{"id":373,"date":"2009-04-22T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-22T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/blog\/?p=373"},"modified":"2009-04-22T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2009-04-22T00:01:00","slug":"boquerones-fritos-viii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/boquerones-fritos-viii\/","title":{"rendered":"Fried Anchovies (VIII)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">We are delighted to receive an increasing number of submissions from readers every day, which we believe are worthy of publication as articles. We regret that we are unable to publish some submissions which are also of a very high standard but which we must set aside, either due to their subject matter or because we have too many to accommodate. Many thanks to you all.<\/p>\n<p>This time, we\u2019re sharing a candid reflection from a professional in the financial sector who is fully aware, in his own words, that: <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">\u00abThe similar outlook that we share (he himself and <\/span><a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/\">CFO<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">) is a source of unease for much of the sector\u00bb<\/span>. A true lesson in clarity in a corporatist world of professionals, who nevertheless have no qualms about stabbing each other in the back in exchange for money and\/or another step up the career ladder.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Ever since I came across your website and blog, I\u2019ve felt a certain urge to keep reading your work and an interest in getting to know you. I think what has struck me most, compared to other websites \u2013 not just those dealing with private banking but also \u201cfamily offices\u201d \u2013 is reading some perspectives that are perhaps closer to sociology than the usual, familiar rhetoric. After all, we mustn\u2019t forget that we\u2019re talking about human beings who, moreover, have assets and require professional assistance because they believe that the person or organisation they\u2019re turning to knows more than they do in this area, or because they need to delegate as time is not unlimited and priorities must be set.<\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><div class=\"connecta-video-container\" style=\"margin: 2em 0;\"><iframe title=\"Monty Python \u2013 The Merchant Banker Sketch\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UVRQK58jrbw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><br \/>Building on the previous article about bank codes, I\u2019d like to offer a few comments and reflections. I broadly agree with your view, but it was interesting to see DJ\u2019s reasonable criticism and the subsequent reply.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><br \/>It\u2019s not easy to go against the system; I firmly believe in \u201cyou win, I win, we all win\u201d, but it\u2019s also all too common to hear \u2018I win, I win\u2026\u2019 Years ago, even before I\u2019d finished my degree, I already regarded the financial sector as a \u2018marvellous\u2019 destroyer of wealth; but by process of elimination\u2014ruling out what I didn\u2019t want to do\u2014and also out of personal inclination, I ended up in it and, somehow, I haven\u2019t managed to leave it. My view of life and of people \u2013 somewhat na\u00efve, idealistic and a little altruistic \u2013 as well as my constant restlessness, has prevented me from moving into the financial sector and others without offering (constructive) criticism.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"connecta-video-container\" style=\"margin: 2em 0;\"><iframe title=\"Damn It Feels Good to be a Banker \u2014 A Wall Street Musical\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ROlDmux7Tk4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p>We operate within society, business and politics, navigating the line between what is legal and what is not. If we stick to the former, everything appears to be in order; and if you also make a fortune, you\u2019re considered particularly clever. It is legal to sell a highly illiquid product such as a pension plan without proper planning or analysis \u2013 provided, of course, that you offer a brilliant set of frying pans as an incentive. It is legal to subscribe to international funds with an entry fee of 5%, provided the prospectus allows for it. (Here we\u2019re already talking about high-end private banking.) In this case, it would be illegal to steal directly from the client, but I think that would actually be the more honest course of action on the part of the \u201cadviser\u201d.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><br \/>Being an idealist, a purist in the financial sector and strict when it comes to certain principles \u2013 believe me when I say it\u2019s no easy feat. For me, it came at a significant personal and professional cost, but as we know, it\u2019s through the tough times that we learn and grow the most.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"connecta-video-container\" style=\"margin: 2em 0;\"><iframe title=\"The Banker\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oQ_5jgDwZSU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the key factor or the difference either \u2013 whether you work for a bank or as an independent adviser. I\u2019ve met some very good professionals working for banks, and I\u2019ve also worked closely with independent private bankers who had a great deal of freedom in their work; whilst I have no doubt about their dedication and ability to work hard on a day-to-day basis, I wouldn\u2019t have dared to entrust even a tiny fraction of my assets to any of them. Mind you, thanks to these unsuspecting clients, the sums earned by some of these advisers were substantial. Well, successful professionals, aren\u2019t they? They don\u2019t strike me as such, and the fact is that the difference \u2013 now more than ever \u2013 is made by the people involved. We are facing a critical and complex global economic situation, but part of it \u2013 at least as far as the financial and property sectors are concerned \u2013 is a crisis rooted in a lack of responsibility and integrity, in greed, and in access to quick and easy money\u2026<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><br \/>I believe that private banking has a unique opportunity to reform itself; the usual empty promises must stop, and a change in the way we work is also necessary. People are even starting to talk about clients at private banking conferences. It sounds good, but I also know that traditional sales practices \u2013 the pursuit of high margins and short-term profits \u2013 are still very much in place.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">As a concept, it\u2019s interesting, and I certainly think it would go hand in hand with words such as judgement, common sense, integrity, commitment and responsibility. It really is something worthwhile to apply to the profession \u2013 useful for devising the investment strategies we\u2019re told about, and also for our day-to-day personal lives. To this, I\u2019d add \u2013 to really add value, or at least try to \u2013 the ability to manage the psychology of the client, our own, and that of the market itself. After all, holding the CFA, CAIA and EFA qualifications, along with seven master\u2019s degrees in finance and financial markets, is all very well, but once you get to know the market players, the way to deliver value to the client is, I believe, closer to psychology than to technical expertise.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><br \/>I truly hope that the blow dealt by the \u201cfinancial tsunami\u201d will bring about certain changes \u2013 for a start, a lesson in humility and prudence. Let\u2019s not kid ourselves: there are many victims of the private banking sector. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s more than one businessman who\u2019s done nothing but work all his life, and who has seen his 12% income from his \u201cvegetables\u201d was drastically reduced by a bunch of blokes in suits with matching cufflinks, who spoke in Anglicisms and with a certain air of arrogance because they were far more important than this honest gentleman; after all, they worked in \u201cprivate banking\u201d. That said, these men might well have grey hairs, because there is also the younger version who, with an air of smugness and without the slightest blush, mismanage their clients\u2019 assets, relying on the confidence derived from a degree, a master\u2019s, high self-esteem and a certain arrogance, as well as having superiors who encourage such behaviour.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"connecta-video-container\" style=\"margin: 2em 0;\"><iframe title=\"Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Banka\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/weKN9-9TQcU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p>And this is private banking \u2013 which, in terms of account balances and assets, is what its clients have experienced most \u2013 but we must never forget those others who deal with personal or commercial banking\u2026 because for each individual, their balance is important; \u20ac50,000 or less for one person may represent 100% of their assets and demands the same respect, rigour and seriousness as \u20ac5,000,000, which may represent 10% for another person or their 100%.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">But I don\u2019t want my view to come across as negative; I simply wanted to join you in your reflection and perhaps, at the same time, feel supported myself. I value life and people very highly, and that is why I want, above all, to be optimistic, but I believe that responsibility, solidarity, integrity, respect, common sense and good manners are neglected more than is desirable in many sections of society, and that dull and destructive people all too often play an excessively prominent role, both in terms of their influence and the time they remain in the spotlight.<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><br \/>Warm regards, and congratulations on your blog.<\/p>\n<p>RM<br \/><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">I can only add that we must not confuse wealth with cash. And that private banks are unlikely to manage our non-monetary assets (not even some so-called \u2018family offices\u2019). If we focus exclusively on financial investments, we risk squandering our wealth and that of our heirs by neglecting our property and business assets. And an excellent entrepreneur is often a poor manager of their own wealth.<\/p>\n<p>We are immensely proud that our humble blog is able to inspire this sort of reflection from professionals such as RM, who once chose to leave the easy path behind in order to follow the right one. Their success, and theirs alone, is the true measure of success.<\/p>\n<p>P.S. There are loads of videos on YouTube about bankers, and we\u2019ve only included a small selection. Don\u2019t miss the first Monty Python sketch.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nos complace mucho recibir cada d\u00eda m\u00e1s aportaciones de lectores que consideramos que merecen ser publicadas como art\u00edculos. Lamentamos no poder publicar algunas que tambi\u00e9n son de mucha calidad pero que por tem\u00e1tica o bien por acumulaci\u00f3n debemos descartar. Muchas gracias a todos. Esta vez os copiamos una reflexi\u00f3n sincera de un profesional del sector [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}