PenderFund

What soccer can teach us about investing. In the first episode of Pender's World Cup Series, Senior Equity Analyst, Felix Narhi joins host Associate Client Portfolio Manager, Laura Baker to explore what soccer's penalty kick paradox can teach investors about the bias for action and why, in markets and on the field, the hardest decision is often choosing to do nothing.

Rethinking Diversification in a Correlated World Pender's CIO and Portfolio Manager, Greg Taylor spoke with Associate Client Portfolio Manager, Laura Baker to discuss how the Pender Alternative Multi-Strategy Income Fund and the newly launched Pender Alternative Multi-Strategy Growth Fund are built to diversify return drivers, not just holdings, in a market where equities and bonds increasingly move together. A conversation on portfolio construction, liquid alternatives, and finding a smoother ride to your investment goals.

Dispersion, Discipline, and Downside Protection in an Overcrowded Market In a market dominated by mega-cap concentration and AI-driven narratives, this episode explores the overlooked opportunity set within US small and mid cap equities. Portfolio Manager, Aman Budhwar spoke with Associate Client Portfolio Manager, Laura Baker on his disciplined, bottom-up investment framework, focused on sustainable competitive advantages, strong capital allocation, and downside protection. The conversation offers a compelling case for active management in a market rich with mispricing, where careful research and long-term thinking can uncover durable compounders beyond the headlines.

Building Resilient Portfolios and Managing risk Through Market Cycles In this episode, Laura Baker, Associate Client Portfolio Manager and Greg Taylor, CIO and Portfolio Manager, explore approaches to active investing, risk management, and generating returns in increasingly concentrated and volatile markets. From lessons in the dot-com era to today's AI-driven environment, he breaks down how thematic investing, downside protection, and disciplined execution can help investors navigate uncertainty and outperform over time.

Artificial intelligence, productivity, and the next capital cycle In this episode, Laura Baker, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, spoke with Toufic Boubez, Venture Partner at Pender Ventures, where they explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping business models, productivity, and capital cycles, while challenging traditional notions of work, learning, and competitive advantage. The podcast examines where real value is being created, what risks could derail the AI boom, and how humans will continue to play a critical role alongside increasingly capable machines.

Exploring how tokenization is reshaping ownership and financial infrastructure In this episode, we discuss an important, and yet misunderstood idea at the intersection of technology and finance: tokenization. While much of the conversation around digital assets has focused on cryptocurrency, tokenization is fundamentally about the evolution of ownership and the evolution of financial infrastructure. To unpack these questions, Laura Baker, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, is joined by Sébastien Davies, Partner at Primal Capital, focused on early-stage financial and digital asset infrastructure. Drawing on his background in institutional capital markets and digital asset platforms, Sébastien discusses how tokenization is moving from experimentation toward real-world adoption, and what that could mean for investors, institutions, and the future of markets.  

Valuation dispersion, software pessimism, and shifting capital flows may be setting the stage for a new cycle in small-cap investing. In this episode, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, Laura Baker speaks with CEO and Portfolio Manager, David Barr about small caps, the reset in software valuations, and how AI is reshaping both risk and opportunity. The conversation explores private market value, capital efficiency, and why today's uncertainty may present one of the more compelling entry points in years for active investors.

Defense Strategy, Global Tension & Investor Implications In this episode of the Pender Podcast, Laura Baker, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, is joined by Retired Vice Admiral Mark Norman to discuss Canada's evolving defense landscape and why it matters in today's geopolitical and investment environment. Drawing on decades of military leadership and policy experience, the conversation explores defense readiness, procurement challenges, Arctic security, and the growing intersection between national security, technology, and capital markets.

Navigating Macro Uncertainty, Thematics, and Standout Performers In this episode, Laura Baker, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, is joined by Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager, and Ruben Gomez Garcia, Equity Analyst, to break down the major themes, trends, and standout moments from Q3 2025 across Pender's small/mid cap portfolios. The team discusses resilience in the face of macro uncertainty, key thematics driving performance, and highlights several companies that delivered exceptional results.

Inside the fund's first year: lessons, opportunity sets, and 2026 themes Celebrating one year of the Pender US Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund. In this episode, Laura Baker sits down with Aman Budhwar to reflect on the Fund's first year, the investment framework behind its early consistency, and how Aman is navigating opportunity and risk across the US small/mid cap space. They discuss AI-driven themes, sector diversification, portfolio construction discipline, and opportunities looking into 2026.

Re-acceleration, rotations, and macro turning points. In this annual conversation, Geoff Castle, Lead Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income sits down with Callum Thomas, Head of Research at Topdown Charts to look back on last year's big macro calls, then look ahead to 2026. They cover the case for a global growth re-acceleration, why bonds might still offer better value than equities, what Japan's long bond is signalling, and how to think about commodities, currencies and private credit risk in a world of shifting cycles.

Subtitle: A Market Isn't Always Just One Thing Forever In this episode, Laura Baker, Associate Portfolio Manager at Pender, sits down with Lead Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager Emily Wheeler and Associate Portfolio Manager Parul Garg to discuss the recent recognition of two of Pender's fixed income funds with 2025 LSEG Lipper Fund Awards. The team shares the drivers behind their consistent performance, their disciplined investment process and their outlook on risks and opportunities in the evolving credit landscape. Disclaimer

Geoff and Callum revisit the big themes in 2024 and tally which of their 2023 calls went right. They look ahead to 2025 and beyond and discuss the current market cycle, and where opportunities are in global small caps, Treasuries, commodities and the commercialization of space. A must-listen for professional and regular investors alike.

This is the first in a new Pender Ventures podcast series reflecting the scale-up stories of some of the great Canadian technology companies.   We kick off with the story of PMC-Sierra, a pioneering and leading semiconductor chipset supplier that specialized in the design and development of integrated circuits for networking, telecommunications and data storage.  Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures sat down with three key executives and co-founders, each of whom made significant contributions to the semiconductor industry, Greg Aasen, Kevin Huscroft and Colin Harris.   They look back on the critical phases of PMC-Sierra's evolution, the strategic decisions made by leadership, its impact on the broader tech landscape, navigating 2000, and what they'd do differently if they had to do it all again.  

In this discussion, hosted by Rita Silvan, Parul Garg, Pender's distressed credit expert in default securities, reorganizations and recapitalizations, discusses the impending catalysts for generating meaningful alpha in distressed debt in the next 3-to-5 years, and how a public credit strategy complements investing in private credits. She explains the various approaches to creating value and managing risk in both the Pender Credit Opportunities Fund and Pender Corporate Bond Fund portfolios. 

In a candid conversation, Parul Garg, hosted by Rita Silvan, provides an in-depth overview of the Pender Credit Opportunities Fund. Known for its strategic focus on distressed and stressed credits in public fixed income markets, the Fund leverages its nimble approach to capitalize on unique opportunities often overlooked by larger funds. Parul explains the Fund's investment strategy, the advantages of focusing on public over private credit, and how proactive credit management plays a crucial role in generating alpha for investors. This insightful discussion sheds light on the risk and rewards of investing in distressed credit markets, highlighting the Fund's distinctive position within the broader investment landscape.

Welcome to the PenderFund podcast! In today's episode, we delve into the intricate world of public distressed credit investing. Join Rita Silvan, Director of Content Strategy at PenderFund Asset Management, as she speaks with Parul Garg, a specialist in stressed and distressed public holdings within the Pender Credit Opportunities Fund and the Pender Corporate Bond Fund. With over a decade of experience, Parul provides a comprehensive look at the strategies and insights that drive success in this challenging yet rewarding investment landscape. Subtitle: Expertise and experience, transparency and liquidity

Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures gets an in-depth status report on Generative AI in this fascinating conversation with Duncan Stewart, Director of Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Research at Deloitte Canada. Duncan's research includes travelling the world for real-time, face to face updates from companies in every sector to unravel TMT and report resulting predictions. Maria and Duncan talk about Generative AI from a number of angles: company side implementation, client-side adoption, supply and demand, pricing and more. Listen to Duncan's up-to-the-minute insights. But don't leave it too long. He predicts that by the end of the year all his predictions will be wrong!  Subtitle: "I predict by the end of the year all of my predictions will be wrong" 

In this episode Geoff Castle, Lead Portfolio Manager of Pender's Fixed Income portfolios, hosts Callum Thomas, founder and head of research of Topdown Charts for their annual podcast. Subtitle: Building puzzles.   Geoff and Callum reflect on 2023 and review which of their December 2022 calls were right, and which were early. They look ahead to 2024 and really dive into a wide range of topics, both fixed income as well as small-cap equities, commodities and UAPs (formerly UFOs). Is the US government hiding something? Many would regard this as a "must-listen".   

Moderated by David Dufresne, Partner, CMD Capital chats with Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, Anne Phan, VP, Corporate Development at Wealthsimple and Brent Holliday, Founder & CEO of Garibaldi Capital Advisors. They discuss the final phase of the venture cycle. Subtitle: Creating liquidity through exits.

Subtitle: "A rolling loan gathers no loss" Geoff and Winnie jump right into discussing how to navigate credit markets in the current climate. There's a lot to cover as they touch on the latest remarks from the Fed, public vs private debt, dealer inventories, maturity walls, what the rest of 2023 might hold and more, closing with Winnie's book recommendation.

We are happy to bring you the latest installment in Pender's Profiles in Credit podcast series, hosted by Geoff Castle, Lead Portfolio Manager of Pender's Fixed Income. In this episode, Geoff is joined by Sabrina Fox, Founder of Fox Legal Training and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager, also jumps with her questions. The group covered Sabrina's road to her current position and starting her company, the benefits of "speaking legalese" as well as some cautionary tales and lessons learned. And before you jump to any conclusions, if you think that a discussion of legal covenants in credit might be boring, think again.

We are delighted to welcome Greg Malpass, founder of Traction on Demand, to the podcast studio, with host, Maria Pacella, managing partner of Pender Ventures. With Traction on Demand having been acquired by SalesForce in 2022, Greg can reflect on the journey to build and sell Traction, creating a "best place to work in Canada" culture, his proudest moments and his new venture.

Welcome to Part Three of this six-part series on investing in stressed and distressed debt in which Parul Garg and Geoff Castle cover the complexities of stressed and distressed credit investing, the risks and rewards, the current opportunity and their history and experience in this area. Highlights  Capital priority for credit investors—a key advantage over equity investors.  What it really takes to be a great distressed credit investor.  Why distressed credit is an all-weather investing strategy.  Ideal asset allocation to distressed credit in a balanced portfolio for enhanced long-term returns.  

In this series, Parul and Geoff will cover the complexities of stressed and distressed credit investing, the risks and rewards, the current opportunity and their history and experience in this area.  In Part Two of this six-part series on investing in stressed and distressed debt, Geoff and Parul continue the conversation. They cover:  The opportunity set they are seeing and cyclicality.  Overvalued and undervalued sectors.  Where investing ideas come from.  The Four Ps: Pre-investment, Purchase, Pro-active credit management, Position exit.  The Team's 13-Point Credit Checklist. 

Introducing a new six-part series on investing in distressed debt. Parul Garg and Geoff Castle have been investing in this part of credit markets since 2015 and see an opportunity emerging. The cycle created by the transition in monetary policy and the squeeze from higher interest rates now favours stressed and distressed credit investing. In this series, Parul and Geoff will cover the complexity of this investment niche, the risks and rewards, the current opportunity and their history and experience in this area. In Part One they tackle: A road-tested investment strategy spins out from the Pender Corporate Bond Fund. How the team looks beyond just the balance sheet to determine true value and calculate the margin of safety. The stressed debt cascade and how to separate the signal from the noise.  A lesser-known secret on timing and investing in credit markets.

Subtitle: Actionable insights from a sea of economic and market data.  Geoff and Callum reflect on 2022 and look ahead to 2023. Geoff and Callum revisit their prior conversation and discuss how their understanding of the market has evolved over the year and what 2023 may bring. As is tradition, Geoff and Callum also do a deep dive on a variety of topics with a focus on recession, the US dollar, precious metals and more. The podcast ends with a recommendation from Callum and his thoughts on ChatGPT. 

In this episode of Profiles in Credit, Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of Pender Corporate Bond Fund, reconnects with Dave Thomas, Principal and Co-Head of Training at The Marquee Group, one of Canada's leading training organizations for financial analysts and investment bankers. Former classmates at Ivey Business School, Geoff and Dave discuss the art and science of financial modelling, why modelling is the most important shortcut to finding value, and where a financial model might find value today.

In this special episode David Barr, CEO and Portfolio Manager is joined by Felix Narhi, Pender's Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures and Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager. Together they celebrate episode 100 by looking back on the journey that has brought Pender to where it stands today. The group discusses the Pender way of doing things, growing the team and how processes and the business have evolved over the years. They also look back at some of their favorite moments from featured guests in our podcasts to major milestones for the firm. The podcast ends with a message from Dave to our listeners and the team.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Winnie Cisar, Global Head of Strategy at CreditSights Inc. Together they discuss Winnie's background, her foray into investment banking and the series of career steps that led her to CreditSights, especially her many experiences at Wells Fargo.  Winnie looks back on her time as a strategist during the pandemic and the decision-making process that led to some memorable calls. Geoff and Winnie also discuss Investment Grade and High Yield bonds, with some examples drawn from past and present experiences. The podcast ends with a book recommendation from Winnie.

In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures chats with Jill Earthy, CEO of InBC and Leah Nguyen, CIO of InBC. Jill and Leah discuss their career journeys, their entry into venture capital and the experiences that have inspired them to keep pushing boundaries. Leah and Jill also share life lessons for current and future women entrepreneurs and discuss missed opportunities as well as the mistakes they have made along the way. Other topics of interest center around DEI, sustainable development and the opportunities and challenges Leah and Jill see for BC when it comes to investing in Canadian companies. The podcast ends with book recommendations from Leah and Jill.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Stan Manoukian, founder of Independent Credit Research LLC. Together they discuss Stan's background, his experiences with distressed debt and the motivation that led him to start his own firm. Stan also discusses in depth the lessons he has learned throughout his career and how he applies them to distressed debt investing. Finally, Stan shares his perspectives on a variety of topics from credit cycles, as they relate to distressed credit investing and the opportunity with reorg equities. 

In this episode Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures chats with Wils Theagene, Senior Director Private Equity CDPQ - Equity 25^3 Fund. Kenndal and Wils talk about diversity within venture capital and the private asset class, discuss how EQ25^3 is leveraging diversity as a vector of development and expansion, the social issues surrounding diversity and the challenges that underrepresented entrepreneurs face when seeking funding or access to resources. Kenndal and Wils also discuss ESG in depth and how CDPQ has become a leader in this domain, and Wils offers his advice and opinions on how companies can do a better job when it comes to diversifying and empowering their EDI committees to make meaningful impacts.

In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Mark Longo, founder, and Managing Partner of Osler's Vancouver office. They look back at 2021 and discuss a variety of topics from talking about the M&A momentum, record IPO numbers, valuations, secondaries, and the factors responsible for record setting deals and compare 2021 to previous years. Mark also provides some detailed insight into founders turning into investors after successful exits, the current IPO trend, foreign investments, and how current and future entrepreneurs can go about raising money and what they should have ready in their tool kit. The podcast ends with a book question.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, picks up his conversation with Callum Thomas, founder and head of research of Topdown Charts. They revisit Callum's predictions from March 2021 to see what went right and what came out as a surprise. They also talk in depth about inflation, the impact of COVID on a variety of sectors, the sudden shift in the Chinese real estate market and finally Callum provides some insight into where he thinks the market is headed in 2022. Callum also provides his outlook and thoughts for a post pandemic world. The podcast ends with a data series that Callum recommends listeners follow.

In this episode Tony Rautava, Associate, Pender Ventures is joined by David Barr, Pender's CEO and Portfolio Manager, Brian Claire, former CEO of One45 and Derek Hemmes, Founder and Board Member of One45. Together they take a stroll down memory lane and talk about the early days of One45, the idea that launched the company, when they knew they had product market fit, the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned as they build the company for not just one but three acquisitions. Listen out for Brian's recruitment and promotion stories!

In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund. Together they will introduce the Fund and dive into the investing strategies behind the Fund, the opportunities that Amar sees on the horizon and the overall Fund positioning. They also explore the risk management and return strategies for the Fund, in particular Pender's unique expertise and track record in identifying and analyzing M&A catalysts. Amar closes the podcast with a book recommendation.

In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Justin Jacobsen, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Together they discuss Justin's background in investing, his shift from equity to credit and introduce the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Geoff and Justin dive into the investing strategies behind the Fund, the opportunities that Justin sees on the horizon and the current market environment. They also explore the details of some of the external variables the Fund may be subjected to and talk about the risk management and return strategy for the Fund. The podcast ends with two book recommendations from Justin.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Stephen Foerster, Professor of Finance at Western University's Ivey School of Business. They discuss Stephen's thoughts on a variety of topics as laid out in latest book, In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio. The book features contributions from a star-studded cast of luminaries who have shaped the investing industry, including six Nobel laureates. Geoff and Stephen dive into detail on the many themes in the book.

In this episode Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures chats with Carlo Perez, Founder and CEO of Swift Medical Inc. Kenndal and Carlo talk about the series of decisions and choices that led Carlo down the path of entrepreneurship and the eureka moment that led him to launch Swift Medical. Carlo also provides some background on his upbringing and how his proclivity for programming and engineering combined with many of his family being in the medical profession gave him an edge. They also discuss the medical challenges Swift is tackling, the challenges of building the business, how entrepreneurship is a constant learning process and the opportunity that lies ahead of the company.

In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Stephanie Andrew, founding partner of Women's Equity Lab (WEL). They discuss Stephanie's background, the history behind the formation of WEL, the success it has achieved so far and the direction it is headed in. They also talk diversity issues, the benefits of having women in leadership roles and the quantifiable difference it has made in the way WEL is investing in women. Stephanie also provides some insight into the success it has achieved with its process and how it is inspiring more women to create chapters in different countries.

In this episode Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures chats with Andrew Mosawi, President of iATS Payments. Kenndal and Andrew discuss how he pivoted from being a scuba diving instructor to the world of payments. They talk about the challenges that Andrew saw in the payments industry, current innovations and where Andrew thinks the payment industry will go next. They also talk about crypto, the future of money and why Andrew believes giving consumers a choice when it comes to payments is important.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with James Grant, editor of the iconic Wall Street newsletter, Grants Interest Rate Observer. They discuss James' early years in Long Island, his start in journalism at the Baltimore Sun, his tenure at Barron's, where he first gained national recognition and how his interest in credit markets and capital markets formulated there. In particular they talk about the three big anniversaries rolling around for the American economy in 2021, as well as where James sees the market heading in the next decade.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Stephen Poloz, former Governor of the Bank of Canada. They discuss Stephen's formative years, his interest in economics, his tenure as governor and the challenging events he led the Canadian economy through. They also discuss Stephen's thought process, his views on emerging trends and what he thinks will change in the next decade.

In this episode David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager is joined by Tobias Carlisle, founder of The Acquirer's Multiple and Acquirers Funds. They discuss Tobias' background in investing, the memorable guests he has had on his podcasts, cryptocurrency, value traps, small cap stocks, social media and what defines a successful investor. They also look back at how investing has changed over the years and what keeps them moving forward during tough times.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Dylan Grice, Co-founder of Calderwood Capital. They discuss Dylan's background in finance, his transition from sell side to buy side and his approach to investing, Dylan's new company Calderwood Capital and his views on a number of areas of credit markets.

In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures. They discuss their private equity approach to public markets, and in particular, how this approach relates to Pender Growth Fund. They also discuss Kenndal's career path from public small cap to venture capital; mergers and acquisitions; how they analyze a business both from the public and the private side and their views on Canadian companies to going public.

In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Callum Thomas, founder and head of research of Topdown Charts. They discuss Callum's background and early career, the path to launching Topdown Charts and what it offers, Callum's approach to credit cycles and their perspective on potential interest rates over the next few years as we enter the recovery.

In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Jacqueline Ovens, Alison Nankivell and Heather Conradi. Gathered to mark International Women's Day, the guests discuss how they invest in women fund managers and entrepreneurs, how gender diversity plays a role in returns, how they measure diversity within their organizations and how we need to continue to close the gender gap in the investing world.

In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Andrew Wilkinson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tiny Capital. They discuss Andrew's early entrepreneurial background and his transition to investor, his experience in the tech sector, value investing and taking his company, WeCommerce, from private to public.