Philippa Huckle found setting up a financial business is easy in Hong Kong

Philippa Huckle arrived in Hong Kong in 1996 by unconventional means – on a bicycle. This followed her mounting climbing tour of Scotland. Trained in classical economics in Zimbabwe, Ms Huckle is chief executive of the Philippa Huckle Group, which offers financial strategies and solutions to independent investors. She is one of the first wealth managers in Asia to promote the principles of behavioural finance, which focuses on the psychology of investing and how people make financial decisions.

“The more investors understand about the principles of behavioual finance, the better equipped they are to evaluate market information and make balanced decisions. Behavioural finance teaches us how to be aware of our emotions and avoid making irrational investments that overrule logic. This provided the motivation for setting up my business.

Running my own business has given me the opportunity to control the processes and add new dimensions and techniques which have been inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of Hong Kong. Through the seminars I organise to support my clients I have been able to talk directly to a wide range of fascinating people. I don’t think this would have happened in the same way anywhere else. As an offshoot of the seminars, my online monthly newsletter is now read in more than 40 countries.

Hong Kong is very welcoming to entrepreneurs. There are so many opportunities for networking which makes Hong Kong one of the fastest cities in the world to get a business up and running. This is reflected by the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that don’t just operate in Hong Kong but through drive and innovation achieve great success.

Sharing the knowledge

There is no doubt that Hong Kong is a ‘hard work, hard play city’ with a healthy emphasis on fun. It's not difficult to think of Hong Kong as a stock market: it has moods that can turn from restful to euphoric; it can also react hastily one day and make amends the next. It is also a diverse hotbed of highly educated, hardworking business owners, entrepreneurs, and decision makers who freely offer their expertise and knowledge, which makes it possible to achieve a great deal in a short space of time.

Setting up and operating a financial business in Hong Kong is easy. The regulations overseen by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) set the benchmark for the entire region. This provides solid reasons why most of the world’s leading banks and financial institutions have a presence here. The SFC has also done a great deal to raise professional standards, for example through promoting the upgrading of skills and the need for professional qualifications. This is an absolute necessity for businesses such as mine, which are based on ability, trust, and transparency, and close working relationships.

The combination of the social and working environment, which can include anything from fine dining to sport and recreation, makes it easy to meet new and interesting people. This adds even more fuel to the people-bank and the spirit of what makes Hong Kong the place that it is.”

Related link
The Philippa Huckle Group