As part of a series, AFI panelist Chris Wise, investment director at Gemmell Financial Services, describes his day-to-day running of a wealth management firm. What kind of clients do your look after?
"We have quite a nice mix of corporate clients at Gemmell, so areas such as institutional pension schemes, and we also have a strong private investor client base."
"This is quite rare for a wealth management firm to have such a wide client base and I think it is a powerful proposition."
How much money do you look after?
"We have a fund management portfolio of about £200m and a client base of around 500 clients. However, we probably have more than that if you break down our pension schemes."
What was the most challenging period in your financial career?
"One of the most challenging times was when I was at the accountancy firm RSM Tenon."
"One of my colleagues and I had to implement an investment process for a financial advisory firm of about 150 advisers."
"So it was a case of giving them a model of where to invest, what to look for in their investments and the most successful and efficient formulas for their investments. It was incredibly challenging, but luckily it did pay off."
What is the best investment decision you have made?
"About four or five years ago, during the height of the credit crunch, we moved out of a lot of our property holdings and bought M&G Optimal Income."
"Not just that, but we came out of all the pure bond funds we used to hold and started to look for fixed income managers with a much more flexible remit."
"It panned out very well for us and in hindsight it is probably the best investment decision I have made."
"It shows that it is not just a case of getting the asset allocation call right, but you also need to get the right fund management choice."
And the worst?
"Well you do try and keep these mistakes dim and distant in the back of your mind."
"I can’t think of one overall mistake, it is just trying to learn from certain situations."
"I suppose it would be investing in illiquid positions. Holdings such as property funds for example, especially in pre-credit crunch markets. I had invested in some more bespoke funds with monthly pricing and they were incredibly illiquid."
"So after the crunch I focused on more non-traditional asset classes that were more transparent and had daily pricing. So I didn’t look into areas where they could not deliver the income they had promised."
"Like most people, it is just learning from the mistakes of the credit crunch."
How often do you work from the office?
"I am in the office maybe two or three days a week. It depends on meetings with clients, either existing or potential."
"So my week is scheduled depending on meetings, so if I designate three days for meeting clients then I will have two days in the office and vice versa."
What career would you have chosen if you were not in wealth management?
"I would have been a professional footballer, definitely, preferably a striker. I would have been in the Michael Owen mould – a goal poacher."
"Actually, I am an Arsenal fan so probably more of an Ian Wright figure."