“The recent pandemic has taught us to live with uncertainty and regain appreciation for things we took for granted. “

– Jan Dirkmann, CEO of Lumen Capital Investors Pte Ltd  

Tell us about yourself and your company.

With close to 30 years of experience in wealth management, I am what the industry calls a “seasoned private banker”. Nine years ago, I decided to start the journey with Lumen Capital Investors “LCI”, and it has been one of the best decisions of my life.

“Lumen” was chosen for its Latin meaning “Light” as we strive to act as the beacon for our clients to guide them through the increasingly complex financial landscape. In fact, at LCI, our clients are at the heart of everything we do. When we started LCI in 2010, our goal was to design a very client-centric, smart, and proactive asset management firm that could swiftly react to the ever-changing investment world. With this in mind, we have continuously emphasised on growing the firm with senior professionals, ensuring that clients’ interests and ours’ are aligned, and investment portfolios are constructed to best suit our clients’ needs. Being well established in Singapore, we expanded our reach by partnering with Carret Private, Hong Kong, in 2019.

What is wealth management to you?

To me, wealth management is much more than simply looking after clients’ wealth. It is also encompasses the interaction with clients to truly get to know them, their motivations, preferences, fears, dreams, and concerns. I often compare our work with that of a health practitioner: only if a client fully opens up to us can we advise in the best way possible. In that sense, we are a “wealth practitioner”.  To complement our broad range of in-house services, we have established an extensive network of partners over the years, which we can tap into to assist our clients with most of their needs. In guiding our clients and assisting them through the stages of their life, we get the privilege to be inspired by many of them and can use these interactions to inspire others, be it clients, friends, or family. After all, whilst the creation and protection of wealth is of utmost importance to provide financial security and support lifestyle choices, it is also vital on what can be done and achieved by tapping on it to make this world a better place.

Three things you’ve learned over the past three years (career & personal)?

1. 1. 1. The investment landscape has provided us with numerous “surprises” over the past three years, keeping us investment professionals on our toes. Advancements in technology but also in regulations demanded us to be constantly on the ball. So being well informed, agile, and keeping a positive mindset makes the difference when opportunities arise.
      2. It has been pretty much three years since Covid19 impacted our lives and became our firm’s real case long-term BCP exercise. The pandemic has greatly impacted society and how we interact with each other – positive and not so positive. It has also taught us to live with uncertainty and regain appreciation for things we took for granted.   
      3. Personally, I have increased my focus on what is truly important and learned to be more forgiving and in tune with myself, which I credit to my family, the two dogs who joined us in the past three years and gentle yoga practice.