You have a unique feel, and you clearly have enormous depth in not just who you know but also the way in which you handle these people and make them feel just as comfortable as they make you feel. You can never underestimate the incredible power of that ability. My expectations in meeting people who could potentially fit with what we are doing were exceeded, and the way in which you handled the relationships, the way you grasped what our needs were, and in front of these people said to them exactly who we are and how we fitted in, and asked them how we could do business, I think that absolutely exceeded what I could have ever have imagined
Maurice Goldberg, Ark Group
You gave us a very good overview of each aspect of the industry, not just one sort of theme, which I found to be very very useful. We got a good snapshot of the industry in 5 days from different angles, and this gave us a real understanding of where the market currently is, where our business would fit and this was all very valuable. It was exceptionally valuable to understand what we would need to do if we are to create a business in this marketplace and it’s given us some clarity. We’ve now got all of the pieces of the jigsaw, so now we need to take them back and work out how they are going to fit together, and how we then make, or expand on, what our business needs to do in this particular region.
Ross Landles, Macquarie Financial Services
I was very happy with the way that you put the whole thing together and facilitated everything. And I really appreciated the fact that you virtually know everybody here. It’s amazing how you run into people in the street, and they know you. It’s part of the culture I suppose. It doesn’t happen that often in Sydney.
Roy Naayen, Godfrey Pembroke Ltd
I really enjoyed the whole thing it was just an eye opening experience for me. We have always been thinking about coming to Hong Kong and setting up a financial planning practice and there is only so much research and due diligence you can do when you are back home in Sydney. Coming to Hong Kong and meeting your amazing network and being introduced to every single industry participant that we need to meet, to learn about financial planning in Hong Kong we now know where we go from here. It’s definitely a must for anyone who is interested in doing financial planning outside Australia, and that’s not just limited to Hong Kong.
Abby Leung, First Capital Financial Planning
You have exceeded my expectations in terms of the introductions that were made, the opportunities you have created for us, the experience you have created for us to come into a region and meet people and talk to people that we just couldn’t have otherwise met on our own, particularly in the time frame, so you have exceeded my expectations there. What we have done in a week would have taken us so much longer to have achieved without you, so it’s been fantastic. It’s been a great experience, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to meet the people that you have introduced us to and to have a relationship with those people in such a short period of time. I want to thank you from the perspective that it takes a lot of trust and confidence to open the doors that you have created over your life, and it’s an honour and a privilege to have been introduced to the people you have introduced us to and the way you introduced us to them. So thank you. I really valued it and appreciated it.
Mark Falzon, Ark Group
I got a huge amount out of the week, met a lot of great people and had a number of really good experiences. We are all different people with different needs and one of your skills was to work out what our needs were, and to address those needs, which was really important from my perspective being the odd man out as a tax adviser rather than a financial planner. The way you started most of the meetings with the background on all of us, and led the discussion, made it very valuable. It was good to stand on your shoulders, get through the doors that we otherwise would not be able to open, and in 5 days get through what would have taken us months to get through on our own. I have never been to Hong Kong, other than through the airport. It’s completely unlike what I was expecting, it’s cosmopolitan, its clean, it’s neat, it’s tidy, the people seem very service orientated, not at all what I was expecting. My eyes have been opened somewhat. I can see how people would come here for one or two years and then never leave, which was not what I was expecting.
Peter Jacobs, Clark Jacobs
The week exceeded my expectations. The level and depth of knowledge that David has on Hong Kong is remarkable. He is well respected throughout the financial services industry. The quality and quantity of David’s personal relationships has enabled us to fast track our business expansion into Asia. We could not have done this in the same time without David’s help. I would have no hesitation in recommending Think Global and David Thomas to anyone thinking of expanding their business into Asia.
Mark Falzon, Ark Group
