Ryan Bushell, chief executive officer and portfolio manager at Newhaven Asset Management Inc. in Toronto.Supplied
In the Behind the Advice series, Globe Advisor asks advisors about their relationship with money from a young age, lessons learned over the years and how their experiences influence the advice they give clients. Season 3 of the Behind the Advice podcast is now out! You can find episodes from all three seasons here.
Ryan Bushell, chief executive officer and portfolio manager at Newhaven Asset Management Inc. in Toronto, talks about the childhood money lesson that came from buying his first bike, working with well-known investor George Frazer, and why he thinks NHLer Connor McDavid would make a good advisor:
Describe your upbringing and how it shaped your relationship with money.
I grew up the oldest of three kids in a small town in southwestern Ontario. My dad worked in facility management for a local school board and my mom was a nurse. My parents worked hard to provide for us and were careful to teach lessons about budgeting and paying off debt as fast as possible. They allowed me to have a lot of independence and responsibility for myself at an early age, which helped shape my views.
Describe your first money lesson.
I had a lot of different part-time jobs growing up, including cutting lawns, golf course maintenance and skate sharpening at the local arena. In Grade 6, I saved up $120 to buy my first new bike. My dad drove me to the store in Woodstock, Ont., where I proudly displayed the 12 crisp $10 bills to the cashier. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about GST. The store manager kindly waived the tax. I rode that bike for 10 years to practices, summer jobs and friends’ houses. It taught me that working for something meaningful that gives you the freedom to do other things is extremely valuable.
What did you want to be growing up and how did you get into financial services?
I didn’t know anyone who worked in the financial industry growing up. I also didn’t know anything about investments. To me, back then, the stock market was a place where rich people gambled their savings and fortunes were won and lost. It wasn’t until I landed a summer internship at BMO Capital Markets through a family contact – we had exactly one contact – that I started on my path in finance.
What is the biggest money mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
I bought 100 shares of Research in Motion (now known as BlackBerry Ltd.) during its precipitous fall in 2010. I remember purchasing the stock for $50 a share, thinking I had been patient and could pick the bottom. The shares then fell below $5 and stayed there for over a decade. I kept the stock in my account as a reminder that I’m not as smart as I think I am.
Thankfully, the story has a happy ending because I still owned the stock during the meme-stock short-squeeze craze of 2021, when BlackBerry suddenly soared to more than $30 a share. I promptly sold at that level. It was like finding $3,000 in my couch.
Investment mistakes are part of the job; it’s learning from them that matters. I learned that I needed to have conviction in more than just the share price being down. I also needed to understand the company, which, in this case, I clearly didn’t. I was just thinking I was right and was going to make money.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career?
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside and learn from some of the most principled people in the business, including my former boss, George Frazer [the former chairman of Leon Frazer & Associates Inc.].
George taught me that being a money manager isn’t about trying to get rich. It’s about the clients and their futures. When you’re buying a stock, it’s not for you or your ego, but for the clients. He taught me to treat clients like royalty and be their servant.
George was and still is my north star. I’m thankful every day for the eight years I got to spend with him before he died [in 2013] and all the others I have met who share his principles.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to enter your business?
My advice to younger people who ask is to be ready for a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. It takes years to amass enough experience to be useful and longer still until someone will trust you to take on their savings.
I also suggest taking any job with the right firm rather than holding out for a specific title or salary with just any firm. The right firm that you can truly embody the strategy and the principles allows for much more growth than doing something you don’t fully believe in.
Which famous person or fictional character would make a great financial advisor, and why?
Maybe it’s because I’m a big hockey fan and a recreational player, but I’m impressed with Connor McDavid. Watching him during the Olympics, it was clear how much he cared about his team’s success.
Even though he’s far and away the best player in the world, there doesn’t appear to be an ounce of selfishness in his play or his interviews.
It takes a truly selfless person to execute this profession correctly. Someone who is solely focused on the end goal and willing to go to any length to achieve it. I am pretty sure he would do whatever was necessary to be a great portfolio manager if he set his mind to it.
This interview has been edited and condensed.