JAMIE HODGINS, FMA, CIM, FCSI, SENIOR INVESTMENT ADVISOR, MANDEVILLE PRIVATE CLIENT INC.LONDON, ON.
JAMIE HODGINS
The saying, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” suggests that no matter how terrible things may first appear, one can usually find something positive. Here’s how Senior Investment Advisor, Jamie Hodgins, found his silver lining.
In the fall of 1984, in his first week of university, Jamie was in a car accident. He fell behind after missing the first few weeks of classes. He never caught up. “I decided to find a job for a few months and then return to University the following semester,” the wealth advisor says.
“In my job search, I stopped in at a local bank branch and asked to speak to the Branch Manager. Our hour-long conversation was followed by an interview at the regional office in Stratford. Shortly thereafter, I was hired as a Loans Officer trainee.
Ten years later, in 1994, a business client introduced Jamie to Michael Lee-Chin, Chairman and Owner of mutual fund dealer, Berkshire Investment Group. That meeting would change his life.
By 1995, Jamie was a Retail Lending Manager, and had a mutual fund sales license. “I had always been intrigued by the investment industry and enjoyed working with a number of the bank’s clients who were Financial Advisors.”
Also in 1995, Jamie met his future wife, Lynda, at work. “We began a relationship that grew into a marriage in September 1996. Lynda had two young children from a former marriage, and we looked forward to having a child of our own. With three small children, Lynda wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted that too.”
By the summer of 1996, the couple agreed that Jamie would leave his salaried position at the bank and begin a new career as a Financial Advisor at Berkshire Investment Group - with no income and no clients.
“Early in my financial services career, Mr. Lee-Chin shared his three step success process: 1) Identify a role model, 2) Study his or her recipe for success, and 3) Do exactly the same thing. He also explained that successful investing follows the same three step process and suggested that Mr. Warren Buffett would be a great role model.” Jamie went on to learn everything that he could about how Mr. Buffett became so wealthy.
Jamie’s Five Laws of Wealth Creation
1. Own a few high quality businesses (not too many),
2. That are domiciled in strong, long-term growth industries.
3. Thoroughly understand those businesses.
4. Use leverage prudently.
5. Hold those businesses for the long run.
Jamie says, “Adherence to these 5 laws has been the overarching theme for my entire career. We don’t want to move investments frequently, speculate market direction, or attempt to time markets. We simply want to hold great investments with proven track records for the long run.”
Mr. Lee-Chin sold Berkshire Investment Group, in 2007. In 2012, he founded Mandeville Private Client Inc. It wasn’t long before Jamie made the decision to rejoin his mentor at Mandeville.
The Mandeville Difference
In keeping with the three-step success process discussed earlier, it is important to understand how the identified role models have created their wealth. “Shouldn’t we look at successful pension plans, such as Canada Pension, OMERS, and Teachers Pension Plan, and understand what they are investing in? And, if our clients’ goals are similar, such as growth of capital, capital preservation, liquidity, and income, shouldn’t our portfolios look similar?,” Jamie asks.
“In my experience, the typical, retail-advised investor portfolio consists of some combination of cash, publicly-traded equities and fixed income. Yet, our role models, the wealthiest individuals and institutions in the world, invest more broadly and consistently generate positive returns, in all market conditions. Although our role models do invest in cash, publicly-traded equities and fixed income, they are also investing in real estate, infrastructure, private debt, and private equity.”
Mandeville, believes the way in which retail clients are advised is dysfunctional. “Our mission is to change that dysfunctionality by providing every client with access to the highest quality public AND private and investment opportunities (e.g. private debt funds) that are typically reserved for institutional and accredited investors.”
A Client-Centred Approach
Warren Buffett once said, “To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight or any particular inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep one’s emotions from corroding that framework.”
Jamie explains that in his experience, clients who have had unsuccessful investment experiences with financial institutions either do not have an investment framework or haven’t stayed the course. “We work with our clients to apply an investment framework and take the time to ensure they understand it and are committed to seeing it through.”
“We also work harder during market downturns to make sure that clients don’t make emotional decisions that will harm their future. It’s easy to manage money during the good times, not so easy during the bad times. I always felt that it was my responsibility to help clients make unemotional decisions during the tough times.”
Jamie believes it takes years for an Advisor to learn how to invest for a client. Would you invest $1 million dollars with someone who just passed the investment course last week? “I always wanted to be the best Advisor that I could be and to continuously prove I was worthy of clients’ trust.” This led to Jamie’s commitment to his own education.
Today, Jamie is a Canadian Investment Manager (CIM), Financial Management Advisor (FMA), and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI). The latter credential is reserved for an exclusive group of financial professionals who demonstrate unparalleled leadership, integrity, commitment and dedication to their clients and industry.
Team
“I have worked with many of the same clients for more than twenty years now. Clients think of me as a part of their families and I think of them as part of mine. I am proud that over a long career, I have helped many of them become wealthy. I couldn’t have achieved this without my team.”
Six years ago, Jamie’s son, Brendan Colafranceschi, joined him in the practice as an Investment Advisor. “Brendan is hard-working, honest and very caring, like his mother. He is learning every day, taking courses and in a short time has achieved great success. Brendan assists me in managing client accounts as well as introducing new clients to our practice.”
Erin Boyle is our Executive Assistant. Erin is originally from Calgary, Alberta and is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario in Business Administration. Erin manages all the day-to-day aspects of our practice. Jamie says, “As our business has grown substantially over nearly 25 years, I couldn’t manage without Brendan and Erin.”
Up Close & Personal
Jamie is married to Lynda. They have three sons, Brendan, Daryl, and Jeremy. Jamie is a long-time supporter of Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Lucan & Area Donnelly Museum. “I grew up in Lucan, a small town north of London. The museum was built to preserve the heritage of Lucan and surrounding rural area. Heritage is very important to me,” he explains.
As a last word, Jamie says, “I tell my kids, “Life is not a dry run for the next one. There are no do-overs.” I am extremely lucky to be living a fulfilled life and to have found not one, but three silver linings - my beautiful wife, my amazing family, and all of our many clients who have meant so much to me throughout my career.”
This article was written by Suzen Fromstein based on an interview of Jamie Hodgins, a Senior Investment Advisor with Mandeville Private Client Inc. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the Investment Advisor only and do not necessarily reflect those of Mandeville Private Client Inc. Mandeville Private Client Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
Suzen Fromstein is the author of Suits and Ladders, Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe - with a few jokes thrown in. Suits and Ladders was an Amazon Best Selling Book in the Career Guides Category
MANDEVILLE PRIVATE CLIENT
JAMIE HODGINS, FMA, CIM, FCSI
SENIOR INVESTMENT ADVISOR
640 COLBORNE ST. London, Ontario N6B 2V2
519-432-6744
jhodgins@mandevillepc.com