Iconic Concierge Winter 2022/23

‘I’m not happy’. It’s not that I wasn’t
enjoying what I was doing. I wasn’t happy
because I had pursued all of this with the
singular goal of making money. Now that
I was making some money and was on a
path to making lots more, I didn’t feel like
I had the right goal. I had to step back
and figure out what I really enjoyed.“
Som wanted to apply himself to
see his ideas flourish and he realized
he wanted to build something. So, he
decided to leave, giving himself an
ultimatum. “If I reach my 30th birthday
and I’m still sitting in this seat, I’m going
to resign,” he said to himself. That day
came, and it was before Som turned
30. At the age of 28, he established his
first company called Claymore; an ETF
company built on a strong philosophical
model and a vision to build a better asset
management firm.
Over the following seven years,
Claymore became one of the most
important asset management firms
in Canada and changed the way
the industry looked at investing and
investment product design. Then, Som’s
business partner in the company wanted
to exit, so in 2012, the company was
sold to the world’s largest investment
management firm, BlackRock.
“I aspire to give with
impact. I believe it is
the most important
project of my life.
A year later, Som started Purpose
Investments and co-founded a firm
called Wealthsimple. Both companies
have been growing over the last nine
years in multiple areas of financial
services, driving successful industry
innovation for Canadians.
“If I went back in time, I wouldn’t
do anything differently. One of my
fundamental beliefs is that we shouldn’t
have regrets in life and that every
decision we make in the moment, right
or wrong, has been for reasons that
were in the moment. I also believe it’s
important to go back and reflect on our
decisions with the benefit of hindsight
and apply those insights going forward.”
As with many other entrepreneurs,
the pandemic had an impact on Som’s
priorities and exposed him to what is
most important in his life. Having dinner
every night with his wife and four children
during the pandemic was amazing after
years of building Purpose. “I have made
it a rule that I want to be home four
weeknights and the weekends to have
dinner with my children. It is important
not to be absent for what I think is the
most relevant period of their lives - the
family time of being around the table
together.”
Som’s childhood was very different to
the one of his children. He wants to be
certain to lead by example in everything
that he does. “When I was growing up,
I didn’t have lots of material things. All I
had were my dreams. In many cases, our
lifestyle has taken away some of those
things from my children because they
have grown up in a different life setting.
We have to find different ways to inspire
them to dream, to be something greater
than what they are today, in many ways.”
Continuous development and learning
are important things that Som wants
to instill in his children. He believes that
people should not be worrying about how
they are relative to somebody else, but
they should focus on how they progress
as an individual. “If you as an individual
think that way, you’re just going to get
stronger. You’re going to get better.
You’re going to do more. You’re going to
feel more accomplished. You’re going to
attack your goals, and I think that’s the
most important thing I want to teach my
kids. I think it’s a really powerful way to
think in life.”
Giving back is another big part of
Som’s life that he wants to pass on to
his children. He has been involved with
his time, energy, and money in different
organizations to give back to society.
“
we have to find
different ways
to inspire our
children to dream,
to be something
greater than what
they are today,
in many ways.”
Being grateful to his parents for coming
to Canada and for the opportunity this
country has given him, Som has a sense
of duty to give back to his country, and
community. This passion brought him to
the organization “Big Brothers” while he
was in his second year of university. Even
though he was busy with his studies and
a very busy social life, he signed up and
became a Big Brother.
“It taught me so much about the joy
of giving and the invaluable personal
returns. It has been an important part
of my life ever since.”
Today, Som has a deep engagement
in several organizations that he is
passionate about. He applies himself to
them wholeheartedly and plans to do so
for the rest of his life.
“I aspire to give with impact. I believe
it is the most important project of my
life. Today I try to add value and all the
rest of it, but I’m talking about really
giving with impact. I want to apply the
same rigour and entrepreneurial spirit
that I dedicated to building businesses
and helping to change the financial
services industry for the benefit of
Canadians, to how I can support causes
to drive positive outcomes that matter
and change society in meaningful ways.
I’m really energized and excited at the
prospect of getting there.”
Knowing what we know about Som
Seif, it’s only a matter of when…
JASON BOUDREAU CFP, CLU
WEALTH ADVISOR
Principal & Founder - VELA Wealth
www.velawealth.com