From his investment heroes and career highlights through to his dream dinner party guests and superpowers, Ben Hudson gives an insight into what it means to be a young wealth management professional. This article was originally published on Citywire.
Role and responsibilities: Assistant Investment Manager. Emerging Markets Collectives Committee representative. Stock Selection Committee. Ben is part of a team that manages +£250m of assets.
Years at JM Finn: 5
What first attracted you to the world of wealth management?
First and foremost, I was attracted by the potential to use my job to help people by enabling them to make smarter financial decisions and therefore, over time, be wealthier and more prosperous in life. Many people in the world lack a good financial education or are afraid to discuss the subject due to fear of embarrassment or shame – I want to be the person that people trust to discuss these matters and ultimately trust to manage their investments.
Who is your investment hero?
I have a lot of admiration for Mohnish Pabrai – the Indian self-made billionaire who learned, believed and accepted that a simple strategy could beat the market – clone the strategy of a man who had the best track record for decades: Warren Buffett. It is a simple, yet brilliant example of how you do not necessarily have to be original or contrarian to be successful, and what you can gain from learning from those with a history of outperformance.
What is the biggest issue facing this generation of wealth managers?
I think the greatest issue is intergenerational wealth inequality. A family’s wealth is typically held in the hands of the elderly, whilst the young are struggling to amass savings and often require family assistance in order to fund housing. Planning to pass wealth through the generations is key to securing a family’s future – yet many fail to do so, and end up with significant inheritance tax bills through a lack of planning.
What were your first, best and worst investment decisions?
My first investment decision (with real funds) was to invest in the JM Finn multi-asset fund, the Coleman Street Investment Fund – I had been doing some work with the team and was keen to get some skin in the game to ensure our interests were aligned.
One of my best stock purchase decisions was a UK computer gaming company called Codemasters – I liked the fundamentals of the company, and their flagship game was the official Formula 1 game, which I anticipated was undervalued. The company was bought out 6 months later by Electronic Arts – a larger US gaming company – and I had doubled my money! Doesn’t happen often. My worst investment decision was not purchasing more Codemasters!
In what way does being of a younger generation help you in your role?
It allows me to understand some of the newer trends and see what the younger generation’s spending patterns are. Some ‘older’ investors do not always have the insight of what the younger generations are spending on, and might be mortified to learn that companies such as TikTok (launched in 2016) have over 1 billion active monthly users in less than 7 years!
What is the biggest social issue surrounding the wealth management industry?
Anybody can benefit from financial advice. Whether you are rich, poor, male, female, young or elderly – each individual at any stage of life can benefit from advice and personalised planning. Yet many feel they can’t ask for this because they feel they don’t have enough money, are embarrassed about what they have/haven’t got in place at present, or that they can’t trust an adviser or manager as they have no mutual connection with them. I hope to help to alleviate these barriers in some way.
What has been the most significant moment of your career so far?
I think the most significant moment so far was passing the CISI Chartered Wealth Manager Qualification, achieving two merits along the way. When you have a goal that you have strived to achieve across multiple years and have worked hard for, it is sheer relief and elation when you are finally across the line and are able to do what you have wanted to do for the rest of your career.
What’s the perfect tea and biscuit combination?
Firstly, an English Breakfast tea is a must when accompanied with a biscuit – any other tea is far inferior. As for the biscuit, the answer is all about dunkability. A good biscuit must be able to be dunked for at least 3 seconds without any loss of mass and have good scope for absorption. I think the answer is a chocolate Hobnob.
You are marooned on a desert island: choose one book, one album and one practical item.
An encyclopaedia, American Idiot by Green Day, and a satellite phone.
You have a time machine: do you go to the future or the past? When and where?
I would go back 100 million years to the Mesozoic Era to see some dinosaurs! Who wouldn’t?
You can live in any country in the world from tomorrow, but you can never leave that country: where?
Ah this is actually quite an easy one – it would have to be New Zealand, my mother’s homeland. It has incredible natural beauty, fantastic people and no traffic!
Which three people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party? And what would you cook?
My flatmates say I make a mean paella – so I would invite Gordon Ramsey to review it, Ricky Gervais for the laughs, and of course Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for the honour!
You are granted one mild superpower: what do you choose?
The ability to mind read - but it only works on animals…
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