Name: James Gauthier Title: Chief investment officer and portfolio manager Firm: Justwealth Location: Toronto, ON Years in the industry: 23 Certifications: CFA ETFs to construct portfolios. While some of these employ a smart beta or active strategy, those account for relatively small portions of the allocation because of their relative expense. In addition to the emergence of ETFs, Gauthier has witnessed many other industry shifts, but he says some things haven’t changed. “Communication and building strong relationships with clients remain an important part of being a portfolio manager.” In that regard, Gauthier identifies managing client expectations and maintaining an appropriate level of communication as his biggest challenges. “Behavioural finance is something I am fascinated by – the notion of why people make bad decisions with their finances,” he says. “It comes down to two things: panic selling and momentum buying. That’s not a smart way to do it. You need to have a long-term approach that aligns with objectives within a risk tolerance. We deal with a wide range of clients, so it is important to listen to their individual objectives, translate that into action and communicate it back to them. Also, to mitigate potential for disappointment, it is important to be truthful and let them know what the reasonable expectations are, but also the downside risk – don’t just tell them what they want to hear.”
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