Rainmaker provided a service consulting, connecting and collecting data for institutional investors, particularly pension funds and fund managers. I had worked for my brother, James Burkitt, for six months in financial services in Australia, before quitting to go on a long term backpacking trip which was my reward to myself for finishing my uni degree. James said "well on your way, why don't you go to Hong Kong for three months and open up our first international Rainmaker office". 26 years old, not having been to Hong Kong, knowing anyone in HK or hardly knowing anything still about pension funds, funds management and the wider ecosystem it didn't take me much time to think about it... "sure" - how hard could it be?!?
We agreed on a three month timeframe and my (lowly) Australian salary converted at the current exchange rate into HK dollars. Talk about naive!! The salary was hardly enough to live off as cost of living was much higher (to fund active trips, night life...) and accommodation rent was astronomical. I was able to share a tiny dog box with another guy in Happy Valley. You make do!
Setting up the Rainmaker business was a calculated (and naive) risk. I believe these are important in life as they provide you new growth and experience on an accelerated level.
Within the first month of arriving I set up the office, renting a room from an existing Rainmaker funds management client in Exchange Square Tower, Central on Hong Kong Island. I quickly was dealing with lawyers, marketing, technology support, existing and new client prospects across pension funds, fund managers, asset consultants, custodians, brokers, administration providers. Establishing a new entity for the Rainmaker International business. What a fast learning curve - amazing!
Of course, three months is hardly enough time to achieve anything and hence it got extended by three months, then another three months, then another three months until I called time and quit for my back packing trip following the Handover in July 1997.
In 1996/97, Exchange Square was near the water front of Victoria Harbour. Since then there has been significant land reclamation, IFC and a new MTR station built meaning Exchange Square is further set back from the waters edge.
As a strategy to fast track relationship building, James and I created the Hong Kong Retirement Scheme Association (HKRSA) in September 1996. This was the equivalent of Australia's Superannuation Fund Association (ASFA). I did all of the heavy lifting in its establishment across legal, marketing, establishing its first Board, with Stuart Leckie (CEO Fidelity Investments Asia at the time) as the HKRSA Chair, hosting events with hundreds of attendees, signing up pension funds as members and other organisations as associates. On behalf of Rainmaker, I the became the Secretariat for the HKRSA for the remainder of my time in HK, as well as building the client base and service for Rainmaker HK. The HKRSA is still going strong as the major / only representative of pension funds in Hong Kong and being the central point for the ecosystem supporting them. As an aside, the asset consultant segment had control of the relationship and support for the HK pension funds, at the time and HATED the concept of the HKRSA as it provided a conduit for the entire ecosystem to to more directly interact with the key gatekeepers of the major pension funds... being new in town, trying to find my feet just got harder as I was the asset consultant's public enemy #1!!
