Where are they now? Troy Rieck on life after QIC

Troy Rieck

Troy Rieck spent 13 years at QIC and was managing director of the global multi-asset team when he left the organisation in 2013. He talks to Industry Moves about career highlights, his new venture - investment education, advice and consulting company, Diceros Capital - and the joys of being your own boss.

Troy Rieck

What was the highlight of your time at QIC?

Lots of things stand out, but the most satisfying work was helping clients during the GFC. There were times when it seemed like the financial world was coming to an end, and being able to help deal with the worst of that, and put clients in a position to benefit on the other side as markets recovered was a privilege. Working so closely with people under such stress can make or break relationships, and i am happy to say relationships were stronger as a result.

Why did you leave?

I had been at QIC for 13 years, having started as an assistant portfolio manager in Fixed Interest & Currency and left as managing director of the Global Multi-Asset team. In that time I got the opportunity to build a business and a great team to run it, and clients put their trust in us as we completely (and successfully) changed our approach to managing multi-asset portfolios. But 13 years is a long time to spend in any place - it was just time to move on and do new things. I left with a lot of great memories, and thankful for the opportunities that clients provided.

Where are you now?

Working at Diceros Capital, where I focus on investment education, advice and consulting. I started it as a way to spend more time working on new investment ideas and in particular on the challenge of building better retirement portfolios. I have also taken on a non-executive director role at Ability Capital, a start-up equities business with a different approach to adding value.

In what way is your new role different to your previous role/s?

Smaller client base and different clients - much more hands-on and personal. And there is also something exciting about putting your own money on the line every day. But it's still about finding practical solutions to clients' problems, helping them be better informed about the world, and empowering them to get more out of their consultants, managers, custodian etc.

What do you like about your new role/s?

Being your own boss means you get to choose what you work on, to a large extent. There is nowhere to hide if your work isn't good enough, but if you have an idea there is nothing stopping you investing time and energy into proving it up. Clients quickly tell you whether it is going to be useful to them or not. Trying to navigate financial markets are as challenging as ever of course, but you can help investors a lot without once needing to guess next year's returns. And the meetings are a lot shorter :-).

What don't you like about it/them?

You go from having a big support network for everything you do, to doing everything for yourself. It's a simpler, cleaner, model but if you don't become self-sufficient quickly then you will drown. It certainly brings clarity to your day in choosing what to work on.

What have you learnt in previous roles that has helped you in your new role/s?

Three things:

  1. It's all about the client, not about you. Unless you can listen carefully to their concerns, and come back with a practical solution, then you aren't helping them at all. A lot of technical people struggle with the communication and interaction piece, and that is something clients really want

  2. One role an outsider can facilitate is helping clients to gather up the pieces of the puzzle and organise them into a coherent picture. Governance and engagement are such important issues now, for every investor. If you can make them feel more organised and in control, and help them to focus on the most important issues for them, that's a great start.

  3. The investment business is changing quickly: the growth of SMSFs and individual retirement portfolios, the challenge of fees charged vs value-added from traditional management, internalization on investment management, the benefits of good advice, etc. clients are looking for help, so businesses need to quickly evolve to meet the challenge.

One last question. Is there a particular charity or cause that you support?

I like the work a lot of charities do (e.g. St Vincent de Paul, Red Cross, Salvation Army etc) but I am going to pick Beyondblue. It's timely given Robin Williams' death (who can ever forget "Good Morning Vietnam!") to acknowledge that so many people have to fight the "black dog" from time to time, even if they appear to be the funniest people in the room. I also noticed recent survey work suggesting that stress in the workplace - one of the contributors to depression - is a big issue for super fund executives. "R U OK?" day is a great idea.