Keesic climbs RBC ladder

Gord Keesic’s stock is rising.
The Lac Seul band member was recently promoted to associate portfolio manager with RBC Global Asset Management; making him one of four members of the Aboriginal Services Group.
“I’m now working with bigger clients,” Keesic said, speaking at his Fort William First Nation office.
The Aboriginal Services Group deals predominately with trusts and land claim funds of First Nations with sums greater than five million dollars, he said.
“We manage the settlement dollars on behalf of the entities,” Keesic said.
Keesic became a member of the team Jan. 24 and officially began his new position March 9.
Keesic said there are similarities between his former position – investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities – and his new role.
“It is very much a client relationship role,” he said. “We talk to clients about their goals with money … ask them what they want to accomplish and do risk analysis.”
Keesic said one of the most important aspects of his position with Global Asset Management is communicating with his clients to ensure they understand risk versus reward. If a First Nation wants to invest in a higher risk project, it could earn a higher return on investment, he said.
A safer investment would be government bonds with a guaranteed return. Something with more risk would be the stock market, he said.
“But they need to make the decision that is right for them,” he said. “We look at the needs of the community. Based on that, we create an investment policy statement (which is used to manage the money).”
What Keesic is most looking forward to is accessing more resources for his clients.
“If a community wants to invest in global infrastructure, that is something I can help them with now,” Keesic said.
That could be investing in toll roads like the 407 highway in southern Ontario or water purification in foreign countries.
“Everything in the world is financed through something else,” Keesic said, explaining the premise of investment.
By lending money into a project, the community would receive interest, dividends or equity.
Keesic takes great pride in working with First Nations in the financial sector.
Investing is something he has enjoyed for many years, even when he was a school teacher and investing his own funds in the stock market.
“I did well on my own and had always been interested in investing,” Keesic said. “I became more interested in a career managing people’s money.”
He began to take certification courses – necessary to become an accredited broker or investment advisor within Canada – through Canadian Securities Institute Global Education and answered an advertisement in the paper for RBC.
“They offered me a job,” he said, conditionally on his completing the courses.
He did so in 2005.