Deloitte Alumni interview and profile

1. Alumni!!
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Where are they now?!
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Duncan!Martinus!
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Company!name:!AAM!Advisory!Pte!Ltd.!
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Job!title:!Senior!Financial!Consultant!
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Time!at!Deloitte:!Nov!1999!to!Jan!2009!
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Department:!Tax!"!Private!Client!Services,!Manchester!
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Email!address:!duncan@financialadvice.com.sg!!
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Brief!biog:!
My!career!in!Financial!Services!spans!over!12!years!which!started!initially!with!Standard!Life!in!Leeds.!!I!
trained! as! an! Independent! Financial! Adviser! with! Deloitte! in! London! after! graduating! in! 1997! from!
Sheffield!Hallam!University!with!a!BA!Hons!degree!in!Financial!Services.!I!subsequently!moved!internally!
after!5!years!to!serve!clients!based!throughout!the!UK!and!overseas!from!Deloitte's!Manchester!office.!!I!
left!Deloitte!at!the!end!of!January!2009!and!took!a!career!break!before!deciding!to!move!to!Singapore!to!
gain!exposure!to!international!clients,!and!particularly,!the!growing!markets!of!South!East!Asia.!
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How!long!have!you!been!in!your!current!role?!
I!have!only!been!at!AAM!Advisory!for!a!month,!having!recently!joined!as!a!Senior!Financial!Consultant!at!
the!beginning!of!October.!
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What!attracted!you!to!this!company/industry?!
When! I! decided! to! move! to! Singapore,! I! sought! a! company! which! recognised! the! importance! of!
professional,!high!quality!and!impartial!advice!to!the!expat!and!the!local!market.!It!was!critical!that!the!
firm! I! joined! had! a! robust,! well! resourced! back! office! and! a! depth! of! technical! expertise! to! ensure!
consistency!of!appropriate!advice,!with!sound!protocols!and!systems.!
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What's!the!best!thing!about!your!job?!
The! opportunity! to! meet,! befriend! and/or! advise! people! from! such! wide! ranging! nationalities! with!
varied! backgrounds,! who! are! working! in! a! foreign,! dynamic! and! ever! changing! environment.!! Also,! I!
value! the! opportunity! to! travel! to! destinations! which! previously! would! not! have! been! practically!
feasible.!
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What!are!you!most!proud!of!achieving!in!your!career?!
I! became! a! Chartered! Financial! Planner! in! July! 2007! which! is! the! highest! qualification! for! financial!
advisers!in!the!UK.!This!was!introduced!by!the!Chartered!Insurance!Institute!during!that!same!year!to!
promote!a!new!level!of!professionalism!to!the!industry!to!be!on!a!par!with!lawyers!and!accountants.!!!
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2. What!is!the!most!unusual!project!you've!worked!on?!
I’ve! experienced! a! number! of! "unusual"! projects,! which! have! usually! involved! planning! to! avoid! tax!
which! can! often! be! very! clever! and! very! complex.! My! most! demanding! client! was! a! prominent!
commercial!and!retail!property!investor!who!sold!his!entire!portfolio!at!the!top!of!the!property!market!
in!Oct/Nov!2006.!This!provided!him!with!the!dilemma!of!what!to!do!with!several!hundred!million!of!cash!
and!how!to!extract!huge!sums!without!incurring!tax.!
The!project!required!appraising!the!most!suitable!tax!free!countries!in!which!to!reside!to!avoid!UK!tax!
and!how!to!reduce!risk!to!the!significant!capital!held!with!various!financial!institutions,!whilst!providing!
a! reasonable! return.! In! the! end,! the! client! chose! to! move! to! a! small! private! island! in! the! West! Indies!
where!the!Caribbean!Sea!meets!the!Atlantic,!above!the!less!appealing!attractions!of!places!like!Jersey!
and!Guernsey.!Unfortunately,!leaving!Deloitte! when! I!did!robbed! me!of!the!opportunity!of! witnessing!
the! client's! permanent! huge! grin,! which! no! doubt! resembled! that! of! a! very! happy,! very! sun"tanned!
Cheshire!cat.!
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How!has!the!time!you!spent!at!Deloitte!influenced!your!career!to!date?!
My! time! at! Deloitte! has! provided! me! with! the! solid! foundations! on! which! to! build! and! progress! my!
career!in!the!Wealth!Management!arena.!Deloitte!presented!me!with!the!opportunity!to!work!with!busy!
senior!executives,!high!net!worth!individuals!and!property!magnates!and!through!these!experiences,!the!
focus! on! and! the! ability! to! deliver! and! maintain! excellent! client! service! and! a! good! client! relationship!
was! learned.! Providing! the! initial! high! quality! advice! was! important,! but! managing! the! relationships!
were! fundamentally! critical! to! long! term,! mutually! rewarding! business! relations.!!! This! level! of!
professionalism! is! what! clients! ought! to! experience! and! is! something! that! has! certainly! influenced! my!
approach!to!advising!international!clients!in!my!new!role.!!
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What's!left!for!you!to!achieve!and!what!challenges!do!you!most!look!forward!to?!
I! am! currently! focused! on! making! Singapore! my! new! home! and! immersing! myself! in! the! abundant!
cultural!experiences!presented!by!the!diverse!range!of!nationalities!which!combine!to!make!the!country!
so! fascinating! and! exciting.! This! recent! big! move! to! a! completely! new! foreign! market! presents! my!
biggest! professional! challenge! to! date! which! is! essentially! to! win! and! serve! new! clients! and! build!
completely!new!professional!connections!in!Singapore.!I!am!also!now!very!determined!to!learn!to!play!
the!piano.!!
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What!do!you!like!to!do!in!your!spare!time?!
I!enjoy!competing!in!football!leagues!and!tournaments,!Wake/Snow!boarding,!fly!fishing!and!live!music!
events,!particularly!jazz/blues/funk/Soul!&!disco.!
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Duncan!can!be!contacted!at:!
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Licence!No.!FA100032"1!/!Co.!No.!198802184Z!
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4!Robinson!Road!#12"00!
Singapore!048543!
!! +65!93857527!!!! ! !!! ! !+65 !68661468!
"! +65!65369893! ! ! "! ! duncan@financialadvice.com.sg!!
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#! www.financialadvice.com.sg!/!www.aam"advisory.com!!!
! http://sg.linkedin.com/in/duncanmartinus!!