EOTYA 2024 Finalist: Paul Huggins

Every entrepreneur begins their journey differently, and in the case of Paul Huggins, his first step began as a teenager, importing and selling luxury car badges to the successful businesspeople he aspired to join. In just a few years, he earned enough to put a deposit down on his first house, kickstarting his career in investment and whetting his appetite for business opportunities wherever they existed.

After a stint running MLC’s property fund management business and obtaining his Australian Financial Services license, Huggins struck out on his own, founding Hamilton Chase, a boutique funds management business with a simple philosophy – ‘manage risks first’. Today, Hamilton Chase manages the funds for over 70 high-net-worth family offices totaling over US$13.8 billion, an amount that has risen US$4.6 billion over the last year.

"What’s our secret? We don’t have the same overheads as the big firms, meaning we don’t need to charge the same fees," Huggins explains. "We deliver higher-than-average returns with less than average risks by working with the largest funds in the world, particularly in areas such as fixed interest.

"Communication is the key to helping achieve goals and that’s particularly important in my close relationships with my family office clients from around the world. These partnerships work because Hamilton Chase is clear in its strategy, aligning that with the target outcomes the funds are seeking and remaining constantly in communication so there are no surprises."

Given today’s turbulent economic and geopolitical environment, it’s considered by many to be a high-risk period for certain investments, yet Huggins is adaptable and confident about his approach.

"Fund management has always had some fundamental principles that remain the same, but I follow the philosophy that you must manage the risks first before you start thinking about the returns," he says.

"Of course returns are important, after all, that’s what fund managers are judged on, but particularly at this time we have taken a cautious approach during 2024 to our investment weighting.

"We’re still seeing the benefits of the tech boom on the share markets, particularly in the United States, but we haven’t lost focus on the importance of natural hedges against uncertainty like gold, silver and government treasuries. We’ve also been sitting on a fair amount of cash, waiting for the next opportunities to emerge."

Hot property

Speaking of opportunities, Hamilton Chase is the parent company of Momentum Wealth Management, an advice and management company, of which Huggins is the CEO and Director, which operates four wealth management practices that directly service 4,200 clients, as well as property development under the name Momentum Global Development and Construction.

So far, the property development subsidiary has established more than 35 developments in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania as well as Texas (United States) with a combined value of nearly US$1 billion. This portfolio is set for continued growth, as the company is currently in the final stages of investment proposals to purchase under-utilized commercial office space in Melbourne, with the aim of repurposing it into affordable housing.

Despite this remarkable success, Huggins is humble about his achievements, attributing it not solely to his entrepreneurial instincts, but to the people around him.

"I believe no-one is self-made. Success comes from building a smart team you can trust and rely on both as mentors and supporters," he says. "Hamilton Chase and Momentum are lean, performance-driven organizations, meaning we don’t need large staff numbers to make a difference or a huge marketing budget. We punch well above our weight thanks to our talented team, our use of technology and our investment strengths."

Beyond just savvy investments, Huggins is mindful of the role technology such as AI has on investing and returns for his clients.

"You must always invest for the future, particularly in technology, which is why we’ve spent A$25 million [US$16.4 million] on the development of a new algorithm platform called Conquer," he says. "This platform can instantly review 100 years of data involving more than 22,000 listed instruments and over 780 fields, de-risking asset choices and identifying undervalued stocks and commodities, used exclusively for Hamilton Chase management and clientele."

Alongside this new tool, Huggins is expanding his product range with the launch of a new global fund, scheduled for late 2024.

"We will be putting all our expertise together, including our use of AI and our investment strategies, to launch the Hamilton Chase Global Capital Investment Fund, available to investors with A$100 million [US$65.7 million] minimum funds," he says. "Soon to be available, this fund has already attracted strong interest from high-net-worth investors from overseas."

Sharing success

A long-time mentor to others, Huggins has documented his wisdom in his new book, Intelligent Leverage, published in April 2024 by John Wiley. Written for investors to help them embrace a plan to leverage their collective assets to help achieve their financial goals, Huggins has been delighted by the book’s reception.

"I’ve been overwhelmed by the feedback from everyone – from teenagers writing in saying it has provided them with a life plan on how to navigate their financial future to those about to retire, who now understand they cannot simply rely on their superannuation but must plan for their aging years."

In addition to investment strategies, the book also teaches how to develop an investor’s mindset and the importance of looking after oneself.

"It’s important to always have a purpose, plan for the outcomes you are seeking and use the complete tool kit of leverage (financial, human, physical and informational) to collectively help achieve your goals," Huggins adds.

"One of my top tips is always to be very mindful of time; it is your scarcest resource so use it wisely by only committing time to those who can help you achieve your goals. Unfortunately, most people are time wasters, whether it’s on social media, shopping sites or endless streaming content, which collectively costs us a fortune for little return.

"Instead, take a walk or go for a long run because it clears your mind and helps with your decision-making as well as improving your health. How you treat your body impacts every aspect of your goal setting."

Off the back of his new book, Huggins has become a regular media commentator on financial issues and has started a podcast series encouraging positive leadership behaviors.

"A great leader must possess great communication, great management skills, great vision for their business and be excellent at building and maintaining relationships," he says. "Character, credibility, integrity, honesty and transparency are the key ingredients for great leaders to always maintain.

"When I was first starting out running my own funds management business there were a range of books, which inspired me to keep going – books like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. We can always learn from others and I hope that my book, speaking engagements and participation in The CEO Magazine’s Executive of the Year Awards will highlight great stories and inspire others."