Soul Patts chief executive Todd Barlow is about to have $1.5 billion burning a hole in his pocket.It’s a bit of a problem – Australia’s economy is slowing, the ASX 100 is trading richly at 19 times forecast profit, the company’s well-worn coal-financing patch has opened up to other investors, Soul Patts has a 123-year dividend record to maintain, and that $1.5 billion has got to go to work somewhere for shareholders’ sake.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles