I started my career in a private bank. This was the conventional way at the time – join a large firm, and work your way up. But in 2010, I met the Founder of Lighthouse Canton, Shilpi Chowdhary, who was working in the wealth management division of the bank. He eventually became my mentor and imparted a great deal to me.
In 2014, Shilpi decided to start his own firm, and invited me to join him as part of the co-founding team. Being a natural optimist, and mindful of the brevity of life, I deemed that the reasons to take this leap of faith outweighed the reasons not to. So, I accepted, and have not looked back since.
Fortune favors the brave – we witnessed this first-hand as bankers. Many of our clients built their fortunes by willing to venture into the unknown instead of keeping to the beaten path. In retrospect, I would not have experienced the growth that I have if I had remained a bank employee.
#1 The pioneering, entrepreneurial spirit
We always believed we could do more for our clients by charting their investment journeys with a long-term outlook, and a more holistic experience in mind. Being new, we needed to find our niche, which birthed the vision to create value for our clients through innovative investment solutions.
It was challenging leaving our comfort zones of corporate establishments to set up processes, hire people and solicit business prospects. Everyone had to pitch in, and we learned a lot.
#2 Teamwork, trust and a common vision
We have strong team spirit, deep trust in one another, and a common vision. We believed we could add value to our clients by pushing past convention, questioning everything, and approaching things from different angles.
The world is evolving at a feverish pace, and our solutions and innovations now have to address financial and market developments within the context of today’s digital landscape. We are confident that at Lighthouse Canton, we can offer relevant and cutting-edge solutions to a range of different firms across different industries.
Sometimes when people ask what we do and we talk about all the many ways we’re looking to challenge the status quo and innovate what we do, I think they must think we’re either disrupting the industry or we’re overly ambitious!
Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution offering wealth and asset management services. We provide clients and investors with data-backed, well-researched investment guidance, aided by our robust institutional framework. Our goal and mission is helping clients attain theirs.
Lighthouse Canton’s Wealth Management division provides investment solutions for corporates, family offices, ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI), entrepreneurs and founders of startups.
As Executive Director, I manage business development and key client relationships for clients based out of Southeast Asia and Greater China. Together with our in-house teams and partner firms, we provide clients tailored execution, investing and advisory capabilities for their treasury, business & family office requirements.
NUS Business School was an important stepping stone into the finance industry. The business school really prepared and equipped us with the foundational and technical knowledge, which has proved to be crucial. Teamwork was a key skill that came out from the courses as well, being able to work together, collaborating and trusting my fellow batch mates definitely helped prepare us to navigate the real-life working environment.
Another aspect of the courses was most definitely the overseas program and the various career talks that were frequently hosted. It really gave us a good feel and flavor for what it would be like career-wise.
In 2009, I was fortunate to make a study trip to Hong Kong. This was about a year before I was set to graduate, and so I was still thinking of the career path I wanted to take. On the trip I was exposed to the banking sector, and I remember thinking, wow this is such a dynamic and high energy industry.
The trip really left an impression on me and helped me to build some of the most important connections in the industry I have today. I can credit my interest in banking to that one trip and am really grateful that NUS Business School arranged it for us.
The academic study trips and guest speaker sessions! The BIZCareers office invites guest speakers from various industries to speak to us on a regular basis, and I really treasure those experiences. I remember one speaker from the private wealth sector who sparked my interest in the industry. Her engaging and insightful sharing provided us a glimpse of the inner workings of financial institutions, and that left a deep impression.
Fortune favors the brave – we witnessed this first-hand as bankers. Many of our clients built their fortunes by willing to venture into the unknown instead of keeping to the beaten path. In retrospect, I would not have experienced the growth that I have if I had remained a bank employee.