Mac MacLellan, President – Central Region, Northern Trust Company
Finance students, Thomas Dzielski and Hugo Wang, met up with long time industry partner, Mac MacLellan, President Central Region from Northern Trust, for a candid conversation around Mr. MacLellan’s career in Wealth Management and what advice he had for those just starting out.
We noticed that you went to University in Canada. Did you grow up in Canada? Do Canadian colleges use the British system or the US system?
I did grow up in east Canada, north-east of Maine. It is so far east we even have our own time-zone. It is a very rural area, and there were only 49 kids in my high school graduating class. After high school, I attended University of New Brunswick, and then came to the US to get my MBA from Arizona University. All of my family still lives in Canada. I am the only one of my family here in the US.
In Canadian colleges, it’s a hybrid of both Canadian and American systems. The grade point averages are calculated differently with a top of 4.5 instead of 4.0 here in the states. Therefore, it sounds nicer with the inflation when students come to the US. School also tend to end earlier before the summer in Canada. So, there are some nuances but in general they are very similar, and the college credits are fully transferable.
Did you come out of college knowing what you wanted to do? How did you get into Wealth Management?
Absolutely not. I did not know what I wanted to do until a couple of years into my MBA program. I finished my undergraduate degree in 3 years, and then moved to Arizona to work on my MBA. In the beginning I sold insurance for a little while, and that was when I realized that I like the sales part of my job. Later I left the insurance industry and started to dig into the finance world. I had a girlfriend at that time who was working at a commodity firm and I thought it was interesting. I really started investing as a hobby. Then I got an internship at a trading firm, which ultimately launched my career. I did not particularly go through college planning on entering into finance.
As a wealth management professional, you must have dealt with many wealthy individuals and families. Have you found any common qualities or characteristics that lead to their financial success?
As you can imagine, there have been a lot of studies on this but no common characteristics for all the people. However, the most common thing I have observed from a lot of successful is being optimistic. They have very healthy outlook and are resilient. When there are difficulties happening in their life they also look at it as a glass being half full. They also tend to have pretty good self-control and self-awareness that they know where their weaknesses are and how to overcome adversity. They also know what their strengths are and how to play to them. When I said earlier that they tend to have good self-control, I meant that they tend not to have many bad habits. To sum it up, optimism, resiliency, self-awareness and self-control are the keys I have observed.
There is also a big distinction between people who created the wealth on their own and the people who inherit money. Their attitudes toward wealth are very different. Another common hobby for wealthy individuals seems to be gathering collectables, such as art pieces like paintings, cars, and watches. I recently had a client that opened a museum in Evanston to showcase his antique collection of clocks and stained glass. Some of the clocks have significant history, going back 400 years. Of course, yachts and private planes are also on the list.
From your perspective, what makes a successful intern? What advice do you have for undergraduate students that are interested in a career in wealth management and securing an internship at Northern Trust? What can they expect to learn from the internship experience?
A successful intern takes her or his job seriously. At Northern Trust, we have a very matured internship program, and every year we spot two types of interns. One type just tries to have a fun summer, and the other type takes their work very seriously. The successful interns who we tend to hire back have always been the ones who are able to develop a network. The network is not limited to within the interns but also with senior leaderships. They reach out to us and want to sit down and ask questions. I have always accepted invitations from our interns because it shows their personal initiative and the ability to conquer the intimidation and to build a network. So, to go the extra mile and show initiative is key.
What are some of the qualities you look for in individuals entering the field of Wealth Management that you believe would make a successful wealth manager? Is knowing how to golf a key to success in your field?
It varies from person to person. Some people we have hired who we did not have particular expectations turned out to be a superstar, whereas some others who had the grades, the look, the personality and turned out to be just ordinary. Again, in general, I look for people who have passion and interest in wealth management and who are simply good at serving people. I also look for those who want to help people create and maintain their wealth and be able to extract a higher purpose from their missions. Next, is to have passion about the field and strong relationship management and communication skills. Being well read and well-rounded definitely helps. It can be intimidating early on to sit down with successful people, so being comfortable around people is also very important.
I can tell you from personal experience that golf is not that important. People have asked me what the most stressful part of my job is, and I told them that whenever I have to take a client out to play golf, because I am not good at it.
We noted your involvement with EXPO CHICAGO, and we are curious about your interests in the world of art. Is this a longtime hobby or passion of yours? Can you tell us about your favorite artist, museum or gallery and art piece?
When I lived in Phoenix, I was on the board of the art museum, and they have an awesome collection of art works. That position also gave me the chance to meet some local artists. When I moved back to Chicago, I started collecting. Right now, I have about 60 pieces, and half of the collection is at our home in Arizona and the other half is here. Pretty much all of the artwork I have collected is from living artists, and of people I have known. Therefore, they are very personal to me because I know and interact with the original artists and creators. EXPO Chicago is a terrific event. Chicago had one of the two most known contemporary art shows back in the 80s’, the other one was in Cologne, Germany, and people used to come to Navy Pier from all over the world. The owner of the exhibition had some conflicts and the exhibition got moved to Merchandise Mart then died out. More recently, new ownership came in and some of the famous artists who funded the exhibition wanted to bring the exhibition back to Navy Pier as well as the international art scene. They then started looking for a presenting sponsor. Northern Trust has been known for being capable of managing people’s wealth, which sometimes contains large amount of art collections, so we felt the suitability taking this sponsorship. It’s been a home run.
You have an extensive history in management. What do you find to be the most rewarding and most challenging parts of being in a leadership role? What advice would you give to beginners to advance into a leadership role in this industry?
As a leader in my field, to know how to serve, if not more, is just as important as to know how to lead. Lead by example is also important, and it is all about influencing people.
Wealth management is a reactionary field, it relies heavily on macroeconomic activity. How do you evaluate every possible course of action, and ultimately settle on one?
As private wealth manager, usually we do not speculate. For us the more important aspect is to understand what our clients’ goals are, and we put those goals into several buckets. One bucket is to be used for maintaining the client’s lifestyle. Another bucket is the wealth that the client wants to pass down to their kids. We sit down with our clients and listen to their goals, then we propose a plan of what needs to happen in order to achieve these goals. There are long-term goals such as an 80 year multi-generational wealth transfer, and there are short-term goals such as getting a new yacht. We view our clients’ goals as liabilities, and we deploy different investment strategies to fulfill those very different liabilities.
What are some things that you believe students, such as us, should understand—and get to experience–professionally and personally?
We have a good number of employees from DePaul. I think the most valuable thing one can gain from college experience is first, obviously the education. However, employers also look for extracurricular activities like what you do outside of your academic program that is above and beyond. I encourage you to do things that make you a more well-rounded person, such as reading classic books, going to a contemporary art show, or going to the museum. There are 6 Fs I think are important, which some people call the recipe to success. The first f is financial. How do you manage and balance your wealth, or do you have a good job? The second f is family. To make sure that you are a good member in your family. Especially as people get older, family relationships can be hard to maintain. The third f is fun. Having fun is to enjoy doing what you do. Be sure that you enjoy your job. The fourth f is fitness. You young people may not care, but as you get old fitness gives you energy to do what you desire. The fifth f is friends. When you get older, when your kids have left the house, friends become more important. However, his may be challenging if you did not take care of your friendships throughout your life. The last one is faith, which is not in the religious sense at all. I am not a religious person, but the resiliency provided by faith will help you when going through tough times.