Position profile: funds manager
Steve Maccora SF Fin, Senior Business Development Manager, Colonial First State
Industry sector: funds manager
How did you get to where you are today?
What does a typical day involve for you?
What interpersonal skills are essential for your role?
What sort of person is good in this role and type of organisation?
What do you find the most rewarding about your current role?
What do most people find challenging/difficult about a role like this?
What were you looking for in an employer when you took your current role?
What benefits are essential to attract the best people?
What other jobs and career paths would you consider in the future?
How do you keep up to date?
Are you considering any study or professional development in the future?
Why did you become a member of Finsia?
What tips do you have for aspiring financial services professionals?
How did you get to where you are today?
I joined the industry in a junior clerical role with T&G Mutual Life Assurance Society. Fortunately I had some excellent mentors who gave me great opportunities and eventually I was managing eight sales teams and more than 100 staff. There was a lot of hard work needed and a lot of industry training one had to do.
I later moved to Perth and joined the funds management industry as state manager for Rothschild. I joined Colonial First State in December 1998 as State Manager. This was been a great role and very fulfilling, but in January 2006 I stepped back from that role to achieve a better work/lifestyle balance and I now have the option to work 40 weeks per year.
What does a typical day involve for you?
As a Senior Business Development Manager, my role is to build and maintain strong relationships with financial advisers in order to gain and maintain funds under management for Colonial First State. That requires me to visit advisers in their offices, answer numerous technical questions each day, make sure I am up to date with market movements and economic developments and I do many presentations to clients and advisers on topics such as the economy, superannuation and technical strategies for building wealth.
What interpersonal skills are essential for your role?
Understanding the business of our clients – financial planners – and knowing how to provide solutions to their problems is paramount.
Being able to present complex products in understandable simple terms is also essential.
Patience and problem solving is tested every day so being able to think laterally can often provide some excellent results.
What sort of person is good in this role type of organisation?
One needs to have sales and interpersonal skills and enjoy face to face contact. Perseverance is also important, as volatile markets can test your character! Essentially though this role suits someone who is intelligent but does not like the ‘backroom’ and wants to be dealing face-to-face. To use a cliché, ‘a people person’.
What do you find the most rewarding about your current role?
The role pays extremely well and it is challenging and demanding. I love the challenge and the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of many investors. I gain a lot of satisfaction from knowing that we help people lead better lives by improving their financial positions and taking that worry away from them.
What do most people find challenging/difficult about a role like this?
It is hard, competitive work. There can be a lot of frustration and rejection and bad investment markets can impose a lot of pressure. That is the time you need to work hardest and provide reassurances to advisers and their clients.
What were you looking for in an employer when you took your current role?
Colonial First State had a great reputation and they actually approached me, so I felt very fortunate to be selected. I wanted to work for a company with great culture, integrity, transparency, great performance and suitable products. One that was progressive and innovative and that valued my input and opinions. A company that cared about its employees and rewarded them not just materially but intangibly.
What benefits are essential to attract the best employees?
A good salary and good working conditions are a given. Culture is crucial, as people don’t just work for the money – they want to be valued. Work environment and benefits are important. Flexibility in packaging certainly helps as well.
What other jobs and career paths would you consider taking in the future?
None! My next role is retirement. But, I could consider some consulting roles if they came up in the industry.
How do you keep up to date?
Copious reading. I subscribe to many industry publications of a technical nature and I study everything we produce very thoroughly. I know my own and our competitors’ products better than anyone else.
Are you considering any study or professional development in the future?
Not at this stage of my career.
Why did you become a member of Finsia?
It is one of my industry bodies. An advocate for all of us in the industry and I believe we need to support that. It is important to belong to a professional group.
What tips for success do you have for aspiring financial services professionals?
Be prepared to work long, hard hours, to constantly learn and to approach your role with enthusiasm. Always try and find a way to do what seems difficult or even impossible, because that is what will differentiate you. Make sure you know your job better than (or at least as well as) anyone else.