Robin Douglas, senior vice president with Raymond James Ltd. in Vancouver and portfolio manager for its Concierge Investing service, places great importance on client relations.

“The real key to portfolio management for my clients is trust,” he says. “Another key is that I really have to understand what clients want, then I have to have solutions for them.”

Client selection is crucial, too. “I hire the client as much as the client hires me,” he says. “And once that’s done, it becomes all about controlling your emotions and controlling greed.”

As for investment time horizons, Douglas has definite opinions: “Anyone who invests in equities with anything less than a five-year time horizon is nuts.”

— BRIAN LEWIS