John Nicola has come a long way since working in his family’s Greek restaurants and playing in a local rock band in the 1970s.
Nicola, 64, founded Nicola Wealth Management (NWM) in 1994 with seven staff and $80 million in assets under management. The firm now has more than 120 employees and manages more than $3.7 billion in assets. When it comes to expanding his business, Nicola encourages staff participation in the firm through what he calls “growing the pie” by offering them shares, options or profit sharing.
“It makes staff engaged and committed because they have ownership,” said Nicola, whose equity stake in the company today is 54%. “Distributing equity to the right people in the right way works.”
Last year, NWM distributed more than $1.2 million in profit-sharing bonuses averaging more than 22% of annual staff pay. The firm, which increased its staff by 66% in the past three years, now has 20 different shareholders plus another 10 individuals who own equity options in the company.
For Nicola, making a bigger pie means having people around him who share his vision and share the benefits. He sees this approach as a win-win since it improves employee morale while increasing awareness of the firm’s profitability.
“A great CEO has to have a great team and an organization that aspires to achieve things that are extraordinary,” said the Shaughnessy resident. “If you are fortunate to do well, you most certainly should give back.”
When he launched NWM, Nicola’s vision was to create something different in financial services with a team of advisers compensated by fees instead of commissions. This vision included offering a wide variety of wealth management services under one roof, from mutual funds and insurance to real estate and private equity, as well as financial planning that includes charitable giving and estate planning.
In 1998, NWM became one of the first financial planning firms in Canada to move to a fee-based platform, a move Nicola cites as one of the company’s greatest accomplishments. Its five-year plan, created in 2012, is aimed at helping the company become a $5 billion wealth management firm. The Vancouver-based firm opened an office in Toronto last year and recently added a location in Richmond.
Nicola, a founding member of Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting, a national professional membership association for financial advisers, often speaks at local and national industry conferences.
“Wealth management is very interesting and very challenging,” said Nicola, who emphasizes a focus on creativity in his work. “It’s never been dull or boring for me.”
Stability and financial security are important to Nicola, who was born in Margate, England, and whose family moved several times before permanently settling in Vancouver when he was 15.
“Between kindergarten and university, we moved a lot and I went to a dozen different schools,” said Nicola, who majored in math and physics at the University of British Columbia for three years before dropping out.
Nicola joined the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice’s board of directors in 2013 and currently serves as board chair. He has also supported the Pivot Legal Society, the Union Gospel Mission and Bulembu International, an orphanage in Swaziland. He and his wife, Claire, have their own charitable foundation to help children and single mothers.
NWM supported Canuck Place this year with staff members participating in and volunteering at the organization’s annual Adventure Race. Nicola, an avid photographer and traveller, and his wife matched donations made by the company and staff. They also challenged friends and fellow board members to match funds, raising more than $250,000 for the hospice.
The CEO also helps clients make philanthropy a strategic part of their financial plans. In 2001, he created the NWM Private Giving Foundation, a donor-advised fund to manage charitable investments. NWM absorbs the cost of the foundation’s administration and operating expenses so there is no cost to clients.
Nicola is an advocate of social responsibility and sustainability; his firm is a signatory of the United Nations’ principles for responsible investing, and it uses the Jantzi-Sustainalytics system for environmental and social governance when researching companies for investment.
Murray Neilson, a shareholder and head of NWM’s business development, nominated Nicola for this year’s BC CEO Awards. Neilson, who has known him for 40 years, said Nicola’s “abundance mentality” when it comes to sharing the benefits of the company’s success, attention to due diligence and gutsy approach make him stand out as a CEO.
“He doesn’t believe it can’t be done,” Neilson said. “He will do his homework, take risks, and losses don’t knock him down.” •
A day in the life: John Nicola describes his typical timetable
6:30 a.m.: Starts day with a quick breakfast, reads newspaper
7:30-9 a.m.: Goes for a walk or jog
9-10:30 a.m.: Works from home office, reads and responds to emails, reviews upcoming meetings
11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Time split among meetings with advisers, clients and management team
5 p.m.: Goes golfing with his wife, attends family dinners
8 p.m.: Reads, watches old movies
Join us to celebrate on November 3 when Business in Vancouver and MacKay CEO Forums present the 2015 BC CEO Awards at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. For more information or to register for the event visit our events page.
