Peter Clark is the Chief Executive Officer of Bentley Reid, a private client wealth manager with offices in London, Hong Kong and Malta. He oversees the company’s day-to-day operations and leads the investment team, which provides discretionary management services to high and ultra-high-net worth individuals and families. He graduated from Cardiff University with a First Class honours degree in Economics and has been a CFA Charterholder since 2009.

Why is corporate culture becoming more important to you when deciding who you allocate assets to?

Culture can be tricky to define, but I think it’s uncontentious to say that if you can form a view about how a company goes about its business, beyond just its day-to-day operations and financials, you stand a much better chance of picking winners and avoiding losers.

Ultimately, this all boils down to understanding the mindset and values of the people involved, which is easier said than done, but great strides are being made within the industry to make this process more objective.

In your view, why is it important to set a higher standard of stewardship and behaviour within the investment industry?

I believe any capital allocator, wherever they sit in the food chain, has to acknowledge they have an outsized influence on how and where money flows and that typically has a strong influence on how people and businesses behave. It’s a very simple point, but one that I think is often overlooked and that’s why the investment industry has a duty (and is well positioned) to set the right standards.

Why did you decide to sit on the ACT Stewardship Council and what does it mean to you personally?

I feel lucky that my career has involved roles in both managing money on behalf of clients and running a business, so I feel well positioned to share thoughts and experiences around corporate culture from a couple of very different viewpoints. That’s what I hope I bring to the ACT Stewardship Council and I look forward to learning some new insights too.