After the turmoil of the first half of 2020 it has been nice to have a ‘business as usual’ quarter, with much of our focus returning to reviewing our existing clients and meeting new ones. We are hopeful for a more normal second half of 2020 and it has certainly started that way.
It’s time for a bit of fun! Over the coming year we would like to help you to get to know the people of Wakefield Partners, and what better way than asking a bunch of random questions; some that relate to the job and some that don’t. We thought a good start to this would be none other than Scott Keeley.
Name: Scott Keeley
Job Title: Senior Financial Adviser/Director and sometime IT Specialist (have you tried turning it off and on again?)
How long have you been with Wakefield Partners?: 16 years this year. After 13 years at Social Security/Centrelink, this is only my second job!
What do you get up to during a regular work day?: Varied I guess. My morning always starts early with a big coffee and a morning conference call with analysts discussing overnight international market movements. From there, it can be client appointments, preparation of client reviews and advice documents, managing the day-to-day needs of a small business, training, reading (lots of reading), phone calls/emails and interacting with staff.
What’s your best memory from Wakefield Partners?: Tough one, I love every aspect of Wakefield Partners. The loyal, strong performing staff, the loyal and supportive clients, the relationship with Lee Green and the freedom to come into the office every day and do something I love. I love that I get the opportunity through a large number of South East clients to visit my Mt Gambier-based family once a month. Probably easier to recount my worst memory – the client fishing charter in Backstairs Passage about 10 years ago! I’m not made for the ocean.
What TV Show are you hooked on at the moment?: I guess I’m more of a live sport fan, so I tend to flick between whatever cricket or footy is on. I am a big fan of UK crime dramas for those nights I feel like thinking.
The best book you have ever read?: Who wrote these questions? Tough again. I read a lot. Not unusual for me to have 2 or 3 books on the go at any one time, but no one book stands out. From a fiction point of view, I religiously read each John Grisham novel as it is released, with “The Firm” my favourite that I have read many times. With non-fiction, I tend to alternate between sports biographies/autobiographies and historical recounts (currently reading a book called “The Day The Bubble Burst” about the Wall Street stockmarket crash of 1929).
What music is your favourite?: Broad tastes. Influenced significantly by my father, who loved the Rolling Stones. My upbringing was in the hair metal/grunge eras, so I my playlists (particularly for my country trips) tend to be full of Guns’n’Roses, Nirvana, Pearl Jam etc. With a 23 year old step-son, I quite enjoy hip-hop and modern music too.
A quote that you like?: I wish I could come up with something more inspiring, but I’ve always loved a quote from one of the “Rocky” movies, where Rocky is talking to his son about life, using a boxing analogy:
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
I’m guessing Sylvester Stallone probably didn’t write this himself.
What’s something interesting you can share with us about yourself?: Not sure if it’s interesting, but it’s no secret that I looooooove cricket. Having watched Australia play at most grounds domestically, I’m always looking at future fixtures to see when and how I can watch them overseas (my wife’s thrilled – actually she doesn’t mind it). Having been on cricket tours to the UK (cricket at Lord’s and Edgbaston) and South Africa (cricket at Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg), I never fail to mention that I was staying in the same hotel as the Aussie players during Sandpaper-gate and got my 15 minutes of fame in international press and on Australian television. I’m focussing now on India and the West Indies.
What are your thoughts on investing?: I’m quite conservative by nature, and am yet to be convinced by any expert that the strategy of buying quality and holding for the long term is wrong. I’ve seen it time and time again, where analysts come out and say that “Buy and Hold is Dead”, usually during events like the GFC and the recent COVID-19 correction. However, if you hold quality assets, there isn’t a period in history that they haven’t eventually rebounded from market turmoil.
Do you think you align with Scott’s personality? Would he be a good fit as the financial adviser for you? Contact him now to discuss your financial situation or to give him stick for being a cricket tragic!
