INTERVIEW WITH
RICHARD ROMER-LEE Richard Romer-Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Square Mile Investment Consulting and Research. It’s been over two years since SK and Square Mile started working together and this was an opportunity for Richard to tell his side of the story.
It has been over two years since SK and Square Mile started working together and it felt like a good time to catch up with Chief Executive Officer, Richard Romer-Lee to get his take on responsible investments, the role of a CEO and some important life lessons.
My job is essentially to set the tone for the business, the culture, and to build, nurture and develop a team of talented people. So, in practice, I do what I'm told by everybody else to help them do their jobs!
To start us off, could you tell us more about what you do? Square Mile exists to help investors achieve a better financial future. We focus on empowering our clients with the knowledge, tools and support to help them deliver the best outcomes for their clients. Whether that's a financial return, an appropriate risk profile or matching responsible investments to their personal priorities.
I'm a great believer in hiring talented people who are far greater, far better at what they do than I would ever be. I see my role as providing the environment within which they can excel on behalf of our clients.
We love working with people. It’s what motivates us. SKQ issue 6 | 6
How does Old Broad Street Research compare to Square Mile? Wow, what a lovely question. It's wonderful that you remember Old Broad Street Research, which was bought by Morningstar in 2010.
There are some similarities. One is the clarity of purpose. When we build a company, it's about building something that we value, but more importantly, something our clients value and believe in. We want to enjoy what we do. We spend a great deal of time at work and if you are having fun, I believe you do a better job. And ultimately, everybody has got to be fairly and appropriately rewarded too. The biggest difference in Square Mile’s model happened post the Retail Distribution Review. Now each adviser business creates their own investment proposition to fit in with how their business works and to meet the needs of their clients, which manifests itself in how we work with SK Financial.
