Marc Adam is the chief financial officer of the Dubai-based lender Commercial Bank International. The Canadian, 54, has lived in the UAE since February and has three children, ages 24, 19 and 18.
Describe your financial journey so far.
I have been pretty fortunate, financially speaking. I graduated university with no debts, as I went on an athletic scholarship and had help from my parents for pocket money. When I graduated I worked in New York, so I did not need a car, and I shared an apartment in a cheaper part of the city, which allowed me to start saving. When I married a few years later in the United Kingdom, I had enough savings to buy an extremely modest used car and also pay the down payment on a house. That might not be possible any more, given house prices in the UK now. Over my working career, I have managed to pay off the mortgage of the last house I bought in the UK back in 2005, buy a holiday place in Meribel, France, that can be used in winter and summer, and set aside money for my three children’s university education. I also have investments for retirement, whenever that comes.
Are you a spender or saver?
A little bit of both. I set aside how much I want to save and happily spend the rest. I travel back to the UK to see my kids and pay for them whenever they visit me.
What is your philosophy towards money?
I work to live rather than live to work. I do not need more money to be happy and I do not envy those who have more than me, or more expensive things, because I know I am quite fortunate. I do not use it as a measurement of anything. However, from a business perspective, as a chief financial officer, I have a very different philosophy. In business, the bottom line is a key measure of a successful enterprise – and I very much want to be a part of a successful business.
Have you made any financial mistakes along the way?
A few. I made the mistake of holding on to vested shares of a bank where I was still working even though I had unvested shares as well. It was partially because of loyalty, but mostly because I strongly believed the shares would go up. They did comparatively better than other bank shares, but no investment adviser would tell you to have more than 50 per cent of your portfolio in one stock if you had the option to diversify. Thankfully I learnt that lesson early in my career, or 2008 would have been much worse. I also purchased way too many 2009 Bordeaux futures when it was very well-rated (some say hyped). Up until then, wine futures of top Bordeaux in very good years was seen as a one-way bet. Well, everyone got in on the act, drove the prices through the roof and on average they have gone down between 20 to 35 per cent since. Again, diversification would have been more sensible.
If you won Dh1 million, what would you do with it?
Dh1m is an interesting amount – not enough for me to retire, but certainly more than I could easily spend. I would stick to my philosophy – decide how much to save or invest, which would be at least half, and spend the rest. As an investment, I would definitely think about buying a property in Dubai. For the spending, a new bicycle would be first. I would give some to charity as I do now, but would not want to say how much. That is personal.
What has been your best investment?
Definitely the UK property I purchased, and also a leveraged private equity fund that one of my employer banks allowed employees to participate in. It has paid back six or seven times the principle and is still paying out 10 years later.
What do you enjoy spending money on?
My expensive habits besides travel include going out for dinner and cycling. My bicycle is comparatively modest compared to high-end ones that are on the road, although a non-cyclist would probably think otherwise.
mkassem@thenational.ae
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