Portland Holdings Inc is an investment company privately owned by Michael Lee-Chin, a Jamaican Canadian who epitomizes business success. Michael’s company manages public and private equity and holds ownership in a collection of businesses that he hand-picked.

The independent Investment Advisors who work for subsidiary company, Mandeville Private Client Inc are essentially entrepreneurs managing their own portfolio of clients. In many similar organizations it can feel a bit restrictive for these advisors.  Head office is often making decisions to build brand awareness and enforce consistency. The financial services industry is heavily regulated for obvious reasons. Investigations of transactions are required from time-to-time. In a typical investment firm, when compliance or risk management launches one of these investigations it can feel like an internal FBI force sweeping down on the advisor whose transaction is under the microscope.

At Mandeville Private Client Inc , their staff and especially their entrepreneurial minded Investment Advisors are treated like trusted partners. It starts with Mandeville Private Client Inc’s   selective recruitment process. They only hire individuals who fit with the company’s high trust culture. When you hire people with integrity,   much of the policing found in typical organizations goes away.  When investigations arise, as they always will, Advisors and internal compliance cooperate to expediently provide whatever information is required by Regulators.

Here are three examples of why we think Portland Holdings is a high trust organization and a great place to work.

Trust Reason #1

During the pandemic, CEO Michael Lee Chin hosted a bi-weekly conference call. There was no agenda. As we all tried to make sense of the pandemic, particularly in the early days, there were always questions and concerns. The purpose of the meetings was to make himself available to discuss whatever was on the team’s mind. As you can imagine, managing a company through the pandemic was a challenge and Michael prioritized his team. Making sure they were okay and providing them with the tools to manage their clients through this uncomfortable period.

Trust Reason #2

When considering major changes like upgrading or changing software programs, the staff who are impacted by the change are always engaged. Their feedback is valued and impacts the organization’s decision on whether a change should be implemented. Staff are made to feel like valuable business partners whose input ultimately influences business decisions.

Trust Reason #3

Team members are treated like responsible adults. The organization only hires trustworthy individuals which eliminates the need to introduce excessive monitoring, rules and policies needed at other organizations to ensure people are doing the right thing. Portland rejects introducing this level of red tape and bureaucracy making the employee experience more productive and fulfilling.

Their superior management practices and investment strategy combined with their high trust culture is propelling the impressive growth of this private start-up.

Mandeville Private Client is a high trust organization.