Staff Profile: Patrick Malcolm
It only feels like yesterday that a fresh-faced work experience kid attended the GFM offices for the first time in the July school holidays of 2000. That fresh-faced 16-year-old “kid” was Patrick Malcolm. After being asked to return more permanently in December 2001, Patrick has reached more than 20 years of employment at GFM.

I feel incredibly privileged to be part of GFM Wealth’s significant 50th-anniversary milestone.
I was fortunate to undertake my work experience at the firm in July 2000. Paul Nicol, our Managing Partner, was my under-16s cricket coach, for those who don’t know. Paul was only 23 at the time as well! He knew I was interested in finance and offered me the opportunity to undertake work experience with the company.
I undertook my work experience during the school holidays. I still remember the client files that I worked on. The going rate for work experience then was $5 per day. Tony Gilham, the firm’s founder, was generous enough to quadruple the rate and paid me $100 for the five days at the end of the week. I was glad to have received the bonus, but I was more appreciative of undertaking the work experience.
Tony and Paul then invited me back to work over the school holidays, of course, at a higher rate than the $5 per day. I finished my VCE in 2001, and I was fortunate to obtain a score that gave me the opportunity for tertiary study at the University of Melbourne. I had always intended to study Commerce and Information Systems (it was the early 2000’s, so Information Technology was popular). However, my TER allowed me to change my preferences to undertake Commerce and Law, which was probably considered the most prestigious combination with Commerce. I stuck to what I had committed to, and thankfully so. The law subjects I had to undertake as part of my Commerce degree were my worst subjects at University. Goodness knows how I would’ve managed with three years of law subjects.
After undertaking one Information Systems subject, I also decided that wasn’t for me either. I was keen to spend the five years at University, so I decided to stick to a straight Commerce degree and undertake a Masters of Applied Finance at Melbourne once I had finished, which I did.
While at University, Tony and Paul allowed me to work part-time at the firm. Commerce was a huge course at Melbourne (1,600 students). The course size gave me the flexibility to cram my subjects into a full day and a couple of afternoons so that I could work. Some lecturers still used overhead projectors; my year was the first time you enrolled in tutorials online! It is hard to believe today, but one lecturer had to run the same session four times a day, twice a week.
Paul and Tony gave me an amazing degree of flexibility with leave for study and exams, which I still appreciate very much today.
In 2003, I flipped things around, working full-time and studying part-time. While I enjoyed studying, I was enjoying work more. I started what is known as our paraplanning department, which began with a single employee, me. The department is responsible for the preparation of Statements of Advice for clients. As the team grew with the firm, I was also responsible for managing workflow and the ongoing training and development of the team.
I was very fortunate to spend a lot of time one-on-one with Tony in these years. Tony could see that I was keen to learn, and he was just as eager to teach me.
In 2012, Paul and Tony offered me the opportunity to become a shareholder and partner of the firm. This is by far my most satisfying professional achievement. This was before I had committed to becoming a financial planner, so the leap of faith on their part was significant.
In late 2012, Paul coerced me into starting my journey as a financial planner. I was not convinced, but he probably saw something in me that I did not see in myself then. I always imagined my role in the business as being behind the scenes. I am eternally grateful that Paul pushed (shoved?) me along that path, as there has not been one day since I have regretted that decision.
A lot has happened in my personal life in my time at GFM. My wife, Liesl, has been with me for most of that time. She has been an incredible support for me. Full-time work and part-time study were a big commitment, ultimately at the compromise of our relationship. However, she always supported me in full along the journey. I have completed several additional courses besides my studies at the University of Melbourne. She thinks I’m insane and a bit weird, given my desire to continue studying.
Over my time at GFM, Liesl and I have purchased our first home together, got engaged and married, travelled through Europe four times (her favourite country is France, mine is Spain), started a family, sold our first home to buy a family home and completed a renovation together.
She is an incredible wife and amazing mother to our two children, no more so than during the tricky COVID environment in 2020 and 2021.
Jakob was born in 2014, and Zoe in 2016. There is nothing I enjoy more than spending time together as a family. We spend our time going to the footy (Jakob, Zoe and I are longsuffering Carlton fans), soccer, basketball and cricket. I look forward to our European family holiday in April this year.
Away from family time, I am most passionate about the game of golf. I’m a member of the Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club. There, I have been on the Board for seven years. I had a three-year stint as the Treasurer and have been Vice President for around 18 months.
I love the industry and my job, but most of all, I love the firm. I hope my enthusiasm comes through in my dealings with my clients, as there is nothing else I would rather do daily. I am passionate about quality financial planning advice. I am pleased with the significant raising of the bar concerning educational and professional standards of the industry, as it had been set way too low for too long.
I am very proud of our firm and that we can freely act in the best interests of our clients, conducting these relationships without being told what to do by another institution. Our clients know we are not tied to influences, products, or third parties. We can build the advice and strategies that are right for our clients in a practical, timely, personal, and proactive manner.
It goes without saying that I also feel incredibly fortunate to work with such wonderful people at GFM. We have a loyal, hard-working, knowledgeable and caring team that I am honoured to work with daily.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all my time with the firm and look forward to many more years ahead!