Facing your truth - blindspotting

 My summer book this year is Blindspotting by Keith Hanna, StepUp Coaching. His book has the internal passion and drive to work as a coach to Canada's top entrepreneurs. His book is one rush of honesty.  He then layers it with management theory on modern innovation.

Everyone of us has to go through a series of thinking over your top life questions and Keith takes us through his major life waves and the truths he faced which got him to break through to a far better side. From success as an entrepreneur to losing it all and his marriage at the same time. Keith's instincts pulled him back up and found his mission through the debris. Blindspotting teaches how to ask your questions before the big events happen to try and get beyond your own blindness.

Keith also follows the path of a married couple who were well known in their community as their marriage 0.1 breaks down and then finds it way to marriage 0.2.

The process of thinking is important. In this complex world we have a tendency to de-simplify and Keith is the opposite.  He gives a path and a series of steps to embrace the complexity. How to identify your purpose, how to see your blocks, how to pull out the little lies you are telling yourself, how to be clear about your commitments going forward. 

Keith's book is one in a series. They are short but intense. I recommend getting your favourite beverage of choice, hunkering down and wading in to a dense read. I came away kicked in my ego.  It was like standing up in the winter landscape of Ontario and feeling that Arctic wind on my skin, prickling me to move forward with all my power. 

Thank you, Keith.

Find more about Keith here.

Please continue the conversation at @jacolineloewen

Billionaires share one characteristic: They were not born billionaires.

The following is an excerpt from the Bloomberg Markets article titled How UBS Became Home to Half the World’s Billionaires

By Elisa Martinuzzi and Joel Weber | October 3, 2017

BLOOMBERG MARKETS: Almost half the world’s billionaires bank with you. That’s a distinct set of clients. What have you learned from them?

SERGIO ERMOTTI, CEO of UBS Bank: It’s always fascinating to hear how they became so successful. When you look at billionaires, many of them share one characteristic: They were not born billionaires. I was in Asia recently, where I met a few, and they have quite impressive stories. It feels like the American dream, only it’s no longer just in America. The main lesson for me is that with passion, focus, vision, determination, you can do a lot.

BM Which trait most stands out?

SE You see a lot of passion for what they do. And the same level of focus. It’s quite clear that it’s not all about money. Of course some people care about that, but at the end of the day, they enjoy what they do.

BM How much time do you actually spend with clients?

SE Not as much as I would like. The most interesting discussions are actually when we are fortunate enough to bring them together. We organize events where our clients can get together. It’s also a way for them to foster a level of cooperation, of getting to know each other—which is important for business regardless of UBS being involved or not.

BM You’re like Tinder?

SE At these events we are a kind of sophisticated speed-­dating organizer, sure. It adds value for our clients. Take Art Basel. The idea is that people attend because they share a common interest, a passion. And while attending the events, maybe they start to talk about other issues or opportunities.

BM What did you think of UBS before you got here?

SE I thought it was an incredible franchise with almost 150 years of history that had survived a dramatic moment. My predecessors had stabilized things, but it was not clear yet what the path was going to look like going forward. I’ve always been impressed by the fact that, as bad as things got here, only 2 percent of clients closed their accounts. I figured the franchise and the quality of the people who are able to retain the clients during such a crisis must be extremely high. My view was, I want to be a part of this.
Bloomberg Markets: How would you describe your business today?

SE We are the undisputed global leader in wealth management. We think that this is a huge advantage. It’s a very fragmented market still. And if I look at our position and the growth expectations of wealth creation, which is expected to be twice as high as GDP, we should stay focused on doing this. Sell-side analysts, rating agencies, and the media still consider us an investment bank. I find it totally ridiculous. If you look at where our business comes from, we are basically the world’s most expensive investment bank and its cheapest asset manager.
BM What advice did you get when you arrived here?



Jacoline Loewen and team

SE Some competitors were telling me, “Shut down the investment bank; we’ll serve you.” They wanted to grab flows and build out their business. People also told me to sell Wealth Management Americas. My popularity would have soared, especially in Switzerland; UBS wouldn’t be where it is today; and I doubt I’d still be here. That was a defining moment—to say, These are businesses we can turn around. It was a good reminder that the consensus is not necessarily the right thing to do.

BM Was there a company, maybe even outside your industry, that you looked to for inspiration?

SE Not for strategy. But when I joined, I said I wanted UBS to be the Apple or the IBM of the financial-services industry: from glory, to near-death, and then back to glory.

Read Full article here
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Canoes, Housework and Hedge Funds

It’s that time in the summer to get in a canoe and head out across the lake.  How much more enjoyable when you know as you paddle peacefully, your wealth is organized securely for the long run?

Business owners have generally built their wealth by excelling in their chosen fields rather than through any particular investment expertise. While many of these self-made millionaires understand the importance of saving and investing for the long run, recent research by UBS Wealth Management Americas discovered that some have limited financial acumen on specific concepts and terminology.

For example, three out of ten understood the term “basis point” or “beta”. Six out of ten understood market capitalization. Seven out of ten understood liquidity.

What’s more, these self-made millionaires choose not to learn more about investing. The UBS Wealth Management research noted that these entrepreneurs rank researching and managing investments dead last on a list of how they choose to spend their time, even behind housework.

The millionaires cite information overload as one of the reasons for their disinterest. For example, researching hedge funds could leave entrepreneurs confused as they have a controversial history since they began to grow in popularity after 2001. Yet the traction of investing in specific hedge funds lies in their flexibility to pursue strategies not open to mutual funds or segregated funds. Having your own hedge fund or being part of a pool can bring a unique advantage. In addition, research on hedge funds will show that it would be too difficult to replicate the strategies as an individual investor because they would be prohibitively expensive and logistically impossible. What a pity to miss out on a valuable investment opportunity because of lack of expertise.

Ultimately, millionaires generally recognize their constraints and choose to work with a financial professional.

What does build confidence for these business owners? Our research shows it is the principle of financial discipline: setting specific objectives, developing a plan and sticking to it.

With your financial plan done and working with a UBS financial professional, you can have the peace of mind to get in the your canoe and relax on the lake this summer.

For more information on the UBS Wealth Management Americas survey, to request the full research report, or to find out more about UBS financial advisors - please feel free to contact me.

Jacoline Loewen is director of business development of UBS Bank (Canada). She is also author of Money Magnet: How to Attract Investors to Your Business. You can follow her on Twitter @jacolineloewen.

The need for Canadians to have a globally diversified portfolio is increasing

Jacoline Loewen and team Ottawa

The economy has been choppy, to say the least, and we asked our portfolio strategist to share the economic forecast for Canadian investors concerned about their portfolios.
Our Economics Forecast Luncheon in Ottawa had healthy debate and discussion.
My biggest take-away is that Europe has room for growth as they have had austerity and the governents are investing into their country infrastructure again.
Also, America is a resilient economy. Their job growth is strong, although service jobs do not have the same wage potential.
Thank you to Stephen Beckta, Beckta Restaurant, who hosted our private event.

If you would like to receive more inforation, please contact Jacoline Loewen - contact information on the side bar.

More Women reaching the Billionnaires List

There is a strong showing of women making it to the Billionaires' List, and not all through the old fashioned way of death of a spouse or divorce.
Forbes has the list and tech is the foundation of the wealth of oly two of the women. I thought there would be more. Here it is:

Women make up 10% of global super-rich and 172 women, 25% more than in 2013, are in renowned club of billionaires.

 From the Facebook executive who told women to "lean in" to get ahead at work, to a Nigerian oil tycoon and a British online gambling entrepreneur, a record number of women have entered the global club of billionaires.

A total of 172 women, up 25% on 2013, have made Forbes' 28th annual billionaires' list. Women now make up 10% of the global super-rich.

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, with a personal fortune worth more than $1bn (£600m), becomes one of the highest-profile new entrants to the Forbes list, joining Meg Whitman of Hewlett-Packard as the only other female tech billionaire.

According to Forbes, a record number of 42 women broke into the list for the first time, although only 32 female billionaires (1.9% of the total) built their own fortune, rather than inheriting it from a parent or husband.

The world's richest woman is Christy Walton, who shares a $36.7bn chunk of the Walmart fortune, edging out one of L'Oréal's principal shareholders, Liliane Bettencourt.

One of the top UK entrants is Denise Coates, the British online gambling queen who, along with her brother, owns Bet365. Coates was at school when she started working as a cashier in her father's betting shops and has amassed $1.6bn in personal wealth.

Fiercely private, she has escaped almost all press attention in the UK despite Bet365 taking almost £20bn in bets and making £150m in profits in the year to March 2013.

In a rare interview two years ago, Coates told the Guardian how she has, on occasion, had to correct some people who had assumed that her father, a well-known businessman, ran the company. Her business, which employs 2,500 workers, mostly in Stoke-on-Trent, made a £150m profit last year, even after swallowing £31m of losses from Bet365's controlling interest in Stoke City football club

Coates, who owns half the business, received pay and bonuses of £5.4m, as well as her share of £15m in dividends. Even after these payouts the company had a further £430m in cash reserves on the balance sheet. In the past five years, Bet365 has paid out dividends totalling £130m.

A total of nine women feature in the top 85.


Jacoline Loewen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacolineloewen

How do you select a financial planner when you sell your business?

When you sell your company and all of a sudden, you have millions to invest, it can make you quite giddy. All of a sudden, your long last relatives will appear on your doorstep asking for a loan or an investment. Your niece will want you invest in her new app which is "brilliant".  Suddenly, you can access wealth manages who need you to have more than $2million to open an account. These wealth managers are the elite of financial planners.

Financial planners advise clients on how best to save, invest, and grow their money. They can help you tackle a specific financial goal—such as giving you a macro view of your money and the interplay of your various assets. Some specialize in retirement or estate planning, while some others consult on a range of financial matters. At the very least, they should find out about your family.

Don’t confuse planners with stockbrokers — the market mavens people call to trade stocks. 

Financial planners also differ from accountants who can help you lower your tax bill, insurance agents who might lure you in with complicated life insurance policies, or the person at your local bank urging you to buy their off the shelf mutual funds.

Anyone can hang out a shingle as a financial planner, but that doesn’t make that person an expert. They may tack on an alphabet soup of letters after their names, but CFA (short for certified financial planner) is the most significant credential. A CFA has passed a rigorous test on the specifics of personal finance. CFAs must also commit to continuing education on financial matters and ethics classes to maintain their designation. The CFP credential is a good sign that a prospective planner will give sound financial advice. Still, even those who pass the exam may come up short on skills and credibility. As with all things pertaining to your money, be meticulous in choosing the right planner.

Their firm is important. Some small planner make you pay dearly. They are smart but you end up paying more as they still have to place orders for your portfolio and they will have to pay a fee and pass that along to you.