1
00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,360
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg Penel podcast. I'm Paul Sweene. You,

2
00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,680
Speaker 1: along with my co host Lisa Brahma wits each day

3
00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:10,240
Speaker 1: we bring you the most noteworthy and useful interviews for

4
00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,520
Speaker 1: you and your money, whether at the grocery store or

5
00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,480
Speaker 1: the trading floor. Find a Bloomberg Penl podcast on Apple

6
00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,960
Speaker 1: podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as

7
00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,920
Speaker 1: at Bloomberg dot com. Well, we just heard President Trump

8
00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,880
Speaker 1: give his prepared remarks to the United Nations. UM to

9
00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,400
Speaker 1: get the latest on kind of some feedback on kind

10
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:31,800
Speaker 1: of what we heard from President Trump's comments, we welcome

11
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,920
Speaker 1: Silia moson u S, Treasury reporter for Bloomberg News, joins

12
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,279
Speaker 1: us on the phone from Washington, d C. Selia, thanks

13
00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,159
Speaker 1: so much for joining us. What were your initial thoughts

14
00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,960
Speaker 1: of President Trump's speech before the United Nations. Well, he

15
00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,200
Speaker 1: talked a lot about giving a anti globalist message there.

16
00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,000
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what we heard. We talked. We heard

17
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,080
Speaker 1: about America's unrivaled military might. We heard him talk about

18
00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,320
Speaker 1: not accepting a bad deal with China, that globalism has

19
00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,040
Speaker 1: caused past leaders to ignore their national interests, and that

20
00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,760
Speaker 1: every country has a right to defend their borders and

21
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,600
Speaker 1: that anyone who reaches the US will be turned away.

22
00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,560
Speaker 1: So it was a little bit of a divisive message

23
00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:19,920
Speaker 1: to a group of leaders who are trying to work multilaterally.

24
00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,000
Speaker 1: I think that it would be important to talk about

25
00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,520
Speaker 1: the delivery a little bit, because you're saying that there

26
00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,240
Speaker 1: was a divisive message needed to talk about abortion, and

27
00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,000
Speaker 1: he talked about a lot of things. Um, But I'm

28
00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,119
Speaker 1: just wondering what you thought about his delivery. I mean, look,

29
00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:39,960
Speaker 1: it went on for longer than it was supposed to

30
00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,920
Speaker 1: as a lot of u N speeches do. Um. It

31
00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,720
Speaker 1: was a little bit stilted. He was reading from a teleprompter,

32
00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,080
Speaker 1: and the beginning it was very spirited, talking about China

33
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,720
Speaker 1: and talking about you know, sort of globalism and what

34
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,840
Speaker 1: it's done. But it did sort of towards the end, Um,

35
00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:58,960
Speaker 1: whether he got tired. You know, this is not his

36
00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,200
Speaker 1: uh where he naturally tends to um, you know, really

37
00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,880
Speaker 1: grab people's attention, and these prepared teleprompter speeches. He's a

38
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,240
Speaker 1: little bit more passionate when he's speaking off the cuff

39
00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,200
Speaker 1: and slea just also, he kind of spent a fair

40
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,440
Speaker 1: amount of time on our run kind of making maintaining

41
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:22,320
Speaker 1: a very strong postures relates to US Iranian relations. It

42
00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,960
Speaker 1: was a strong posture, but the threat of war was

43
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,040
Speaker 1: absent from his remarks. He said he wants peace. He

44
00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,680
Speaker 1: does not want war with anybody. So to me, it

45
00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,400
Speaker 1: did signal that the door to peace is still open.

46
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,520
Speaker 1: He said, the fresh sanctions will not be easy unless

47
00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:43,120
Speaker 1: they change behavior. Rather than saying, you know, we're gonna um,

48
00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,760
Speaker 1: you know, lead more into this. Salahmos and thank you

49
00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,480
Speaker 1: so much for being with us. Slams is Bloomberg News

50
00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,200
Speaker 1: US Treasury reporter joining us from Washington, d C. On

51
00:02:54,240 --> 00:03:12,519
Speaker 1: the phone following the U N addressed, it is a

52
00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,960
Speaker 1: climate week. We've seen the protests in New York City

53
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,280
Speaker 1: and world wide cities as people ramp up the pressure

54
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,919
Speaker 1: to fight some of the effects of some of the

55
00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,919
Speaker 1: changes that we've been observing. Here in the studio is

56
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,000
Speaker 1: Joey berg Sti, his chief executive officer of Seventh Generation,

57
00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,400
Speaker 1: normally headquartered in Burlington, Vermont, but here with us in

58
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 1: our Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studios in part for these climate

59
00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,640
Speaker 1: talks that have been going on. So can you give

60
00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,080
Speaker 1: us a sense of what you've been doing this week? Yeah, sure.

61
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,760
Speaker 1: Uh well, first of all, thanks for having me on.

62
00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,720
Speaker 1: We kicked off Climate Week probably about a month ago

63
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,600
Speaker 1: when we decided that we really needed to help lift

64
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,119
Speaker 1: up the voices that are are all around the need

65
00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,600
Speaker 1: to take urgent and immediate action UM, and decided that

66
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,880
Speaker 1: we would not only close down our offices for the

67
00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,640
Speaker 1: climate strike that was on last Friday, the Global Climate Strike,

68
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,520
Speaker 1: and participate in that, but actually donate a whole week

69
00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,480
Speaker 1: of our national television advertising time to three FT org

70
00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,040
Speaker 1: so that they could really amplify the voices of the

71
00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,960
Speaker 1: youth movement, which is absolutely unbelievable the amount of momentum

72
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,240
Speaker 1: they've been able to create around that. So we want

73
00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,120
Speaker 1: to amplify the voice around the need to change UM.

74
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,240
Speaker 1: I spent the day yesterday uh at with the U

75
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,800
Speaker 1: N Global Compact. We were honored along with eighty six

76
00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,240
Speaker 1: other companies that have so far taken a or made

77
00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,200
Speaker 1: a real commitment to take the actions needed to address

78
00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,800
Speaker 1: the need to limit climate change to one point five

79
00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,279
Speaker 1: percent by and we were so proud to be part

80
00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,400
Speaker 1: of that group. UM. But even more importantly, I was

81
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,800
Speaker 1: so impressed with the fact that these companies together represent

82
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,960
Speaker 1: two point three trillion dollars worth of sales. So this

83
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,400
Speaker 1: is not a group of small companies that are raising

84
00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,320
Speaker 1: their voices like you might expect. There's a real tipping point,

85
00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,160
Speaker 1: and we really want to to continue to help and

86
00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,159
Speaker 1: see this movement tip and become real and see the

87
00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,680
Speaker 1: same consensus amongst business and amongst policy leaders that we're

88
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,080
Speaker 1: seeing in the world amongst climate scientists for the need

89
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,919
Speaker 1: to to to really address climate change. So it's seventh generation.

90
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,560
Speaker 1: Just give us a sense of kind of the products

91
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,000
Speaker 1: you have and kind of how consumers actually interact with them. Sure,

92
00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: so we make a whole range of eco friendly home

93
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,640
Speaker 1: and personal care products. I always say that we do

94
00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,040
Speaker 1: much more than just make these products. We're really trying

95
00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,400
Speaker 1: to change the way the business is done. So as

96
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,440
Speaker 1: a Proud B corporation, we're committed to the triple bottom

97
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,160
Speaker 1: line of people, planets and profits UM. And we take

98
00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,080
Speaker 1: our our philosophy that inspired our name from the great

99
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,400
Speaker 1: law of the Iroquois that in our every deliberation we

100
00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,440
Speaker 1: must take into account the impact of our decisions on

101
00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:49,919
Speaker 1: the next seven generations UM into the way that we

102
00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,440
Speaker 1: create our products. And so we create products that are

103
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,680
Speaker 1: made from plant based ingredients, and not patrolling based ingredients.

104
00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,279
Speaker 1: We ensure that all of our packaging is recite cool,

105
00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,760
Speaker 1: not just recyclable, but actually made from recycled content. UM.

106
00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,040
Speaker 1: So we think really deeply about every single thing that

107
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,400
Speaker 1: we make. And you know, this company was founded over

108
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,760
Speaker 1: thirty years ago around these principles and have been proudly

109
00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,600
Speaker 1: trying to address the needs of the world we find

110
00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,039
Speaker 1: ourselves in today. UM. And so everything we designed is

111
00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:23,440
Speaker 1: really designed thinking about the world that's around us and

112
00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,720
Speaker 1: how we can lower the our impact on the world

113
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,960
Speaker 1: around us. And have you seen sales increase at a

114
00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,200
Speaker 1: rapid pace? Yeah, the business is doing incredibly well, so

115
00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,360
Speaker 1: the market's responding. We've been growing really well. We're UM

116
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,880
Speaker 1: in the midst right now of a global expansion, which

117
00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,120
Speaker 1: is incredibly exciting. Have you seen a lot of competitors

118
00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,159
Speaker 1: try to come in with a similar message that could

119
00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,200
Speaker 1: potentially be both a threat to your brand, but I'll

120
00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,839
Speaker 1: be it perhaps encouraging on the other side of things. Yeah,

121
00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,400
Speaker 1: I would say gratefully. We're seeing a lot of competition

122
00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,400
Speaker 1: in the markets that we compete in, which is which

123
00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,119
Speaker 1: is really exciting. UM. We were alone for a long time.

124
00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,240
Speaker 1: More and more brands are coming in. They are more

125
00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,320
Speaker 1: and more the largest players in the markets are introducing

126
00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,360
Speaker 1: more eco friendly versions of the major brands, and for sure,

127
00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,720
Speaker 1: that creates more competition, but it also pushes us to

128
00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,640
Speaker 1: continue to innovate and to identify how can we continue

129
00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,440
Speaker 1: to lead forward and drive our sustainability mission more and

130
00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,880
Speaker 1: more aggressively over time. How tough is it for you

131
00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:27,320
Speaker 1: guys to get shelf space? UM? Are are the supermarkets

132
00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,720
Speaker 1: and other retailers. Are they open to your product that

133
00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,560
Speaker 1: they recognize that it's a growth area? Or you, just

134
00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,480
Speaker 1: like everybody else, you've gotta fight to the nail for

135
00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,120
Speaker 1: self space. Like everybody else, we fight, we fight for

136
00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,320
Speaker 1: the space, but we do it through real partnership, and

137
00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,520
Speaker 1: we've built great partnerships with a number of the different

138
00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,960
Speaker 1: retailers around the country UH and really helping them to

139
00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,480
Speaker 1: develop the quote unquote natural business on their store shelves.

140
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,520
Speaker 1: They recognize increasing demand and actually, if you look at

141
00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,280
Speaker 1: the categories we compete in, the vast majority of the

142
00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:59,040
Speaker 1: growth in those categories is coming from brands like seventh Generation.

143
00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,400
Speaker 1: What's the next innovation in UH? In your business? The

144
00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:05,520
Speaker 1: one I'm the most excited about right now is we

145
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,880
Speaker 1: we just launched a ultra concentrated laundry detergent UM. We

146
00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,600
Speaker 1: call it the Easy Dose Laundry because it's super convenient.

147
00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,720
Speaker 1: The same number of doses, sixty six doses, but in

148
00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:17,920
Speaker 1: a twenty three ounce bottle instead of a big hundred

149
00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:25,000
Speaker 1: ounce bottle. So it is h lighter, less plastic, f

150
00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,000
Speaker 1: less water, so you're not shipping as much UM as

151
00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,440
Speaker 1: much around the around the continent UM and for consumers

152
00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,160
Speaker 1: that has this automatic dosing future that makes it super

153
00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,760
Speaker 1: easy to do your laundry. Jerry Burstein, thanks so much

154
00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,000
Speaker 1: for joining us. Jerry Burstein is CEO of Seventh Generation

155
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,720
Speaker 1: based in Burlington, VERMP, joining us here on our Bloomberg

156
00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,360
Speaker 1: Interact their broker studio talking to us about environmentally safe

157
00:08:48,520 --> 00:09:08,880
Speaker 1: products and sustainability. Well. In an unprecedented and sweeping rebuke

158
00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,000
Speaker 1: to the Premier at the Supreme Court's eleven judges found

159
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,160
Speaker 1: that bars Johnson had given Queen Elizabeth the second called

160
00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,000
Speaker 1: unlawful advice to suspend the legislator. To get the latest

161
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,880
Speaker 1: on this every evolving story returned to Edward Evans, European

162
00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,880
Speaker 1: calumnist for Bloomberg News. He is in our London studio,

163
00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,080
Speaker 1: So Edward, just give our American audience at least a

164
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,120
Speaker 1: sense of how important and how unprecedented, Uh, this move

165
00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,560
Speaker 1: is by the Supreme Court of the UK. Well, you

166
00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:37,920
Speaker 1: have to understand the Supreme Court in the UK is

167
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,560
Speaker 1: very different from the Supreme Court in the US. The

168
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,160
Speaker 1: judges here are far more reluctant to get involved in

169
00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,520
Speaker 1: overtly political questions and have much more limited powers in

170
00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,079
Speaker 1: what they can do. So ready to come out today

171
00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,959
Speaker 1: as they have done and say that Johnson's prorogation of

172
00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:58,679
Speaker 1: Parliament was illegal and that it cannot stand is truly unprecedented.

173
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,480
Speaker 1: This is uh, effectively a legal hand grenade thrown very

174
00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:06,640
Speaker 1: directly at Boris Johnson. And he has come out fighting.

175
00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,760
Speaker 1: He's vowed to go on and force the UK out

176
00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,400
Speaker 1: of the European Union with or without a deal next month.

177
00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:14,840
Speaker 1: And there are note and he has resisted calls so

178
00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:19,080
Speaker 1: far to resign. So the idea of him resigning, the

179
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,800
Speaker 1: argument that Boris Johnson cannot remain as Prime Minister after

180
00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,360
Speaker 1: this ruling. Can you explain the logic there? But two things.

181
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,280
Speaker 1: It is unprecedented for a prime minister's advice to the

182
00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:35,200
Speaker 1: Queen to be ruled illegal, effectively misleading the monarch in

183
00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,560
Speaker 1: the British system is about as bad as it gets

184
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,880
Speaker 1: for a prime minister, but more practically, without the right

185
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,760
Speaker 1: paroe Parliament, he really has no control over the legislature.

186
00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:48,040
Speaker 1: He doesn't command a majority, he doesn't command control over

187
00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,440
Speaker 1: the parliamentary timetable, and he can't now even stop Parliament

188
00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,920
Speaker 1: from the city. This is a government in office but

189
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,960
Speaker 1: not in power. Now that his escape route would normally

190
00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,000
Speaker 1: be to call an election, but since the fixed turn

191
00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,400
Speaker 1: Parliament's Act of eleven, he can't do that without the

192
00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,800
Speaker 1: support of at least two thirds of MPs, and so

193
00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:09,280
Speaker 1: far they've said no. So Edward, it appears that Boris

194
00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,320
Speaker 1: Janson is going to fly back to London from New

195
00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,360
Speaker 1: York this evening, perhaps cutting his trip a little bit,

196
00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,800
Speaker 1: sure to deal with this issue when he gets to

197
00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:22,079
Speaker 1: Parliament and tomorrow what happens. Parliament will resume sitting tomorrow morning.

198
00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,640
Speaker 1: There won't be Prime Minister's question time as there usually

199
00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,200
Speaker 1: is on a Wednesday, but he can expect to face

200
00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:31,000
Speaker 1: urgent questions for lawmakers from lawmakers now over what he

201
00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,840
Speaker 1: does for over Brexit. You may also see lawmakers trying

202
00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,360
Speaker 1: to put down their own measures to stop a no

203
00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:42,200
Speaker 1: deal brexit. Now, Boris Johnson has of course got a

204
00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,319
Speaker 1: site problem in that lawmakers have stopped him essentially legally

205
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,920
Speaker 1: from leaving the European Union on October thirty one without

206
00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,080
Speaker 1: a deal. If that's the situation, he'll be forced to

207
00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,160
Speaker 1: seek an extension. They're great fear was that by using

208
00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,200
Speaker 1: prorogation Boris Johnson would try and stop them from from

209
00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,480
Speaker 1: from stopping him essentially from lead to in just that

210
00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:03,280
Speaker 1: leaving without a deal. Now that Parliament is back, you

211
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,720
Speaker 1: can expect them to take a very close interest in

212
00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,960
Speaker 1: what he's doing and take every legal trick in the

213
00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,760
Speaker 1: book to box him into a corner. Here, what kind

214
00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,280
Speaker 1: of support does Boris Johnson have within his own party?

215
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:17,880
Speaker 1: That's a very good question. And don't forget this is

216
00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,800
Speaker 1: a man who lost twenty one MPs after they voted

217
00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:24,400
Speaker 1: against him. He does not. He's forty short of odd

218
00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:27,199
Speaker 1: members short of a majority. This is somebody who is

219
00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,000
Speaker 1: commanding a minority government. That said, what you've seen under

220
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,360
Speaker 1: Boris Johnson is the Tory Party turn itself essentially into

221
00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:38,360
Speaker 1: a Brexit party, and with those supporters this appears to

222
00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,040
Speaker 1: be popular don't forget that. The whole narrative that he's

223
00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,560
Speaker 1: trying to set up is the is the establishment denying you,

224
00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,400
Speaker 1: the people, the democratic choice that you made in the referendum.

225
00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:52,600
Speaker 1: So you have this essentially Parliament versus people election. And

226
00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,440
Speaker 1: the point here is that this if you look at

227
00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,760
Speaker 1: where Boris Johnson is in the polls right now, he's ahead,

228
00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,120
Speaker 1: He's you know, corp Ammy Corbyn is trailing him in

229
00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,280
Speaker 1: the Posty's about i think three points below former Labor

230
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,440
Speaker 1: leader Michael Foote in which was Labor's worst defeat I

231
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,439
Speaker 1: think in the twentieth century. So that is that is

232
00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,920
Speaker 1: the political situation for Boris Edward. It's a you know,

233
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,400
Speaker 1: seems like bars Johnson has lost almost at every single

234
00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,600
Speaker 1: turn here, whether it's ruling from the courts or just

235
00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:25,120
Speaker 1: rebukes from Parliament, hasn't really had any material wins. Is

236
00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:29,760
Speaker 1: there a way for him out of this? An election

237
00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,839
Speaker 1: is the way out for him in the longer term. Ultimately,

238
00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,160
Speaker 1: with this, nothing changes until the parliamentary arithmetic changes, because

239
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,320
Speaker 1: it's Boris Johnson hasn't got control of the situation, but

240
00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,280
Speaker 1: he knows what he wants. Parliament has got control of

241
00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:46,959
Speaker 1: the situation. But doesn't know what it wants. It's opposed

242
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,040
Speaker 1: to leaving without a deal, but beyond that there's no agreement.

243
00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:53,199
Speaker 1: So to get out of to asstially resolve this situation,

244
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,840
Speaker 1: Johnson needs to get to an election or he needs

245
00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,400
Speaker 1: to get a deal, a deal agreed with other EU leaders.

246
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,040
Speaker 1: Now they've got no incentive to give him any kind

247
00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,760
Speaker 1: of concessions given that they can see Parliament is dead

248
00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,960
Speaker 1: opposed to Britain leaving without a deal. So it's again

249
00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:10,800
Speaker 1: it all comes down now, I think to an election,

250
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,760
Speaker 1: extension of the negotiations and then an election, and the

251
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,600
Speaker 1: pound is up, which just you know shows that where

252
00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,880
Speaker 1: where we're at this point. Edward Evans, thank you so

253
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,240
Speaker 1: much for being with us Edward Evans as European columnists

254
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,640
Speaker 1: and Brexit editor for Bloomberg News, joining us from our

255
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,520
Speaker 1: London studios, and it really is just you know, the

256
00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,360
Speaker 1: message deepens and again it seems like perhaps the read

257
00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,880
Speaker 1: through in markets is that this could move closer to

258
00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:42,240
Speaker 1: avoiding a no deal Brexit, because Boris Johnson seemed dead

259
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,040
Speaker 1: set on that, right. I mean, that's sort of the

260
00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,680
Speaker 1: I'm still holding out to the second referendum. I'm sticking

261
00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,080
Speaker 1: to my my guns there, but I don't think so

262
00:14:49,680 --> 00:15:07,480
Speaker 1: you keep you keep doing that mean well. An increasing

263
00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,160
Speaker 1: focus on the part of both regulators as well as

264
00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:15,480
Speaker 1: investment managers has been a shift from public to private markets,

265
00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,960
Speaker 1: where you have more companies waiting longer or perhaps never

266
00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,120
Speaker 1: going public, and private markets are growing at a much

267
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,880
Speaker 1: faster pace. The question being, and this is something SEC

268
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,920
Speaker 1: chair Jake Clayton has been looking into, how do you

269
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,040
Speaker 1: open up private markets to mom and pop investors and

270
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,240
Speaker 1: others who want to get a slice of American dynamism

271
00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:40,240
Speaker 1: at its ground floor? Joining us now, Kenwian uh ken Win,

272
00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:45,000
Speaker 1: chief executive officer and co founder of Republic in our

273
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,720
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studios here, Ken thank you so much

274
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,040
Speaker 1: for being with us. Can you just give us a

275
00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,720
Speaker 1: sense of how Republic fits into that sort of narrative

276
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,920
Speaker 1: A Lisa, thank you for having me. Republic is a

277
00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,640
Speaker 1: full stack investment platform focusing on private booty stage companies

278
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,800
Speaker 1: that are changing how we live and work in the future.

279
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,920
Speaker 1: So it used to be uh not lawful for a

280
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,560
Speaker 1: non millionaire to invest privately. The law changed about three

281
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:15,000
Speaker 1: years ago and we based on that changed launch Republic.

282
00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:18,440
Speaker 1: So just gives a sense of kind of how your

283
00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,040
Speaker 1: company has evolved, how many people use your platform, like

284
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,960
Speaker 1: how many investors are coming to saying hey, we're interested

285
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,080
Speaker 1: in the private market, and and and how do you

286
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:27,640
Speaker 1: source your deal flow? And just kind of how it

287
00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,640
Speaker 1: all plays out there. On the investors side, we've grown

288
00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,280
Speaker 1: to be about three and fifty thousand investors on the platform,

289
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,040
Speaker 1: and out of about ten thousand applications from company looking

290
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,960
Speaker 1: to raise, we've vetted and may offer us to about

291
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,600
Speaker 1: two hundred to launch and so far have successfully raised

292
00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:48,640
Speaker 1: for about a hundred and forty of them. And they

293
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:52,920
Speaker 1: ranged from very early stage companies to women founders building

294
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,600
Speaker 1: the next drone down to company that have already raised

295
00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,800
Speaker 1: venture capital but want to engage the consumer. They stakeholders,

296
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,800
Speaker 1: you know, the next uber and lift. The earliest investors

297
00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,119
Speaker 1: got to be the drivers that supported the company, and

298
00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,080
Speaker 1: currently that's not the case. So I hope that that

299
00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,480
Speaker 1: would change. How do you decide what is likely to

300
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,280
Speaker 1: be a successful company. We do have deep heritage to

301
00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,960
Speaker 1: the venture space. We came out of angel Lists, one

302
00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,679
Speaker 1: of the premier private fundraising platform, so we do apply

303
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,439
Speaker 1: eventual lens looking at domain expertise, looking at whether or

304
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,520
Speaker 1: not the founding team has the maturity, the awareness around

305
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,880
Speaker 1: corporate governance and the resilience to build to be able

306
00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,439
Speaker 1: that space to win what they aiming to do, and

307
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,080
Speaker 1: how related how relatable it is to the mainstream audience.

308
00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:44,520
Speaker 1: So what are some of the sectors or types of

309
00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,760
Speaker 1: companies that you've been funding recently When it comes to

310
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,600
Speaker 1: the crowd mainstream audience investing, I think it's both marketing

311
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,760
Speaker 1: and fundraising, so naturally it's more appealing to B to

312
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,160
Speaker 1: C companies that consumer folk is. But we have had

313
00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:05,040
Speaker 1: success raising over a million dollars for very early stage

314
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,439
Speaker 1: bt B companies as well. One concern, I mean, there

315
00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,160
Speaker 1: are a number of concerns, and opening up private markets

316
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,960
Speaker 1: are certainly the venture capital stage to mom and pop investors.

317
00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:17,920
Speaker 1: But one is liquidity, the idea that you can invest

318
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:19,720
Speaker 1: in something, but you can't take your money out. You

319
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,600
Speaker 1: gotta wait and pray that your investment is going to

320
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,960
Speaker 1: pay off. So you know, how do you sort of

321
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:30,520
Speaker 1: address that issue? For sure? The fact that private investing

322
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,280
Speaker 1: is illiquid and highly risky is something that you've got

323
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:37,080
Speaker 1: to make sure that the investing public is aware of.

324
00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,440
Speaker 1: But I view it Slay an asset class, meaning if

325
00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,400
Speaker 1: you're gonna put away some money that you don't need

326
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,679
Speaker 1: right away but may need it in twenty years or

327
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,639
Speaker 1: for your children. Private investing maybe a part you should

328
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,440
Speaker 1: consider well. But if you're investing, let's say in an

329
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,120
Speaker 1: equity is basically an equity infusion of these nascent companies,

330
00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,280
Speaker 1: you just have to wonder what's your cash out tie frame?

331
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,960
Speaker 1: I mean, is it just an I p O or

332
00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:03,800
Speaker 1: is it just that it gets big enough that you

333
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,600
Speaker 1: can how do you how do you monetize? It used

334
00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,840
Speaker 1: to be five to six years that he's unless and

335
00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,280
Speaker 1: into the communities, gets acquired or go I p O.

336
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:18,120
Speaker 1: But nowadays you are seeing secondary market being built equity

337
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,760
Speaker 1: date equities and equitate and Republic itself will have plans

338
00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,520
Speaker 1: for a secondary platform in the future. Is so that

339
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,200
Speaker 1: people will have, you know, more ways to to get

340
00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,199
Speaker 1: out to liquidate. Has been a year we've had some

341
00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:33,280
Speaker 1: very high profile I p o s, a lot of

342
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,880
Speaker 1: tech I p O s, Uber Lift and some others

343
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,240
Speaker 1: that haven't done well and kind of surprised the market

344
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,800
Speaker 1: with how poorly they've done. And now we're I guess

345
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:44,880
Speaker 1: the next in the line is we work and It's

346
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,200
Speaker 1: been very controversial because in part because of the valuation

347
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,639
Speaker 1: differentially we've seen between the private market forty seven billion

348
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,080
Speaker 1: dollars that soft Bank recently funded at and what appears

349
00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:57,000
Speaker 1: to be the range in the public market of tendive

350
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:01,800
Speaker 1: fifteen billion. Is that Does that concern you about maybe

351
00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:04,640
Speaker 1: the valuations in the private market world are just too

352
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,040
Speaker 1: frothy at this moment. In fact, point, I think it

353
00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,600
Speaker 1: highlights the value proposition of people being able to invest earlier.

354
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,159
Speaker 1: When you allow people to invest a hundred dollars fifty

355
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,800
Speaker 1: dollars in a company you know, one or two year

356
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:24,439
Speaker 1: out since inception, if and when the company succeeds, the

357
00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:26,879
Speaker 1: potential return can be a hundred acts or in some

358
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,480
Speaker 1: cases over a thousand acts. They may not and you

359
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,479
Speaker 1: may lose everything. But that ability to invest early up

360
00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:35,920
Speaker 1: until now most people are not even aware of it,

361
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,879
Speaker 1: And the fact that companies take longer, much longer to

362
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,040
Speaker 1: go I p O now means that much of the

363
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:48,200
Speaker 1: return the wealth the generation the wealth generation potential alreadio

364
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,360
Speaker 1: occurred during the private stage, meaning that those who invest

365
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:55,880
Speaker 1: after a company has gone IPO typically holds the detail

366
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,840
Speaker 1: end of the bat. So if there is let's say,

367
00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,680
Speaker 1: taking this sort of out to its logical conclusion. Here,

368
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:07,560
Speaker 1: if there is a robust secondary market created for private investments,

369
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,240
Speaker 1: and you have mom and pop investors that can get in,

370
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,399
Speaker 1: what's the difference between that private market and a public market.

371
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,439
Speaker 1: The difference would be that what we're aiming to do

372
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:22,760
Speaker 1: is to bring the private market public so that it

373
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,640
Speaker 1: resembles more of what the laws and the equosystem intended

374
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,160
Speaker 1: to be back in the sixties and seventies, back when

375
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,680
Speaker 1: company went I p O at fifty millions, a hundred millions,

376
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,359
Speaker 1: Google when I p O at a relatively low price,

377
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,640
Speaker 1: and then rise in with Amazon. But nowadays the private

378
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,439
Speaker 1: market is no longer accessible and the public market is

379
00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,720
Speaker 1: also not no longer attractive. So we're aiming to make

380
00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,440
Speaker 1: the public market or the private market public again. Can

381
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:54,240
Speaker 1: when thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate

382
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,760
Speaker 1: this very interesting. Ken Wins, the chief executive officer and

383
00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,840
Speaker 1: co founder of Republic during us here in our Bloomberg

384
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,159
Speaker 1: Interactive Broker Studio, which you know, again it just kind

385
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:05,879
Speaker 1: of brings up an issue which I think which can

386
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,120
Speaker 1: highlight it a little bit is some of the valuation

387
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,000
Speaker 1: questions and are now being brought up by some of

388
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,320
Speaker 1: these higher profile, bigger deals and can mention you know,

389
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:15,280
Speaker 1: a lot of these companies are staying private longer. Maybe

390
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,280
Speaker 1: some of that that upside is being uh is not

391
00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:20,960
Speaker 1: available for the public market. But this is so fascinating,

392
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,760
Speaker 1: right because this has been going on for a long time,

393
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,280
Speaker 1: and you've seen record amounts of money going into private

394
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,760
Speaker 1: adventure funds, and you just have to wonder at what

395
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:32,200
Speaker 1: point these markets are going to challenge some of the

396
00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,240
Speaker 1: sort of parameters of public markets saying they're not fitting

397
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,040
Speaker 1: the bill in some way, which is the reason why

398
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:39,879
Speaker 1: everyone's going to these other markets. I mean, there are

399
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,000
Speaker 1: a lot of really good questions here fasactally a lot

400
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,840
Speaker 1: of the sec to pay attention to. Thanks for listening

401
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,280
Speaker 1: to the Bloomberg P and L podcast. You can subscribe

402
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,120
Speaker 1: and listen to interviews at Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast

403
00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,680
Speaker 1: platform you prefer. Paul Sweeney, I'm on Twitter at pt Sweeney.

404
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,000
Speaker 1: I'm Lisa abram Woids. I'm on Twitter at Lisa A.

405
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 1: Bramwod's one before the podcast. You can always catch us

406
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:04,399
Speaker 1: worldwide on bloom A Radio. HM