Name: Sam Myers
Company: Evelyn Partners
Position: Investment Manager
What do you actually do day-to-day? Me and my team run personalised investment portfolios on behalf of private clients and institutions. I am responsible for looking after my clients’ wealth and I have known many of them for over 15 years so you build up very trusting relationships. I also spend a portion of my time looking for new clients. I am fortunate that a lot of these come via referrals from my existing clients so I must be doing something right!
Have you ever had a mentor? If so, who? I’ve never had a mentor as such but there are a lot of long-serving, experienced colleagues in our office who have always been happy to provide guidance and support at different points of my career. This has always been very valuable to me and I try to do the same for those who are on their way up.
Does money motivate you? It’s undoubtedly important to me and I think that I felt that more acutely when I was starting out and working my way up. However, since my first son came along 10 years ago, work/life balance is just as important so I wouldn’t take twice the pay for half the free time that I currently have with my family.
What has been the most important event in your working life? When one of our regional offices closed in 2012 a few of the younger Investment Managers in the Liverpool office at the time were tasked with defending the clients from colleagues who had moved to a competitor firm. I was involved in this and it gave me a real leg up in terms of my status at the firm at the time as well as my client book. It was hard work and I was very much thrown in at the deep end, but I learnt a lot.
Who do you most admire? I owe everything to my parents who gave me every opportunity to succeed. Neither came from privilege but both worked hard to forge great careers in public service. They gave me a good grounding and taught me a lot about humility, which is an important quality to have in my industry where you are often surrounded by wealth which can distort your view of what ‘normal’ looks like.
What does leadership mean to you? I believe you judge a good leader by their actions rather than their words. Whilst some aspects of leadership can be learnt, some people have a natural instinct for it that you can’t glean from a textbook.
What’s your favourite TV programme? I could pass many a happy hour watching Alan Partridge, especially late 90s/early 2000s
How do you relax? I run most mornings which is a great time to clear your mind
Fry up or healthy smoothie? Fry up
Pub or club? Pub
Gym or countryside walk? I definitely prefer to exercise outdoors – a treadmill is my worst nightmare!
Favourite piece of music? My musical tastes stopped evolving in around 2002 so anything I choose would pre-date that! On the occasions that I do get to put some music on that isn’t chosen by the kids, I’d listen to the Stereophonic’s debut album, Word Gets Around, which is brilliant from start to finish
Flannels or Florence & Fred? Flannels for me (buy cheap, buy twice!), but F&F for the kids who can’t keep an item of clothing clean for more than 60 seconds
Birkdale or Birkenhead? I’d say Birkenhead to get a good view of Everton’s new stadium!