AN EYE FOR RISK MANAGEMENT
WHEN you find yourself in a place or a job that you do not like, do not complain and do not immediately walk away. The knowledge and the skills that you can pick up along the way and the people you meet — you will never know when any of these will come in handy someday.
Nixon Wong, who graduated from the University of South Australia in Adelaide in 2009 with a bachelor of commerce (double major in accounting and finance) had to navigate the broad field of the finance and investment industry before taking on the post of executive director and chief investment officer of newly minted Tradeview Capital Sdn Bhd.
“My past work experiences have helped me to get to where I am now. It’s amazing how the dots connected to get me here.”
Prior to his present position, Wong had handled mergers and acquisitions, company listings, equities and fixed-income trading in the global market and fundraising (for takeover), among others.
It was going through all these different tasks that made the Ipoh boy realise where his real passion lies.
The eldest child in a family of four, Wong’s father is a businessman while his mother is in the corporate world.
From his mother, Wong learnt what it took to survive and climb the corporate ladder. From his father, he learnt how one could grow a business from scratch.
“My father talked a lot about economics, which got me thinking about finance at a young age. He also taught me how to deal with people.
“Honestly, I don’t enjoy reading that much. I only read when I need the information to carry out research on a company. I enjoy meeting new people and I find that I can learn a lot from having conversations with people, more than from reading a book.”
Although Wong has a degree in accounting, he likes finance and investment banking more.
He started out as an intern at Price WaterhouseCoopers in Kuala Lumpur before landing his first job at Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, where he learnt the banking back-end process in supporting the Hong Kong equity and fixed-income trading market.
He was immediately seconded to Hong Kong for training before returning to Kuala Lumpur to help in migrating a back-end support centre of equity and fixedincome to Malaysia.
Wong left after a year to join AmInvestment Bank Bhd as a corporate finance executive for 1½ years.
He spent another 1½ years in the same bank as a unit trust portfolio analyst.
Wong’s next job was at Public Mutual Bhd as an equity analyst for nearly three years. He then got a call from his former employer telling him that there was an opening for an investment manager, which was something he was passionate about.
So he went back to AmInvestment Bank.
In 2018, Wong joined Kenanga Investors Bhd where he served as a portfolio manager for close to four years before joining Tradeview.
Wong said a company’s work culture was very important for its productivity and bringing the best out of an employee.
He considers himself a “moderate fund manager” as he always tries to strike a balance between conservative and growth strategies.
“I’m not very much into momentum investing but I focus more on a company’s fundamentals. I always analyse the risks. Risk management is very important to me. A fund manager manages people’s money. Losing people’s money will affect my own confidence.
“When you buy a stock, you have to believe in the company. Look at the longer horizon. Many people want quick money and so they listen to tips.
“Retail investors who do not want to put in the time and effort to learn more about a company always look for quick returns by relying on tips. Investment banks should educate investors on this.
“For example, if you were to sell a stock just because you hear noises about the company, you may be losing potential returns as the stock may perform well over the long term,” he said, adding that it all boiled down to one’s understanding of the company.
When Wong was a child, he had thought of becoming a doctor when he grew up. Being a science stream student, he had loved biology more than chemistry and physics.
Fortunately, Wong chose the finance industry over the medical profession as he looks like he is another gem that is set to shine in this industry.
My past work experiences have helped me to get to where I am now. It’s amazing how the dots connected to get me here. NIXON WONG Executive director and chief investment officer of Tradeview Capital Sdn Bhd