Meet Steve Fowler, a Financial Adviser at RetireInvest and the subject of our latest Staff Spotlight article! Steve has been with the company for 8 years and is delighted to be part of a team with “some very good advisers who pride themselves on putting the client at the centre of what they do.”
Career beginnings
Despite wanting to be a footballer, a marine biologist or a pilot when he grew up, Steve started his career in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the government department responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. Even Steve admits that he has strayed a fair way from his lofty childhood ambitions, claiming that “I’m not quite certain what happened!”
After deciding to make a career change, Steve followed in the footsteps of a friend of his and joined Prudential in 2001. The rest – as they say – is history!
The positives…
Steve’s favourite part of his job is interacting with his clients, getting to know them and their goals for the future. He’s proud that most of his clients come to him after being referred by an existing client, which (as Steve puts it), “means I must be doing something right!”
“One of the best parts of the job is seeing that ‘aha’ moment where the client finally understands that there is a solution to the financial issue they’ve been worrying about. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to provide them with answers and take that burden away,” Steve says.
… and the negatives
There aren’t many negatives to the job, although Steve does admit that he’s not a huge fan of paperwork. “If I had any superpower, it would be the ability to make my paperwork disappear!” he laughs. “I know how important it is and I always get it done – I just prefer seeing my clients and having a good chat!”
Balancing these two aspects of financial advice is probably the aspect of his job that Steve finds most challenging – “there is just so much to do!”
The most important skills
Having worked in the financial services industry for so many years, Steve believes there are two skills that are vital when working in a financial advisory role:
“Firstly, you have to have the ability to listen. You can’t solve a client’s problems until you have a good understanding of what those problems are, where their worries and concerns lie, and what their hopes and aspirations are for the future,” says Steve. “Secondly, it’s vital to be able to talk to clients on their level, adapting your language to fit the extent of their financial understanding. Depending on the client, you can come off as patronising or intimidating if you use the wrong type of language for a client’s needs – which won’t get anyone off to the best of starts.”
If there was one skill Steve wouldn’t mind a bit more of, it’s organisation: “I’d like to be known as Mr Organised and I really do try – but I always end up being busy and all over the place, because in my job your whole day can get turned upside down with just a single phone call. But don’t worry – I always get it done!”