Global world order is shifting. The last four decades have seen a marked rise in the economic power of China, and a simultaneous weakening in the stability of liberal democracies the world over.
As investors, how should we be thinking about the geopolitical outlook—and what might be on the horizon?
In the lead-up to Brown Advisory's "Navigating Our World" conference in San Francisco, Meredith Shuey Etherington sat down with leading foreign policy expert Sir Robin Niblett for insights into current hot and cold conflicts and long-term geopolitical risks, and how they may shape the context for our investment decisions.
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Episode Introduction
Introduction coming soon.
Guest
Sir Robin Niblett
Distinguished Fellow, Chatham House
Sir Robin is a distinguished fellow at Chatham House after spending 15 years as its director and chief executive until 2022. He is also a distinguished fellow of the Asia Society Policy Institute and senior adviser to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC. He is also principal of Ledwell Advisory, a risk advisory company. From 2001-06, Robin was executive vice president at CSIS, the largest foreign policy think tank in Washington D.C. During his time there, he also served as director of the CSIS Europe programme and its Initiative for a Renewed Transatlantic Partnership. Robin is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Geopolitics and has served as chair and member of other WEF Councils since 2012. He is a member of the FCDO’s Expert Group and was a special adviser to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (2015-17). He was chairman of the experts group for the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales and chair of the British Academy’s steering committee for its Languages for Security Project (2013). From January 2010–May 2020, he was a non-executive director of Fidelity European Values Investment Trust. Robin is the author of numerous reports on British, European and US foreign policy and his commentary and analysis have appeared in the world’s leading journals and newspapers such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Times, and The Guardian. He is a regular commentator on Bloomberg and CNN International and a speaker at major international conferences. He has testified to committees of the UK House of Commons, US Senate, and House of Representatives, and regularly briefs the senior executives and boards of global companies, financial institutions, and private foundations. He received his BA in Modern Languages and MPhil and DPhil in International Relations from New College, Oxford.
Host
Meredith Shuey Etherington
Portfolio Manager and Head of the San Francisco Office, Brown Advisory
Open configuration options Meredith is a partner, portfolio manager and head of Brown Advisory’s San Francisco office. With more than 20 years of investment experience, Meredith works closely with individuals, families, and nonprofits to help them develop and implement thoughtful investment solutions that address often-complex financial circumstances. She is motivated by the opportunity to collaborate with clients to articulate, plan for, and realize highly personalized financial goals and to help clients thrive over the long term—incorporating philanthropic, estate, and tax planning objectives along with investment solutions. Prior to rejoining Brown Advisory in 2019, Meredith served as a senior investment advisor at Litman Gregory Asset Management, where she provided investment advice to families and nonprofits, and co-chaired the firm’s investment committee. She served as a portfolio manager at Brown Advisory in Baltimore before relocating to San Francisco in 2013. Earlier in her career, Meredith worked in the Private Wealth Management division at Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst.
Recommended reading and listening:
- The New Cold War: How the Contest Between the US and China Will Shape Our Century, Sir Robin Niblett, 2024
- China’s alignment with Putin is uneasy. But its rivalry with the US makes him too useful to abandon, Chatham House, May 17, 2024
- China’s Alternative Order and What America Should Learn from It, Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth Economy, Ph.D., May/June 2024
- Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense, Council on Foreign Relations, February 8, 2024
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