Money & Me: ‘I invest in my businesses because they are within my control’

Furqan Athar, managing director and partner at McArthur + Company and founder of ZOI-ME, has wanted to be a self-made man since childhood

Furqan Athar says his best investments have been in his family and his health. Pawan Singh / The National

Furqan Athar, managing director and partner at development advisory firm McArthur + Company, avoids investing in real estate or the stock market as he believes these asset classes are beyond his control.

Instead, he focuses on growing his wealth by investing in businesses, new ideas and concepts that he can influence.

Mr Athar, a 51-year-old Pakistani national, is also the founder and managing director of Spret Retail.

With a background in finance at companies such as KPMG, PwC, Majid Al Futtaim and Al Futtaim from 1994 to 2008, he has transitioned to entrepreneurship and pursues new ventures.

“I've been dabbling in entrepreneurial businesses, with professional consulting being a mainstay,” he says.

Mr Athar is also the founder of ZOI-ME, which is a preventative and longevity-based health care centre.

He studied at the University of London, the University of Cambridge and Karachi University.

He lives in The Greens, Dubai, and has two daughters, aged 20 and 18, with his ex-wife and a nine-month-old baby with his current wife.

Did wealth feature in your childhood? What did you learn from it?

When I was young, a lot of my peers said they wanted to go to the Moon, be a scientist, a cricketer or a singer. For some reason, I loved saying that I wanted to be a self-made man.

I was intrigued by the autobiographies of successful and self-made people such as Henry Ford and Richard Branson. I always knew that I wanted to stand on my own feet.

I wasn't focused on wealth in the pure sense of the term but more about becoming independent through the generation of new ideas and ventures, and I knew wealth would eventually follow.

How did you first earn? What did your first job pay?

Not even 2,000 Pakistani rupees, which would not even be Dh100 now. That is what an intern at an audit company gets.

This was Ferguson Pakistan, a leading chartered accounting firm, which pays employees a stipend when they start their career, maybe $100 or $200. From there, you work hard as an intern.

You invest in your career in the beginning and then reap the benefits later.

Any early financial jolts?

I always like living on the edge. I'm not talking about being a spendthrift. I don't carry a lot of assets with me and like investing in my businesses.

Whenever I have been able to put in a little bit of extra money, I invest in a business, an idea or a concept. That way, I know the wealth would increase because I'm putting it in a place where it can make more money.

For me, it was all about reinvesting in your ideas or concepts that would eventually become business models.

You take risks because eventually they'll pay off. I've done maybe 15 to 20 businesses in my life. I've closed them down when the time was right because you need to move on.

Whatever business model you have, it needs to evolve and adapt with time, and we better have a new idea ready.

How do you grow your wealth?

By reinvesting in ideas that have a chance of succeeding.

I've never really focused on real estate or stocks because those investments are not in my control.

I like controlling my investments and my decisions. When real estate goes up or down, it is due to everybody else except me. The same applies to stocks, too.

I like controlling my destiny. Therefore, I like investing in my business where wealth will increase because of my efforts.

Furqan Athar says time and freedom of thought are the most important luxuries. Pawan Singh / The National

Are you a spender or a saver?

I'm a spender but more from the point of view of an investment. I invest in my business.

Currently, I don't have a car. I'd rather invest in ZOI-ME, my current business.

I sold my previous business. I bought out about Dh15 million to Dh20 million and invested it all in my new venture.

Have I taken loans? No. I like to put all the money in and give my business a major thrust.

Have you been wise with money?

Talking in hindsight is very easy. I can easily calculate and understand all decisions that were taken at a point in time with the information I have right now.

But at the time I was taking those decisions, I did so based on the best of my ability at that time.

What has been your best investment?

Family, kids and the time spent with them. Also, the investment in my health. I'm 51 right now and I could do a lot of things that my friends and peers can’t.

I don’t think about the monetary value of wealth too much. We don't know the real meaning of wealth.

Wealth means time well spent, whether with family, loved ones, on health, spiritual journey. Everything else comes and goes.

I love doing charity, so one goal is to be able to feed those charities to the level that they require

Furqan Athar,
managing director and partner, McArthur + Company

Any cherished purchases?

I like purchasing things for other people, never for myself. The first car I bought my ex-wife about 10 to 15 years ago, a Land Cruiser, was a cherished purchase because that was a step up for the family.

Another cherished purchase may be a house I bought for my kids. Or a ring I bought for my current wife.

How do you feel about money?

Money is a story that people tell each other because it is the only common denominator between two sides.

People might not speak the same language, not be from the same culture, might have distrust, but money is a common belief.

Any key financial milestones?

Being independent. I started with a bit of debt, then had business partners, and then more and more, you gain control of your life.

People like divesting, but I like controlling. My milestones are when I've been increasingly in control of my businesses, my destiny and my life.

What luxuries are important to you?

Time, freedom of thought and freedom of expressing your opinions to the people around you.

What are your financial goals?

Be independent, put some money aside for my kids and family.

I'm going to work till I die, so it's not about the money I will make. But it's about putting it back into action.

I love doing charity, so one goal is to be able to feed those charities to the level that they require.