Benoît Poliquin, president and portfolio manager at Ottawa-based Exponent Investment Management.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 4 of the Behind the Advice podcast is here! You can find episodes from all four seasons here.
Benoît Poliquin, president and portfolio manager at Ottawa-based Exponent Investment Management Inc., talks about the financial impact of losing his father at a young age, his lifelong goal of being a portfolio manager and why he thinks humility is key to being a good advisor:
Describe your upbringing and your relationship with money.
My father died of cancer in his mid-40s, when I was 12. My mother inherited a significant amount of money, but the difficulty came in managing it. I learned early on that money doesn’t solve problems; it just changes the nature of them. That’s what got me interested in investing; my grandmother was also an investor, so I learned a little bit about it from her.
What did you want to be growing up and how did you get into financial services?
I’ve always wanted to be a professional portfolio manager. Being a doctor, like my father and grandfather, was never something I considered. At the age of 21, in my third year of university, I started cold-calling stockbrokers for a job and someone took a chance on me. I learned everything – research, trading, portfolio management and construction – from the ground up.
What’s one of the best moves you’ve made to boost your career?
Starting my own business, Exponent Investment Management, in 2011. I worked for a couple of large investment firms for the first 20 years of my career, but I was never really interested in being a corporate leader. I just wanted to pick stocks and help people with their finances, which is what we do now. Our clients include everyone from retirees and business owners to executives and professionals from various backgrounds. We’re fiercely independently owned and operated.
What is the biggest money mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
When I was starting out in the business, while still in university, I used $8,000 in student loan money to buy a speculative mining stock that went to zero. You’d think I learned my lesson then, but shortly after I got married and bought a new house – after making a few great investment picks – I borrowed against my house to buy a stock I had the highest conviction in. I then took that money and leveraged it. Long story short, I lost a bunch of money.
The lesson is that leverage doesn’t increase your IQ, and it certainly doesn’t increase your chances of success. Leverage is an accelerant for both good and bad things happening.
What do you worry about when it comes to the financial services industry and investing?
I’m often dumbfounded by how little people know about investing and how little they want to know. Many investors are looking for a silver bullet to avoid doing the work and gaining the knowledge, so they fall prey to ‘new’ products, most of which start as good ideas and are then overcooked by the industry.
What advice do you have for others who want to do what you do?
Being in this industry is about longevity. The only constant is change, so you have to roll with it. You also need a tremendous amount of humility when things don’t always go your way.
Investing is about managing the tension between two emotions: fear and greed. Our job as advisors is to manage that tension as best as possible.
Which famous person or fictional character would make a great financial advisor, and why?
Obi-Wan Kenobi, from Star Wars [the Jedi known for his calm discipline and training two generations of Skywalkers: Anakin and his son Luke]. He had the ability to meet people where they’re at and help them reach their destiny.
That’s ultimately what an advisor does: help people get to where they want to go, pointing out the pitfalls and the bridges along the way. I get really excited about helping people understand where they’re at and where they want to go.
This interview has been edited and condensed.