One aspect of my work that I love is interviewing interesting people. On June 4th, 2009 I had the pleasure of speaking with David J. Christensen, the CEO of ASA Limited [ASA: 65.44, -1.94 (-2.88%)], a closed-end, non-diversified investment company registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company was organized in Bermuda and is the successor to a closed-end investment company of the same name organized in the Republic of South Africa in 1958.

The Company provides investors a vehicle to invest in a portfolio consisting primarily of the stocks of companies engaged in the exploration, mining or processing of gold, silver, platinum, diamonds or other precious minerals. It may also invest in gold, silver and platinum bullion or securities that seek to replicate the price movement of gold, silver or platinum bullion.

To coax you to read this article carefully, I’m going to reward

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Chairman John Roberts, an Executive Director of Macquarie, has been the Global Head of Macquarie Capital Funds since August 2003. Joining the company in 1991, he is both Joint Head of the Macquarie Capital Advisers division and directly responsible for the Macquarie Capital Funds group. In addition to Macquarie, Mr. Roberts is a director of a number of listed and unlisted entities around the world that manage infrastructure investments.

Alternate Chairman Stephen Mentzines is an Executive Director of Macquarie and Head of Macquarie Capital Funds operations in North America. Prior to heading the North American operations, Mr. Mentzines was Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Macquarie Capital Funds. His responsibilities included new fund development, capital raisings and management, asset management, operations, finance, legal, compliance, tax, structuring, investor relations, communications and public affairs activities.

Director Norman Brown is currently a Member and Senior Managing Director of Brock Capital Group LLC. Prior to that,

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Business New Europe Jason Corcoran in Moscow September 25, 2008The experience of enduring Russia's last financial crisis in 1998 was burned into the psyche of Stephen Jennings when he opted on September 22 to sell half of his investment bank Renaissance Capital to billionaire oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov. Forsaking the bank's treasured independence was a tough call for its chief executive, but better than facing the prospect of teetering towards extinction as it did in 1998 when the Russian government's default reduced Renaissance to a shell and forced Jennings to slash the headcount to 190 staff, from 650. "We have a large shareholder base, a great team in place and 1,500 employees in the bank. We could have run the gauntlet and I think we would have made it, but we didn't know what was ...

Financial News OnlineJason Corcoran in Moscow22 September 2008 Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has given up its much vaunted independence after selling a 50% stake to billionaire client Mikhail Prokhorov for $500m (€342m) amid the worst market falls in Moscow since the 1998 financial crisis.Renaissance and the Onexim investment vehicle owned by Prokhorov, who made his money from metals and banking, will buy new equity amounting to 50% of the brokerage for $500m, with the old shareholders retaining a one-share voting majority.The deal follows a week when market turmoil drove domestic indices down by 25% in just three days and forced another brokerage KIT Finance to agree to sell a controlling stake Leader Asset Management, the pension fund manager of energy giant Gazprom.A Moscow spokesman for Renaissance said the deal had been in the pipeline for ...