James Malliaros: 20 YEARS AT GFM

By Paul Nicol

On November 13, we are excited to have another staff member at GFM join the “20-year club” as James Malliaros reaches 20 years of employment.

The term privileged is often thrown around. However, the impact James has had in our business and the lives of the clients he diligently looks after, we are truly privileged to have him as a member of the GFM team.

For anyone that knows James, they would know you will not meet a more selfless person. James always puts the organisational needs of our business and his clients before himself, and he does it without hesitation. These qualities are easily identified when dealing with James, making him a very popular member of the GFM team and incredibly well-liked by the clients he advises.

As clients that deal with James will attest, he is reliable, a voice of reason, assured and always very well thought out with the advice he provides. Clients trust what James is saying because of his steady hand and authenticity.

James overlays his wonderful personality traits with an exceptional level of technical skill. You will not find a Financial Adviser with a more rounded technical knowledge, and James complements this knowledge with a deep understanding of investment markets and economic trends.

James is an outstanding Financial Adviser, one of the very best in the industry due to his all-around skills and ability to convey to our clients what they need to do.

The whole team at GFM is genuinely thrilled James has reached this significant milestone, and we cannot wait to celebrate. GFM is blessed to have a staff member of the quality and calibre of James.

James: My 20 years at GFM

I find it hard to believe that this November marks my 20 years of service with GFM Wealth.

Married only a couple of years earlier to my beautiful wife Claudia, with a new baby girl, Isabella (eight months old) and a little more hair up top, I eagerly started my journey in the finance industry. The opportunity was afforded to me at the time by the founder of the business Tony Gilham. And what a journey it’s been, working with a great team of employees and wonderful clients.

After studying economics and finance at Monash University, working in finance was something that I was very keen to get into straight away. However, the start of my career in finance was delayed. I graduated from university right in the middle of the infamous “recession that we had to have” in the early to mid-1990s, and graduate employment positions in the finance industry were almost non-existent. After dozens of rejections, I decided to put my finance career on hold. I stayed on working in the hospitality industry, which had supported me whilst I was studying at university. I worked casually and then eventually full time for several years at venues such as Leonda by the Yarra, Caulfield Racecourse and finally the Victorian Arts Centre (where I met Claudia). I eventually decided to leave the industry and went travelling for a few months overseas.

On my arrival back home, I updated my technology skills, expanded my finance knowledge, and landed a job at GFM as the Financial Controller.

My job was primarily involved in managing the accounts, payroll and invoicing. However, after a couple of years of performing this role, I was moved into a more front-line position within the organisation by taking a para-planning role in the newly established Para-Planning/Technical Services division. After being in the position of para-planner for a few years, I then became a financial planner, a role that I have been performing since mid-2005.

Much has changed over the time that I’ve been involved.

GFM has developed a real speciality in managing Self-Managed Superannuation Funds and Private Investment Portfolios, which has seen significant growth in the industry and our firm, particularly over the last fifteen years. As Witi mentioned in the previous edition of Trade Secrets, the company only managed seven such portfolios when she started 25 years ago, but now we have almost 800.

As a result, we’ve seen many new staff members arrive over the last 20 years, over half of who have now been with GFM for ten years or more. It says so much about the company that so many have been here for so long.

The industry is also very different to the one when I first started. A constantly changing regulatory environment, particularly over the past decade, has forced much-needed change. From the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislation in 2013 to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services in 2018, the industry has been forced to adapt and evolve in a very limited timeframe.

There have been many challenges, but I feel that the industry now finally seems to be on the right path to being recognised as a real profession, with the introduction of mandatory education standards, ongoing professional development and legislated ethical and duty of care requirements. The bad old days of the sales culture and the banks’ dominance in the wealth management sector are well and truly over and replaced by mid-sized independently owned firms like GFM Wealth, which continue to grow and diversify their business models.

Outside of work, I enjoy cycling along the local bike paths and swimming at the neighbourhood pool.

I also enjoy going to the MCG to watch my mighty Tigers and have particularly enjoyed supporting them over the last few years (we took a break this year!!).

Claudia and I enjoy travelling, and with Italian and Greek heritages, Europe has been our regular go-to destination. However, we had recently taken a couple of shorter trips to Thailand and Singapore.

Like all parents, we are incredibly proud of our children. Our youngest daughter Anastasia has shown incredible resilience and determination in undertaking her VCE studies over the last couple of years under extremely trying circumstances. Isabella is about to graduate as a vet nurse.

I am extremely fortunate to have been part of the GFM team over the last 20 years, and I certainly have managed to find my dream job in the industry that I have always wanted to work in. The support and encouragement from my work colleagues and Paul and Patrick as the business owners has allowed me to develop and become a better person and financial planner.

It is such a satisfying job, particularly when your clients tell you how you’ve made such a difference to their lives and how you’ve taken away all of their stresses and frustrations. Positive client feedback is rewarding and makes a difference in your day, particularly in the challenging and stressful times we are currently going through. COVID has affected so many people in so many different ways, and being there to provide ongoing support is a privilege, which I and all of the team at GFM take very seriously.

It’s been a wonderful journey so far; it’s had its moments but has been extremely rewarding. I’ve met some wonderful people, who I know I will have long term friendships with. I just hope that there are many more years ahead like the previous 20 years.