Gary Brightman first fell in love with Hong Kong nearly forty years ago, but it took the former banking IT specialist several decades to realise his dream of living in the city.  With some determination — and the help of St. James’s Place — he has been able to carve out a new life and career in the city, making his vision a reality. 

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Meet Gary Brightman

Gary’s fascination with Hong Kong began on a visit in 1987, which only grew in the following years after his brother moved to the city. From the early 1990s, he visited his sibling nearly every year, hoping to one day join him there.

“I always applied for jobs in Hong Kong but never got them as I didn’t live there,” Gary says. “I desperately wanted to come and live here. Every time we visited, we found it harder to leave.”

After years of considering a move, Gary and his wife Stef finally took the plunge in 2009. 

“Working in IT and banking, I knew I had transferrable skills and always wanted to give it a go,” he adds. “So, we rented out our London property, bought suitcases, and moved to Hong Kong. We’ve been here ever since.”

 

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Managing assets across borders

Relocating from one side of the world to another is never easy, and Gary quickly realised moving to Hong Kong brought financial complications, such as transferring private UK pensions and managing overseas assets. A friend put him in touch with St. James’s Place.

“Over our careers, we had accumulated several pensions and we also had properties. We had money in various places, but didn’t have the knowhow to manage them. I always thought I would need financial guidance at some point, and my friend referred me to SJP.”

 

Turning a financial plan into a dream home

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With the help of SJP, Gary and Stef transferred and consolidated their pensions and settled in Hong Kong. Their next ambition was to buy their dream home, and the couple worked closely with SJP Partner Jamie Warner to make it happen.

“We asked Jamie, ‘We need a deposit to buy our dream house. How do we get there?’ From that point onwards, a plan was put into place.”

Jamie worked on a plan to release capital from Gary and Stef’s UK pensions for a deposit.

“Taking his advice, we were able to scrape together the money and buy our dream home,” says Gary.

Gary credits the “honest, down to earth” Jamie for his financial progress. Through SJP’s investment choices, the couple made back the money they withdrew from their pensions within a year.

“We were stunned,” Gary says. “It was a feel-good factor hard to put into words.”
 

“Our house very much has St. James’s Place written all over it — we couldn’t have got there without their help.”

Gary Brightman

From corporate life to creative living

With a place to call home in a city they love and a strong financial foundation, Gary and Stef have been able to pursue their life goals. While spending most of his career in IT, Gary came from a creative family, and realised his true passion lay beyond the corporate world. 

“After being made redundant, my wife and I realised I could finally stop after 35 years of being on call 24/7. I decided to go into film school, set up a company called ManBright Films, and made some documentaries, and a science fiction series.”

Unleashing the creative spirit within has further inspired Gary. A local book shop in Mui Wo, Lantau Island, came up for sale, presenting him with an opportunity to run a bookstore, film studio, and hub for local artists and musicians.

His bookstore and artistic haven, Vibe, has become a hotspot for local artists of every description, and became even more widely known in 2021 when famous local boy band Mirror filmed a reality TV show there. Living an authentic life true to his creative self has been an unexpected but welcome outcome from seeking financial advice.

“Like everybody, we thought we didn’t have the time to engage a financial adviser, but when you take the plunge, it becomes a huge positive,” he says. “You realise you should have done it 20 or 30 years ago. It has afforded me a stress-free and happy life.”

This is just one client’s story and each situation is unique. The advice given to Gary was provided after a full evaluation of specific needs, circumstances and requirements, and was correct at the time it was given. The solutions provided may not be suitable for everyone, and the information provided here does not constitute advice. 

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.