Fundamentals remain the same for Olympic swimmer Arthur Li, who moves with the flow of the Hang Seng Index these days Arthur Li Kai-yien knows all about timing. Eight years after retiring from international competition as one of the most successful male swimmers ever to compete in Hong Kong, the word 'timing' has suddenly become his best friend again. As a competitive swimmer who used to train for more than five hours a day trying to perfect a seemingly perfect swimming stroke, Li knows all too well that timing is everything and never more so than in his chosen profession today. Exploding out of the starting blocks at the buzzer is critical in any race. Like in his swimming days, Li has to get his timing right as senior sales manager at Phillip Securities. The Hang Seng Index, the barometer of the Hong Kong stock exchange, is what drives Li to work when the market opens five days a week. It gives the former swimmer a buzz every time his clients' portfolios return a healthy profit or whenever he sees stock prices in 'green territory'. Until the stunning falls of the past fortnight, the past two years have been good times for Li, if the Hang Seng Index is anything to go by. With more funds having poured into the market, Hong Kong has enjoyed a revival not seen since 1997. State-owned companies or H shares listed on the Hong Kong exchange continue to scale new peaks driven by strong fund flows. Li said it was exciting to be part of the market now. 'I'm happy with my job,' he said. 'As long as my clients are happy and their investments are giving them a return, then I am pleased. 'The world is changing every day ... every second even. My work requires a lot of analysis and I have to make decisions all the time. You have to pick your stocks carefully and not rely on other people or rely on just hearsay. Doing your homework is everything in my field.' Li decided to give the stock market a go after completing a one-year computer animation course at City University (CityU). He had spent three years at PricewaterhouseCoopers as an accountant after graduating from the University of Southern California (USC) with a degree in business administration in 1995. Upon graduation, he knew he was going to be dealing with figures and sums. Full-time training was no longer an option because of his advancing age. Life as a competitive swimmer is probably one of the shortest among all sports. While a talented footballer can continue playing professionally until the late 30s, a swimmer's racing days are all but over by the late 20s. The body can no longer absorb the daily punishment of training for hours a day in the water in addition to the regular gym workouts required for strength training. Recovering from workouts takes longer as the body ages. It can no longer cope with the huge workloads needed to maintain that powerful, streamlined body that glides through the water with ease. When Li retired in 1999 after three Olympics - Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996 - the thought of becoming a coach never crossed his mind. He had his heart set on other things. Coaching wasn't one of them. 'I didn't really think about being a coach, even though I enjoyed swimming in my younger days and swimming was then a big part of my life,' said 34-year-old Li, who still holds several long-course Hong Kong records. 'I never really gave coaching much thought. Looking back, I am glad I made the decision not to continue my swimming career [as coach]. Even though I love coaching people, I knew there were other opportunities for me,' he said. Li said life as a competitive swimmer was far harder than that of a stockbroker. His swimming days were among his toughest, especially when he studied at the USC, one of America's best known colleges which has produced some of the world's greatest swimmers past and present. The Trojans, as they are called, have produced an astonishing 38 Olympic gold medals since the 1928 Amsterdam Games. Among their greatest Olympians was American Lenny Krayzelburg, winner of three gold medals at Sydney 2000. 'I used to train 20 hours a week in the water and about five to six hours on land a week. That's between 25 and 26 hours of training a week. Along with schoolwork and coursework, that's about 16-20 hours a week of really hard work,' recalls Li, whose best effort overseas was a bronze medal at the 1988 Asian Championships in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay. 'The day usually began at 5am at USC. That was surely tough for me. It was quite physical and totally demanding. Being a full-time swimmer was more stressful than being involved in the stock market.' His time spent in California not only sharpened his fitness and made him one of Hong Kong's most celebrated swimmers. It made him disciplined; it gave him a sharper mind and it made him more determined to succeed. It eventually put him on the path to success in a job that requires a mixture of discipline, knowledge and intuition. Li knew his swimming career was nearing an end after graduation and he needed to start afresh. He had dedicated virtually his whole life to swimming, but when the time came he was quite prepared to turn his back on the sport for a career he had yearned for. 'After completing a computer animation course from CityU in 2000, I did some freelance work for a year and then I returned to business and worked as a stockbroker. I have been doing this for about five years,' said Li. Li has been successful with his stock picks and remains confident in the China market. He liked H shares because he said they were pretty 'solid'. 'China is growing very fast and it's going to drive the next world economy,' he said. 'To be successful, you have to gather all the information you can get your hands on. Other than reading reports about a company's portfolio, I have to make sure that the stocks the clients are buying represent good value and growth. 'H shares have grown considerably over the years. If a bubble is going to burst, I think it will be China A shares. China doesn't have a system to also short-sell. In Hong Kong, you can short-sell so share prices won't go crazy as it is based on fundamentals.' Li advised investors to be cautious with China A shares as he expected a big correction in the next two months. Did swimming actually help put Li on a career path even though it's a completely different field? 'It definitely did. Because when you're swimming, you're going through the same motion every day, every second, just like when you're doing freestyle. It's the same stroke. But how can you improve it? 'Usually you think about technique. You have to concentrate on the small details. The stock market is the same. 'Sometimes it's all about the small details. It could make a big difference in the end - just like timing,' Li said. Roll of honour 1988 Joined the Hong Kong national team as a multiple Hong Kong record holder; won bronze medal at Asian Championships in 4x200 metre relay; competed at the Seoul Olympics 1992 Competed at the Barcelona Olympics 1993 University Scholar Athlete Award of Honour 1995 Graduated from the University of Southern California with BSc in business administration 1996 Voted Hong Kong Swimmer of the Year for the third year (previously in 1991 and 1993); competed at the Atlanta Olympics 1997 Joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as senior associate 1999 Retired from swimming 2000 Completed one-year course in computer animation at City University 2001 Joined BK Capital as portfolio manager 2002 Joined Hooray Securities as vice-president of sales 2006 Joined Phillip Securities as senior sales manager
