielle de Niese is holding a concert starting at 19.30 on the 24th of June at St John’s Smith Square to support the Sohana Research Fund (SRF). Danielle de Niese will be accompanied by Cameron Stowe on Piano. The VIP Champagne reception post concert tickets with Danielle can be purchased for £100 from : sharmila@sohanaresearchfund.org.uk or telephone: 07786805874 Also available are tickets priced £15, £30 and
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Danielle de Niese is more than just the most magnetic presence in modern classical music, or the woman described by the New York Times magazine as “opera’s coolest soprano.” She’s also the performer who’s shredding the classical rulebook with her unique combination of artistic credibility and exotic 21st century allure.
Opera to Covent Garden have also performed on stage with LL Cool J, or sung in a Ridley Scott movie. Nor have they won an Emmy Award as a TV host at 16. Danielle de Niese, born in Melbourne, Australia to Sri Lankan parents (her father with Dutch roots, her mother part-Scottish), has been on her unstoppable path since the age of eight. She’s an irresistible fireball with her own beguiling way of approaching her art. There really isn’t anyone quite like her.
Not many lyric sopranos who have thrilled audiences worldwide from the Metropolitan
Danielle has kindly agreed to do this concert knowing Sohana and her family and wanting
£35 from St Johns Box Office: www.sjss.org.uk telephone: 020 7222 1061
to do what she can to help. It is amazingly generous for this top star to be giving her time to help this little girl, but Danielle understands the urgency of this appeal. This is a very special opportunity to catch a virtuoso performer (VIP ticket holders can also enjoy a private champagne reception with the star) whilst helping to save a child’s life. The Sohana Research Fund was set up by the parents of Sohana Collins, a charming and extremely brave 11 year old from Islington
in London, who suffers from Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a horrific condition that means she has to endure the equivalent of severe burns everyday. It is progressive and almost all children with Sohana’s condition die in their late teens or early 20s from the skin cancer that develops as a result of EB.
of celebrities, such as Jason Isaacs, pictured here with Sohana, but are totally reliant on private funding. The race is now on to save Sohana and the thousands of others who suffer from this unbelievably cruel condition. It is possible, they just need the funds. For information regarding Sohana’s condition:
However, the science is moving so fast and a cure is getting closer. Sohana’s parents set up this charity to help raise funds directly for research, and for the development of a treatment and cure. They have had much success already, amid support from a host
www.sohanaresearchfund.org www.facebook.com/SohanaResearchFund www.justgiving.com/SohanaResearchFund www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24902658
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FABULOUS FOOD
THIS WONDERFUL SUMMERY ALTERNATIVE TO BROWNIES WILL BE THE PERFECT ADDITION TO YOUR PICNIC THIS YEAR. MAKES 16 SQUARES.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY BLONDIES from our eXcellent chef, Lucy Rowe 200g butter 200g white chocolate 3 large eggs 300g caster sugar 200g plain flour 1 tsp vanilla essence 150g raspberries
1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4/180C/160 fan. 2. Line a 23cm square tin with a large piece of baking paper. (This will enable you to lift the blondes out of the tin easily.) 3. Roughly chop the chocolate. 4. Cut the butter into pieces and melt in a saucepan, remove from the heat and leave to cool for a minute. Add half of the chopped chocolate and set aside for a few minutes to melt, then stir until smooth. 5. Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar together for 5 minutes until they are very thick and much paler in colour. Pour over the chocolate and butter mixture and stir in gently. 6. Sieve the flour over the egg and chocolate mixture and using a large spoon or spatula fold together being careful not to knock too much air out. 7. Stir in the remaining chocolate and pour the mixture into the tin. Scatter over the raspberries and push a few under the surface. (Not too many as the others will sink during cooking.) 8. Cook in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until well risen and dark golden in colour. 9. When cool lift out of the tin and cut into squares. 52
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www.heveningham.co.uk email:sales@heveningham.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1489 893481
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