by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Keith Matthews

Age: 41

Occupation: Partner/Associate portfolio manager at PWL Capital

Bio: This savvy West Island rooster has been guiding folk to the magical yet ever-elusive land of financial freedom for almost 20 years now. Formerly employed in the indisputably "fast-paced, exciting world" of institutional bond trading, Keith claims he opted to pursue personal investment management a little under a decade ago because, "It's in my blood to try to help individuals achieve their goals." The author of The Empowered Investor Guide (www.empoweredinvestor.ca), a self-published survival guide on how to best cover your ass and maximize your investment growth potential when dealing with his brethren in the financial community, Keith, when not being "a full-time chauffeur" to his three children, spends his leisure time racing his sailboat along the pristine waters of Lac St-Louis.

Something Keith says you should be aware of "in order to have a successful investment experience": An understanding of "the hidden conflicts of interest in the finance industry."

One "classic" conflict of interest: "Firms want to sell what's good for them, not always what's good for the end investor. For example, consider how stockbrokers and financial advisors are compensated - they're enticed to do as many trades as possible because the broker and investment management firm make the most money by generating high levels of activity in your account. But who says more transactions are in your best interest as an investor?"

Another good one: Brokerage firms will knowingly recommend lacklustre securities "because they collect underwriting fees, and so long as they continue to be neutral or positive to this stock or company, they'll continue to see these fees. As an individual investor, you certainly don't want your analyst to be pressured into feeling they absolutely must have a neutral or positive view on a stock. Most of these conflicts of interest aren't obvious - certainly not to the average person."

Are the fund managers at the major banks as smart as they like to make out? Probably not. "The industry markets them as gurus with forecasting abilities and that you need to be in touch with their forecasts if you want to win, but the reality is that it's extremely difficult to be a great forecaster. It's shocking to see how poorly all these alleged great forecasters have done in recent years."

How a financial nincompoop should go about getting rich through investment: "Get educated - do some Internet reading and get a couple of books on the subject."

Might purchasing Keith's new book be a good place to start? Surprise! Keith believes it is. "Look, it's a short book, a four-hour read, but afterwards people will be empowered - they'll know what questions to ask when they go to their bank or broker. Even if they decide to do it all themselves, my book will show them what to do. I mean, there's research in here that's so leading edge it's the kind of stuff you study in an MBA or Ph.D. program!"

Musical preferences: Black Eyed Peas.

Literary preferences: People magazine, National Post.

Word of wisdom: "Diversify."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca