By: Michael Lee-Chin
Applying the same framework that foresaw Canada’s wealth management boom to the next great transformation in cancer treatment and clean energy.
Wealth is created by forward-thinking people. Throughout my career, I have followed a simple yet powerful framework that I call the 3Ps: Predict, Plan, and Persevere. This approach has fostered increased wealth not only for me but also for people who believed in our vision.
Predict – Seeing What Others Don’t
Demographics have been one of the most reliable predictors of economic trends. In the 1980s, I observed that the baby boomer cohort, then representing 28% of the North American population, was driving a consumption boom. While many were focused on immediate market trends, I anticipated that the same group that had been consuming at unprecedented levels would soon transition to saving and investing in preparation for retirement. At that time, Canada’s wealth management industry managed roughly $5 billion in assets under administration. Drawing from demographic insights, I predicted a sharp rise in investment activity, an outcome driven by observation of demographics, not guesswork.
Plan – Turning Insight into Action
Conviction without action is just an idea. Based on the strength of my thesis, I borrowed $500,000 and invested it all in a single stock: MacKenzie Financial Corporation. At the time, the stock was trading at $1 per share. Within three years, it had risen to $7, turning my investment into $3.5 million. That experience cemented my belief in the power of demographics and disciplined conviction. Building on that success, we planned for our prediction on a larger scale and created an aggregation vehicle composed of concentrated positions in mutual fund companies, designed to capture the wealth-creation opportunities we expected to accompany the demographic shift.
Perseverance – Staying the Course
Our conviction required discipline and plenty of it. We preserved our positions through market fluctuations, resisting the urge to chase short-term gains. Today, Canada’s wealth management industry manages over $2 trillion in assets, a more than 400-fold increase since 1987.
The 3Ps Today
Just as demographic trends once signalled the rise of wealth management, they now highlight two of humanity’s most pressing challenges and greatest opportunities. As a soon-to-be 75-year-old baby boomer, living a long and healthy life is top of mind. Unfortunately, with an ageing baby boom cohort comes the increased risk of cancer. It is a Boom within a Boom. The statistics are sobering, with 96% of cancer mortalities occurring among those aged 50 and older. According to the World Health Organization, there were approximately 20 million new cancer cases in 2022, projected to rise by 77% to around 35 million by 2050! Traditional modalities like chemotherapy, surgery and external beam radiation, which have been around for decades and have saved lives but unfortunately often at the cost of harsh side effects and diminished quality of life. The industry is ripe for disruption.
Precision Oncology – The Future of Cancer Treatment
The future of cancer treatment lies in precision oncology. One exciting modality of precision oncology is Targeted Radionuclide Therapy (TRT). This approach specifically targets cancer at the cellular level, leaving healthy cells intact and bypassing the harsh side effects, a promising new cancer treatment. My interest in precision oncology became personal in 2018, when a friend of mine was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. His prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were alarmingly high, and the cancer had already spread to his bones. With limited conventional options, he was introduced to Dr. Richard Baum, MD, PhD, a globally renowned expert in radiomolecular precision oncology who was working in collaboration with ITM Isotope
Technologies Munich SE (ITM). After a few TRT treatments, his PSA levels dropped significantly, and his cancer went into remission. Witnessing this outcome firsthand convinced me of TRT’s transformative potential. Portland soon became an investor in ITM, and I now sit on the company’s supervisory board. And most importantly, my friend is doing very well.
Canada has demonstrated global leadership in nuclear medicine, particularly in the development of medical isotopes and TRT. The connection between nuclear energy and medicine is more than symbolic: both harness the atom to improve life, health, and economic opportunity. Canada has the talent, resources, and intellectual capital to shape global standards in nuclear medicine, offering patients worldwide better outcomes while generating domestic prosperity.
The Second Application of the 3P Framework
Whenever there is a shift in the dominant energy source, there is historically a shift in economic power. Today we are shifting to an increased use of nuclear energy. Energy plays a fundamental role in the economic development of nations worldwide. In the 20th century, the world population grew 4 times, economic output 22 times, and fossil fuel consumption 14 times. U.S. Energy Information Administration projects ~50% growth in global energy consumption between 2018 and 2050. Yet, at the Paris Agreement (2015) and the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP21, many countries committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. But to be carbon-neutral, we must replace fossil fuels. Currently, for most countries, the energy mix is the hub and spoke model, where at the hub is fossil fuels and the spokes, renewables.
Fossil fuels have some wonderful properties – they are always on, scalable, and high-energy dense, but they are ‘dirty’ as they impact both human and environmental health. We, therefore, need to replace the hub with something that is always on, highly scalable, and energy dense but ‘clean,’ and currently, the only such source to humankind is nuclear fission.
Nuclear energy is expected to be a source for both large and small modular reactors (SMRs). SMRs represent a new paradigm for nuclear technology. Compact, flexible, and safe, they can be deployed locally to replace ageing fossil fuel plants, provide reliable power to remote communities, and fuel industrial development, all without producing carbon emissions. Unlike traditional reactors, SMRs are expected to be quicker to construct, easier to finance, and designed to minimize risk, making them a practical solution for today’s energy needs. And the big tech companies are coming to the realization that nuclear is one of the few options to meet their significant energy demands. Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta are investing billions of dollars in nuclear energy through power purchase agreements and the funding of advanced reactor development to meet the enormous, continuous energy demands of their AI-powered data centers.
Nuclear may also provide energy independence for nations that do not have fossil fuel assets, which is important in today’s ever-changing political climate.
Diamonds in our own backyard
When it comes to nuclear energy, Canada is uniquely positioned, especially Ontario, to lead the nuclear revolution. Did you know that nuclear energy accounts for approximately 60% of Ontario’s electricity supply, making it a significant contributor to the province’s energy mix. In fact, Ontario is home to 16 of Canada’s 17 commercially operational nuclear power plants. Surprising, isn’t it?
Moreover, Canada is vertically integrated across the nuclear value chain: from uranium mining and advanced research to technical expertise and operational deployment. Facilities like Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) provide world-class innovation and the depth of expertise with the numerous scientists and engineers needed to power both energy and medical advancements. This combination of resources, know-how, and strategic advantage gives Canada a leading edge. By moving early in the nuclear sector, Canada can continue to capture significant economic and investment gains and create domestic prosperity that benefits multiple generations.
Predict, Plan, Persevere: A Call to Action
The 3Ps—Predict, Plan, and Persevere remain the cornerstones of wealth creation. Throughout history, those who created wealth were not the ones who followed trends, but those who invested in the early innings, before the crowd arrived. Today, the opportunity lies in All Things Nuclear, from clean energy to precision oncology. Canada has an opportunity to lead the global nuclear revolution. We have the resources, the talent, and the momentum. By investing early in these transformative sectors, we not only generate wealth but also help solve two of humankind’s greatest challenges: cancer and climate change. Canada is uniquely positioned to lead both. We have the base elements and the tailwind at our back. What we need now is advocacy, investment and perseverance to Do Well, by Doing Good.
To learn more about All Things Nuclear visit All Things Nuclear Contact a Mandeville Advisor to gain access to All Things Nuclear: doddi@mandevilleom.com To learn more visit: www.portlandic.com and www.mandevillepc.com Follow Michael Lee-Chin’s official Instagram account at @michaelleechin
