Michael Lee-Chin on Accountability and Wealth Frameworks
Richard C. Wilson interviews Michael Lee-Chin of Portland Holdings about the frameworks he uses in business and investing.
Michael Lee-Chin describes how he assigns responsibility to a person, uses values to guide decisions and looks at his generation's future needs. He says he bought wealth management companies after anticipating a savings and investing boom, and now sees demand growing for healthcare and oncology.
In this video: Richard C. Wilson (Host of Family Office Club and Billionaires.com), Michael Lee-Chin (Portland Holdings)
What they said
- Michael on principal agent responsibility. Michael says the principal agent problem is the source of 99.9% of the problems he comes across in business. He ties it to a lack of ownership.
- Michael on decision frameworks. Michael says a person's values and principles should guide decisions. He compares a decision against that framework so the answer can follow from it.
- Michael on cohort demand. At age 32, Michael expected families in his cohort to be consuming. He saw a savings and investing boom ahead when they reached 42, a decade later.
- Michael on wealth management companies. Michael says he began buying wealth management companies when Canada's industry had $5 billion in assets under management. He says it later reached $2 trillion, a 400 times increase.
- Michael on healthcare and oncology demand. Michael says he sees the early innings of a healthcare and oncology boom. He says he is investing in targeted radionuclide therapy, which he believes could disrupt traditional chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
In their words
"if this was your business if this was your house how would you have treated it"
"you have to predict you have to plan and you have to persevere"
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
Michael's cohort forecast helped him choose wealth management after weighing banks and insurers against loan and underwriting losses.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Michael Lee-Chin: Invest in what people will do next. He saw that his generation would shift from consuming to saving and investing. He chose wealth management companies over banks and insurers to avoid underwriting losses.
- Tom Rosen: Buy when the market is down. Tom bought a lot when the stock market almost collapsed and made a substantial profit. In the year that followed, oil and gas surged. So did some tech.
- Tim Draper: Teach children about money early. Give them a small allowance and have them earn and invest money in the stock market. Over time they learn to ask sharp questions about how a business works.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
What did Michael say families in his cohort were buying?
He said families around age 32 were buying houses, cars and furniture.
What alternatives did Michael consider to wealth management companies?
He mentioned banks and insurance companies, and said either could face underwriting losses. He also cited loan losses as a risk for banks.
How did Michael describe the fund he started?
He said it was not diversified. It focused on aggregating opportunities he expected to prove themselves in the future.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.