Jeff Hull, senior financial advisor with Manulife Securities Inc., always wants to know more about the companies in which he invests his clients’ assets. And he’s not afraid to break things to do it.
Case in point: Hull has all the components of a dismantled iPhone in a display case in his office. The pieces were placed there after he broke open a new phone to see its parts and figure out what company made them. That exercise led Hull, who also has invested in Apple Inc. directly, to invest in the company that makes the camera in the iPhone.
Hull, 46, is an investment industry veteran with more than 20 years in the business. For the past 10 of those years, Hull has worked at a Mississauga, Ont., branch of Manulife. His book of business consists of slightly more than 100 high net-worth clients with a minimum asset level of $5 million; Hull’s assets under management are in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hull, besides destroying the latest tech toys, also likes to take a close look at world events for investing opportunities. “I’m very big on what I call ‘temporary, event-driven situations or opportunities’,” he says. “I look at an event and sort of jump to the front of a line.”
Most of Hull’s clients are business owners and retirees. Hull, earlier in his career, worked with several clients who worked in the military or law enforcement. Working with men and women in uniform inspired Hull to join the NATO Association of Canada (NATOAC), the civilian arm of NATO. (Every NATO member country has such an organization.)
“They’re such brave men and women,” Hull says of members of the police and the armed services. “And whether it’s law enforcement or the military, their pay is embarrassing. But what they do to help keep peace, whether it’s internationally or here at home, is incredible,” he says. “So, for me [joining the NATOAC] was my small way I could give back and make a contribution – at least, with the talents that I have.”
The NATOAC board of directors’ role is to further NATO’s mission and to “promote peace, prosperity and security through knowledge and understanding of the importance of NATO.”
Hull joined the NATOAC two years ago as a board member. Since then, he has travelled to Albania, Macedonia and Turkey as a representative of the association, promoting NATO and to share his knowledge of finance. While in Macedonia, for example, Hull explained to government officials the ins and outs of financial issues that affect the country’s economy.
Hull also chaired a global conference on cybersecurity, at which members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and representatives of police forces from other countries shared insights on topics such as cyberbullying and cyberhacking of nation states’ databases. Hull was deeply affected by what he learned about digital vulnerability.
“By the time the meeting was done,” Hull says, “I was ready to throw my BlackBerry in the garbage and move into a bunker.”
These travel opportunities and discussions with foreign military and government officials have given Hull a better understanding of the world around him, which, in turn, has helped him to serve his clients better. “[International travel and consultation] gives me, as a financial advisor, a unique perch from which to view the world.”
Hull believes that his clients should understand the investments in their portfolios. He typically meets with clients for at least 90 minutes to explain everything about an investment – good and bad – and why it’s included in their portfolio.
Says Hull: “I’m like the magician who saws the lady in the box in half, and everybody goes, ‘Wow!’ But I say, ‘Wait!’ And I spin the box around and say, ‘Here’s how the trick is done’.”
When clients understand the “magic” of their portfolios, Hull says, they offer better feedback and are more comfortable and engaged in the investment process.
That commitment to understanding investments thoroughly is shared by other advisors at Hull’s branch, which he co-owns with another advisor. The branch consists of 19 other advisors and support staff.
“With all of our advisors, we have more than 500 years of collective industry experience at the branch,” Hull says. “We created what we call a ‘brain trust’ or a ‘knowledge hive,’ in which everyone is collaborative and helps everyone run their own independent businesses.”
As part of this collaborative process, all 21 advisors in the branch meet at least twice a week to discuss possible investment opportunities. The branch also invites portfolio managers and leaders in various industries in to discuss potential investments.
“Everybody gets together and looks at companies from different angles,” Hull says. “So, I might miss something that they catch. Or if I really like a company, they’ll point out all the warts, which really helps me to be sure on an investment because they’re ‘acid testing’ it.”
Hull’s curiosity about investments has led him to meet an icon of the investment industry. Since the early 1990s, Hull has invested in Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Hull, who used to host a television show, produced two documentaries about Buffett and his business in the early 2000s.
“It was incredibly insightful to go behind the curtain and learn more about [Buffett’s process],” Hull says. Buffett invited Hull to send potential Canadian investment ideas to him. Hull has done just that on occasion, although not as much in recent years.
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