After graduating as a mechanical engineer from Queen’s University in 1981, Ed never had the chance to build anything – as he now relays with a smile. Instead, he worked in logistics and marketing for companies including Gulf Oil and Petro-Canada.Never had the chance, that is, until he took it upon himself to apply the analytical skills of engineering to financial planning at The Mah Investment Group, where in more than 35 years, he has led the construction of a business that manages over $500 million in client assets.The building impulse was embedded in him from a very young age. “My parents were from mainland China and they ran a small but successful restaurant in Madoc, Ontario, population 1,100. Mom and Dad started with nothing, supported a staff of up to 15 people, and worked it for 18 years. They poured their hearts and souls into that place.“So, I need to build. After 35 years, and now with my daughter, Marissa, joining us in the business, I am more inspired than ever to help our clients build their wealth through advice - from real human beings - that delivers far more value than any online trading platform can provide.”Ed fundamentally believes that we are here to care about each other – and he believes that his team’s true point of difference is their human touch. He demonstrates it primarily by listening to his clients’ needs, worries and aspirations. “I have two older brothers. Growing up, let’s just say they weren’t exactly encouraging me to talk all the time,” he says, again with a grin. “To this day, I don’t like talking about myself – which makes it easy to listen.”The decades have changed something in Ed, though. They have made him completely comfortable with saying “no” to most of the new financial products and strategies appearing – and disappearing – in an ever-growing torrent. He wants an investing world that is far less mysterious, with far fewer and far less complicated products.“I want to have a very high degree of certainty of success in a product. After so many years in this business, there are very few to which I will say, ‘Yes, this will be good for my clients.’”Ed shows an authentic interest in those clients, a curiosity which is reciprocated. “I recognize that I am very lucky. At times when the markets are especially volatile, my clients are not worried about themselves. They ask me, ‘How are you doing?’”
