When Lewis Brain joined Digby Associates in April 2008, he had just finished sixth form and was starting out as an office junior.
Eighteen years later, he is a financial adviser helping clients plan for retirement, manage their investments and think about increasingly complex areas across their finances. His career has taken him through almost every layer of the business along the way.
At a time when young people are often presented with a daunting picture of the job market, Lewis’s story is a useful reminder that careers do not always begin with a perfectly mapped-out plan. Sometimes they begin by getting through the door, learning how a business works and being prepared to build from there.
Choosing work over university
Lewis had already completed work experience with Digby Associates, as well as a placement at Barclays, before finishing sixth form. He had studied Business alongside IT and technology, but knew that university was not the route he wanted to take.
“I’d studied Business at school along with IT and tech, three subjects that have probably become more useful than ever,” he says. “All three intertwine to make our industry what it is today.”
His first role at Digby Associates involved the kind of jobs familiar to many people starting their careers. As an office junior, Lewis spent several years learning the basics before gradually taking on more responsibility.
That foundation turned out to matter.
“I think understanding the roles as you progress is really important,” he says. “Everyone has to start somewhere, and if that means starting at the bottom, that’s ok, as it’s important to understand things from the ground up.”
It is an idea that feels particularly relevant today. The route from education into work is becoming broader than the traditional school-university-graduate-job path. The Government is currently expanding support for technical education and apprenticeships, including plans intended to create 50,000 additional youth apprenticeships, while professional bodies such as the Chartered Insurance Institute now offer structured routes into financial services for school leavers and people without previous industry experience.
Learning the business from the ground up
Lewis’s own progression was gradual. After working as an office junior, he moved into producing client valuations and managing colleagues diaries before progressing into paraplanning, where he helped prepare new business cases for Digby and other advisers.
Then, in 2017, came the opportunity that changed the direction of his career.
Digby Associates supported Lewis through Financial Adviser School, beginning the journey towards becoming an adviser himself.
“Had that not come about, I wouldn’t be doing the role I do today,” he says. “I’m the type of learner who needs to be taught through discussions and visual learning. I’m not the type to pick up a book and just soak up the information.”
That is perhaps another useful lesson for people entering work. Development does not have to look the same for everyone. Some people thrive academically, others learn by doing, and many develop most quickly through a combination of practical experience, professional qualifications and learning from the people around them.
There are now formal routes that reflect that too. The CII’s Level 4 Financial Adviser apprenticeship, for example, combines employment, training and the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, and can be used by people entering the profession as well as those progressing from administrative or paraplanning roles.
The value of learning from different generations
Ask Lewis about the biggest thing he has learnt during his career and he comes back to people.
“Listen to people who have done it before,” he says. “Even if they don’t do the same role now, they have lived and breathed it and the passing down of that knowledge is invaluable.”
He points to Digby Player, Paul Flower, Gary Stoker, Paul Watkins and James Long among those who have supported his development over the years.
That mix of experience is an important part of Digby Associates today. We have colleagues at different stages of their careers, from people beginning their journey in financial services through to advisers and members of the team with decades of experience behind them. Bringing those perspectives together means younger colleagues can learn from people who have seen markets, regulation and client needs change over many years, while newer generations bring different experiences, skills and ways of thinking to the business.
For Lewis, one lesson has remained consistent throughout: clients come first.
“Communicating with clients is key,” he says. “They are what keep all of us in jobs, and if those relationships aren’t managed appropriately then there won’t be any business to manage.”
A career that continues to change
One of the things Lewis still enjoys most is the variety.
No two weeks necessarily look the same. He might spend several days visiting clients, work from the office, spend time working from home or be dealing with very different financial planning challenges from one meeting to the next.
For Lewis, some of the most rewarding conversations are those where financial planning allows somebody to do something they had not thought possible, perhaps retiring earlier than expected or understanding how much income they can comfortably take in retirement. More recently, he has also been helping clients think about protecting family wealth as the Inheritance Tax landscape becomes increasingly important.
That changing nature of the job is also part of what makes financial services an interesting career for younger people. It combines technical knowledge with technology, regulation, communication and, above all, relationships with people.
It is not simply a job about numbers.
“Have confidence in your own ability”
Lewis’s advice to someone leaving school or college is refreshingly straightforward.
“Try different things and work in different places. If it means starting at the bottom, accept that everyone has to at some point. And try not to progress too quickly either, because understanding the roles as you move forward is a really important skill.”
He also encourages young people to make the most of professional qualifications where they are available, while being realistic about the commitment involved. Exams often require work outside normal hours, so finding an area you genuinely enjoy matters.
And if he could give his 18-year-old self one piece of advice?
“Be more confident in your own ability.”
Eighteen years, and still looking forward
Lewis’s career has changed enormously since he first walked into Digby Associates as an office junior in 2008, but in many ways his story reflects what we want a career here to be able to offer: the opportunity to learn, take on responsibility, gain professional qualifications and develop at a pace that works for the individual.
There is understandably plenty of discussion about the challenges facing young people entering the workforce. But there are also opportunities to build meaningful careers through routes that may not always be obvious at school or college.
You do not necessarily need to know exactly where you want to end up when you start.
Lewis certainly did not join Digby Associates at 18 with an 18-year career plan mapped out in front of him. He started with an opportunity, learnt from the people around him and kept moving forward.
And nearly two decades later, he is still doing exactly that.