Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with George King IV

Date: 10 Apr 2024

Ashleigh John

This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to George King IV, Senior Wealth Manager at MASECO Private Wealth.

Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.

After serving in senior roles in both the US and the UK, helping to build investment propositions that look after U/HNW clients across the globe, I am currently a Senior Wealth Manager at MASECO Private Wealth. In this role, I am privileged to look after the needs of my clients directly. As a US expat myself who is very active in many expat groups, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to help take care of the needs of my community. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

Of course, as probably everyone says, there’s no typical day. But the defining characteristic of most days is some form of problem-solving for clients. The most prevalent issues, given our focus on serving clients with dual UK and US investment and tax considerations, relate to the natural complexity of this niche. Sometimes, the question I’m trying to solve is how best to allocate capital in a tax-efficient and risk-aware way, and other times, the issue is helping clients determine where to most effectively source capital for their near-term needs, given their complex situations. In addition, many of the problems that clients present to me relate to concerns which they know are not my job directly, seeking perspective and/or referrals relating to areas like education, immigration, divorce, and similar life challenges.

Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions you have received.

One recent interesting client requirement involved initiating multi-generational planning for a long-standing client. Taking their young adult children through the journey of becoming financially engaged and eventually onboarded as clients was intriguing, given the very divergent perspectives on money and wealth which each of the children held. Being able to then conduct conversations about wealth, philanthropy, family roles, and near- vs long-term time frames was critically important to helping establish a healthy family road map to constructively allocating the family wealth going forward.

What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?

The challenges which clients face do change over time in some respect. For example, the Covid years presented an unusual set of issues and the more recent period of elevated inflation, interest rates, and cost of living has also created a different set of problems for clients to navigate. However, there are a core set of challenges which are constant, comprising the need to save and invest for their future needs and goals in ways which are risk- and tax-aware. Ultimately, the practice of dynamic and scenario-based financial planning is the means to helping clients deal with all of these types of issues which they face over time.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Well, I hope I have not yet achieved it! I’ve helped to hire, train, inspire, and launch the careers of some remarkably talented people, and this has always been a huge point of pride. The ability to do well oneself is certainly satisfying, but the ability to find the potential in others, and nurture and grow this to the point where they independently shine is exponentially more gratifying.

In my work with clients, I absolutely love getting heartfelt messages of gratitude for identifying problems, solving them, and thereby helping clients achieve enhanced clarity about their financial future and ultimately peace of mind about their future in general.

If I’m lucky, my proudest professional achievement will ultimately relate to helping to change how businesses operate (as forces for good in the world), helping to drive the incorporation of philanthropy advice into the standard professional cannon of the wealth advice sector, and/or helping to expand the scope of equality, diversity, and inclusion for the wealth industry in the UK.

What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?

Firstly, leadership is earned not conveyed. Having a title or a role may impart elements of power or control, but that is fundamentally different than leadership. Great leaders are aware of their own limits and bias and aren’t afraid to surround themselves with people who are very different from themselves in how they think, work and act. If you’re not holding a certain amount of tension between what is comfortable, familiar, and easy versus what your people are advocating, then you probably haven’t created the conditions for success which you should be doing as a leader.

There’s no place for antiquated approaches like “name and shame” or setting arbitrary deadlines. Great leaders listen to and support their teams, identifying and eliminating obstacles to success and provisioning teams with the resources they need to thrive.

Who do you most admire and why?

It may sound cliché, but top of mind would be Barack Obama. He was a statesman and an idealist, but also a pragmatist focused on what he could actually get done. A key to his success was shifting mindsets as to what we should consider as being possible and raising the bar for what we should all consider as normal or acceptable.

Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?

My last trip for pleasure was to Istanbul. I’d been there many years ago as part of a work/reward trip and did all the tourist things then, but returning for a long weekend during Eid was a completely different experience. The city has such an incredible history as a crucible of multiple cultures and religions, and having studied Comparative Religious Studies for my university degree this city remains one of the most vibrant and fascinating places to immerse oneself.

If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?

I would probably be doing even more work in the charitable and philanthropic sector than I do now. I’m already sitting on several charitable boards and am active in several other organisations, so it’s not much of a stretch to imagine doing more of this if I weren’t working in this industry. That said, I’ve always expected that I will ultimately teach on a more formal basis. The ability to teach has always been as asset in training team members and informing clients, so in many ways this too would simply be a natural extension of what I already do now.

How do you relax after a long day?

I have had a life-long love of golf, since my father taught me to play as a young lad. However, for most of my life, I’ve only ever had the chance to play a few times a year. Now that I’m in the later, more established phase of my career and my children are grown, I’m looking forward to finding more opportunities to get out on a course…including with fellow professionals, friends, and clients, ideally.

You can view George’s profile on the Leaders List here.