Lowes Magazine Issue 130

SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on Lowes people Straight out of university, Josh Mayne knew he wanted to be a financial adviser. “My degree was in Finance and Investment Management and in the third year one of the modules was financial planning,” he explains. “We were given a case study where we had a client and we had to build them a financial plan, including pension and investment

management and tax-efficiency. It was very objective driven, taking into account what the client wanted to do with their money and the lifestyle they wanted to live. I saw how financial planning can really make a difference to someone’s life and I knew from then, financial planning was what I wanted to do as my career.”

On leaving university, Josh applied to Lowes and was accepted, joining the company in 2019. His first role was as an Investment Analyst in the structured product department, where he stayed until 2022. “I gained a lot of invaluable experience there, as over time I took on more responsibility,” he says. “I would analyse the structured products being launched and help assess them for use with our clients, and I worked and negotiated with the banks and providers as Lowes became more involved in the design of structured plans. This was invaluable experience, while I was also developing my analysis skills and knowledge of how plans can be used within client portfolios to diversify risk.” With his eyes firmly set on being a financial adviser, during this period Josh undertook all the qualifications he needed to become a financial adviser. And he didn’t stop there. He has now passed the necessary exams to become a Chartered Financial Planner. “To become Chartered, you must pass all the requisite exams and to have five years’ experience under your belt. I’ll have that five years in August,” Josh says. In 2022, Josh came under the tutelage of Gershom Chan, Head of Financial Planning at Lowes, and Chartered Financial Adviser Chris Brown, working with them for eight months on their client cases and building on his knowledge. This was the final stepping stone to becoming a Lowes adviser in July 2023. Josh says the role is fully living up to the expectations he had way back when he was at university. “Becoming an adviser is a big step, because you are dealing with real people and their very individual financial situations and you want to do the very best for them. “Everyone is different and everyone has different objectives. You could have two people with the same level of wealth but they want to do totally different things with their lives and you have to advise them on how they could move forward and create a sound financial plan with very different takes on life. “I see my role as helping people to make informed decisions about their financial future so they can get the best out of life.” Not only is he enjoying being a financial adviser he is enjoying being a part of Lowes, he says. “There’s a huge amount of knowledge and experience here and although it’s now a sizeable and growing company, it still has that family run feel to the culture. It really is a case of everyone knows each other and will help each other out. It’s a fun place to work and there is plenty of support as an adviser.”

Lowes.co.uk

13