Lee Mawer hails from British Columbia, Canada. Armed with a background in political science, he soon discovered an interest in economics and money early on in his working life, and progressed naturally from advising family and friends on their investment options, to passing the Canadian Securities course examination and working at a bank in Canada where he sold financial products to customers.
Since coming to Japan, Mawer has been working as an independent financial adviser, with around 16 years at Pinnacle Wealth Management, one of the oldest Tokyo-based firms of independent financial advisers. Pinnacle, originally a UK-based company, has been through a number of name changes in its time, starting life as Ross Alexander, to Lamsdorff, before its current label. However, as Mawer points out, the premises and the basic staff composition have remained unchanged throughout this period.
Mawer currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Membership Relations Committee of the ACCJ.
photography by hiromi iguchi
Journal: You describe yourself as an “Independent Financial adviser” (IFA). Do I detect an emphasis on the “I”?
Lee Mawer: Yes. The thing about our type of company is that we are not tied to one particular broker. When I was working at another firm in the past, we were tied to their products only. And the same when I was working in the bank in Canada, I was tied to whatever funds the bank was offering.
In Tokyo, about a third to a half of the smaller advisers are tied in this way. Here at Pinnacle we’re free to choose the best product for the client.
Journal: So that’s one difference between working at a bank and working as an IFA?
Mawer: Yes, we have a huge range of products here. The other major difference is in evaluating the client. You have to gauge the client’s risk appetite, the paradigms of their thinking, and so on. For instance, clients may want to have a good return, but at the same time don’t want the risk entailed, so you have to be aware of this thinking.
You’ve got to be able to ask them questions like “How would you feel if you lost 5 percent, 10 percent, whatever, of your investment?” and tailor a strategy for them, depending on the answer. Over the years, I’ve learned to take clients’ concerns into serious consideration—it is their money, after all!
Journal: Do you need several meetings with clients before you can advise them properly?
Mawer: Certainly, it takes some time before I can feel comfortable advising them. More importantly, they should feel comfortable working with me. I think that’s the clear difference between a fund salesman and a financial adviser. The salesman just wants to shift funds with no regard to the client’s needs in order to make a profit. Just showing the client some funds isn’t really ethical to me. A value-oriented financial adviser should be looking at creating value for the client.
I had a client the other day (a lawyer) who had been disappointed by various financial advisers, and his expectations were very low when he walked in. He wanted answers to the question “Can you add value for me?” I could give him specific answers to some very hard questions, taking a holistic approach based on his current positions which would add value, and he was very happy in the end. Basically I want to help people, and add value.
