My name is Mike Sim from Singapore. After six years in the financial industry, I started my “ouch” Fund Management Company in 2017.
Why did I start my fund management company?
I got bored working in a bank. Many are selling flavour of the month, ranging from insurance, unit trust, new structured products launch, bonds that require to be sold off.
Especially for bonds, sometimes, I don’t even know if the specialists are trying to get rid of the investment products for another investor or want to make his commission or both.
Don’t get me wrong, I came from the banking industry, and I respect them for that. I got nothing against them. I only market financial products that my investors need and earn the commission.
Just that I do not like to sell flavour of the month in exchange for some “incentive” vouchers or some Quarter sales target incentive trip just by selling a particular financial product.
It doesn’t make sense that everyone’s financial needs are the same for that same period for that single product.
With that, from my banking days, I had a clear goal, a vision, a mission that I want to set up my own fund management company and help my investors manage their funds and make them good money.
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With profits made above a certain percentage, that is where I will start to receive my bonus, therefore creating a win-win with my investors.
Are you having this urge and feel inside you roaring for you to start your own fund company?
Why is it so hard to find an aligned partner?
My first director was an ex-colleague from the bank. He was a simple man, well at least he looks and gives me the feeling he is simple. He is not a top producer, nor was he at the bottom of the food chain; he was just okay.
My observation was that he did not sell his clients on products. He looks like a banker that is not a product pusher. Therefore, I discussed with him and got him into my firm, but things soon turned south.
He had other plans, and he went into cryptocurrency, and eventually, we part our ways, and he is involved in scams.
Finding an aligned partner is tough; finding one with integrity, trust and transparency are even harder. It took me two years to unwind this successfully, but it caused a big learning experience. This, for anyone who wants to start their funds, can be avoided.
What are services providers?
You come from a banking background, and you want to come out and start your funds. You think you can take over the world, and your fund is so great that it reaches US$1 billion or US$100 million in assets under management.
It is possible, but there is much work to be done. You require a strong team and a vital service providers team, including custody, fund admin, auditors, legal, bank, corp sec, prime, etc.
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The setting up time and cost is substantial enough to kill you, and if it doesn’t and you manage to pull through, you will be lucky to get it up in six-nine months and that your investors still stay invested with you.
I have been through the above, and it is not easy. The hardest part is every service providers claim they are the best. It is only when you get involved with them that you realise if they are good or bad, or worst.
I went through unwinding from some of my service providers, and this unwinding process took me one year to complete. It is a truly terrible experience. Imagine you can avoid all these right from the start! Wouldn’t you like to avoid all these?
I have been there, suffered and done that, kick-started with Cayman Islands Investment Funds, come back to Singapore and continued in a Singapore Variable Capital Company Fund. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
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