‘Being a wealth manager is a bit like being a psychiatrist with money,’ says James Horniman, a partner and portfolio manager at James Hambro since 2013, when he joined with a team of people from UBS.
‘People rely on discretionary managers so that they can get on with playing golf or writing books while we position their portfolios and their money,’ he explains.
Political changes and ever rising inflation have been making the wealth manager’s
job more difficult and will only continue to do so. ‘We have to hold hands more,’ Horniman says, ‘and explain what long term investment is all about. It means clients have to take more risks to get the return that they want and we’re here to support them.’
But investment opportunities are always aplenty, whether there’s Brexit, Trump or any
other major event on the horizon. ‘That’s why I got involved – it’s always dynamic, always moving,’ says Horniman who has been in fund management for a quarter of a century.
A career highlight was having a client who wanted to come and work at the firm – surely the ultimate validation of the excellence they strive for. ‘We don’t try to do things differently. We try to do the right things well,’ he says. ‘The focus is on clients, on having time, which means limiting the amount of clients per fund manager.’