Kast Investment Management’s Colin Furr currently serves as the company’s vice president, operations, but his four decades of experience in the financial services field bring clients a wealth of knowledge when it comes to developing and managing investment portfolios.

He says: “I’ve been in the financial services industry all my career, starting in the United Kingdom in banking since leaving school, so, it’s been 42 years, or something like that, in total.”

He worked at the Bank of Butterfield for 27 years, ultimately becoming the vice president for banking, before leaving in July 1997.

“I was asked to join the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and did as deputy general manager. I was responsible for the financial services division, which was really the regulation and supervision of banks, trust companies and investment businesses.

“I stayed five-and-a-half years and then left as chief administration officer and I joined Kast Investment Management in May, 2003,” he explains.

Although at different banks, Mr. Furr knew of Anne Kast because of their mutual business interests. Later, when Mr. Furr joined the BMA, which licenses Kast, he continued his acquaintance, until he eventually responded to Kast Investment Management’s advertisement for a vice president.

Mr. Furr emphasises the need for further education and professional certification in the financial services field: “You certainly need to understand the investment business. You need to have training and experience and education in the sense of the markets so you know what you are talking about and can properly advise people. Training and experience go hand in hand, both practical and academic training.”

Mr. Furr obtained his associate with the Institute of Chartered Bankers in 1978 and was later elected as a Fellow of the Institute in April 1992.

He has taken numerous professional courses, including an advanced service management course at Harvard Business School in 1993, and took the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Series 7 securities examination last year.

He sees great opportunities for young people in the financial services arena in Bermuda: “If you look at it from a Bermuda perspective, the investment business has grown dramatically over the last 15 years or so, so there is a lot of opportunity. There’s a lot of opportunity in the business in Bermuda for young people who want to get the training, who want to get the academic start, the exposure, and, like any job, go through the ropes.”

He advises that NASD Series 7 is an excellent starter course for young people, but says that in order to succeed, you really need the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, which is quite challenging to obtain.

“There is still opportunity to rise through the ranks; it’s getting tougher, like anything else in the world, but, yes, there is definite opportunity.

“There is opportunity for someone who didn’t go to university to join, for example, one of the local banks, or one of the exempted companies that deal in the financial services side or the insurance/re-insurance side.

“If they apply themselves and work diligently — yes, they would have to study and do certain things as they work — but there is opportunity to gain momentum and progress upward in seniority because the market is still expanding.”