Swimming 3.8 kilometres, cycling 180 kilometres and running a marathon. Tim Soetens (photo) of Allianz Global Investors participates in triathlons alongside his position as head of Benelux business development and wants to finish within 10 hours for the first time. He was speaking one day before his next race in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
“I am looking forward to tomorrow. The alarm goes off at four o’clock and at half past six I’m at the start. Everything will have to go my way to finish within ten hours, but I have trained hard for this. It has to happen here in Tallinn. During my eleventh full triathlon.
Ten hours is a magical time for an amateur triathlete and to achieve this in my forties requires dedication and discipline. It requires a lot of investment. That is also what drives me; I think it is cool to be able to achieve something that is not obvious by persistence and perseverance. I often get up at 5.30 in the morning, I train even when it rains. It is all part of the game.
Apart from myself, it demands a lot from my home front and also from an employer. My wife is also very sporty, so she understands. That’s why I can leave home with a good feeling to train or compete. Besides, it is fun to be sporty together. And where Allianz Global Investors asks flexibility from me when it is busy, that is also the case the other way round. If I want to train during working hours, then that is possible. And whether I am working at home in Den Bosch or here in a hotel room in Estonia, that makes no difference to them.
Competition plan
I started doing triathlons six years ago, but two years ago I set the goal to finish under 10 hours and started training more seriously. On average I train fifteen hours a week, more than two hours a day, and partly with a professional trainer. My trainer’s plan takes into account my physical condition and races and ensures that I am at the start as optimally as possible. My race plan and nutrition plan are made based on experience, knowledge and calm, without emotion. There is sometimes the temptation to deviate from that plan during a race, because I am enthusiastic or because something is disappointing. Nevertheless, it is important to stick to the plan that was devised beforehand without any emotions.
It is the same with investing. Most investment processes are designed to achieve a good result in the long term. Although such a process must of course be regularly reviewed, it is important not to panic when the investment results are disappointing. Short-term results are random for an investment process that focuses on long-term results.
Another thing that is very important in my work is planning. I combine roadshows with fund managers and events with client visits, where I have to take many things into account. The same goes for a triathlon, especially if you are competing. Are your cycling shoes in your bag, have you thought out your diet? Too many calories will give you stomach cramps, too few will make you hungry. You can’t forget a small thing, because then you can forget about finishing. You have to have an eye for detail as a triathlete, and I think that is something that I manage well. That way you reduce the amount of stress before a race.”
Impact investing
“I have worked at Allianz Global Investors for over seven years. Until five years ago I thought our industry was one of the blue suit with white shirt and red tie. There was less room for the person behind the suit. In recent years, this seems to have changed. I try to actively use my personal passion, sport, in communication and conversations. In the beginning, I found this exciting, but fortunately it has led to some nice conversations.
On LinkedIn, but also when I talk to people face to face, I find it a challenge to make the link between sport and investment very clear. For example when I talk about our impact funds, like the Allianz Sustainable Health Evolution fund. That fund invests in companies which contribute to a healthy life. I like to refer to my own experience in sports.”
Whole family on the sidelines
“My most precious sports memory is the 2019 Almere Triathlon with a large delegation of supporters, consisting of friends and family. What makes this race special is that it was the last one in which my now-deceased father, always a loyal supporter, was present.
Tomorrow, too, halfway through the marathon - the last part of the race - I will probably think again: this is the last time, I’ll never do it again. At the same time, I know that after a few days of recovery, I will be looking forward to the next one. And that is in five weeks, in Almere.
This article is part of the Fondsnieuws summer series: sports and investing, in which former top athletes and current fanatics draw parallels between sports and the investment industry. This is the second article. In the coming weeks, Michael Vakalopoulos of Pimco, among others, will follow. Earlier, Emiel van den Heiligenberg of LGIM talked about his rowing career.