Each week we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, St James’s Place CIO Justin Onuekwusi tells us about his career, moving to London, and ignoring his school teacher’s advice in Square Mile and Me

CV

• Name: Justin Onuekwusi
• Job title: Chief investment officer at St. James’s Place
• Previous roles: Head of retail investments (EMEA) at LGIM, multi asset fund manager at Aviva Investors, manager research and portfolio construction at Merprrill Lynch and senior investment analyst at AON Consulting
• Age: 43
• Born: Manchester
• Lives: Norbury, SW16
• Studied: University of Warwick
• Talents: Multi-asset investing
• Biggest perk of the job? Working with talented smart people
• Coffee order: Skinny Americano
• Cocktail order: Pina Colada
• Favourite book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey

What was your first job?

My first job was at Sports Division in Manchester city centre, working in the clothing department. It was a bit boring, and the looped music still triggers flashbacks. I earned £2.32 an hour – just before the minimum wage came in.

What was your first role in the City?

I started out as an actuarial graduate at AON Consulting, working on pension scheme liabilities. I quickly realised it wasn’t for me and emailed the head of investment consultancy to ask for a move. Two months later, I was on the investment floor studying for the CFA, and I’ve never looked back.

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