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Coffee Catch-Up Meet Harry Roberts

At IAM, we ensure our clients interact with industry experts to get the best value for their investments. We caught up with Harry Roberts – Associate Director, IAM Capital Markets, for a coffee.

Read excerpts from our Q&A below:

Hi Harry!

It’s so good to have you spend time with us!

As you’re relatively new, having started just a month ago, can you start by sharing what your current role is within IAM Capital Markets?

Hello! Great to be here. My current role is Associate Director of Capital Markets where I assist any individual or entity who is interested in the defensive asset class, specifically looking towards bonds and private debt.

Exciting stuff! Prior to this role, you had extensive experience in cash term deposits. How did you find this role and the transition into capital markets? Were there any passion projects you were involved in?

In a previous role, I assisted institutions and advisers invest in a range of bank products. In this role, I found that Term Deposits and Capital Markets go hand in hand and should be used appropriately to take advantage of market movements and investment opportunities. As a project, when the cash rate was at its lowest of 0.10% I actively tried to educate entities on the opportunities available in capital markets as Term Deposits of 0.01% weren’t very popular for some reason.

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Let’s dive deeper into your expertise and how you operate within the ever-changing financial markets:

It’s always interesting to hear about the behind-the-scenes aspects of your field. What are some misconceptions you’ve come across, and how do you set the record straight?

Two of the most common misconceptions I come across are:

  1. Bonds are a complicated instrument.
  2. The Bond market is small.

Simply though, if I can understand how they work…they can’t be that complicated. Also, the global bond market is ~25% larger than the stock market. So take that stocks!

When it comes to investing, do you have any personal mantras or principles that guide your approach?

I haven’t really thought about my mantra before…but when dealing with people’s nest eggs I will always prefer to lean on the side of caution, so would maybe say “Better safe than sorry”. But that also seems so boring for a mantra, so I’ll also add to that “Age doesn’t really matter unless you’re a wine or cheese”.

Shifting gears a bit, we’d like to get to know you on a more personal level.

As a Brissy local, what are your top spots in Brisvegas?

That’s a very difficult question with so many great pubs across Brisbane.

Balancing work and personal interests is crucial for overall well-being. How do you manage to strike that balance and ensure you feel fulfilled both professionally and personally?

Who’s been saying that I’m personally fulfilled? Jokes aside, I’d say the secret to balancing work and personal interests though is partly making sure you enjoy what you do for a job and secondly making sure you have time for hobbies, friends and family.