Yoga and walking clubs: how one advice firm does things differently

Rowe, a chartered financial planner, set up Lucent Financial Planning in 2009 having previously worked at a large financial services company as an adviser.

Initially, the first few months were difficult, but Rowe explained that slowly the business started to grow. 

By 2015, things really took off for the firm after pension freedoms came into law and as the firm’s client number grew, Rowe was able to hire advisers to join his team.

I say the wrong thing all the time  Steven Rowe, Lucent Financial Planning

Move forward to 2019 and Rowe’s health took a turn for the worst after an operation to remove his spleen. 

“I wasn’t really with it for six months,” Rowe recalled.

“I was turning up to work but I would fall asleep."

Reflecting back on that period he joked: “I fell asleep in a meeting once. They didn’t notice, that’s how boring I am.” 

In the years that followed, Rowe continued to grow the business and left his network in 2021 to become directly authorised.

Today Lucent Financial Planning employs 11 staff in addition to Rowe. 

All the extras

“We’re aiming to be a super social company,” Rowe explained. 

“We don’t want to be a company where people turn up, get their money advice and then that’s it. We want them to get involved with us and what we do. We want to help them in other ways. 

“We have a walking club for example. It sounds a bit twee and boring, but once a month 30 people get together and hike the countryside around Birmingham,” Rowe said. 

A lot of Lucent’s clients are retired, but Rowe was conscious that for a lot of them their friends might not be. 

“That’s what it is about, helping our clients have fun,” he said. 

You don’t have to be serious in how you deliver it, you just have to do it well Steven Rowe, Lucent Financial Planning

“So with the walking club, they can get out in the middle of the week, meet similar people, go for a constitutional and have a pint or a cake afterwards. Whatever you prefer,” Rowe explained. 

Back in January, Rowe also set up an online community for Lucent clients, where they can post about their lives and chat to new people. 

The firm also organises online yoga classes for its clients on a Friday.  

As well as this, the firm organises the occasional pub night and has a partnership with a psychologist to support clients who might be going through a difficult time. 

Managing staff

Despite Rowe's focus on building a community with his clients, he described himself to FTAdviser as “the world’s worst manager” and said simply that “it’s not in my key skills”.

“I say the wrong thing all the time,” he said and added that some people might think his way of doing things is “a bit off”. 

In his experience, the staff that stay for a year tend to stick with the firm for longer and the people who don’t like it tend to leave quickly. 

“Everyone here has been here for a while now,” Rowe added. 

On his approach to running a financial planning business, Rowe is proud to do things differently.

“People come to you and tell you all of the best or worst things that happen to them and you can sit there and go ‘that’s a shame’ or you can try and do something about it and help them,” Rowe said. 

“I’m in the ‘try to help camp’,” Rowe said. 

Lucent Financial Planning’s unique approach to advice is evident from the first few clicks on the company's website. 

The website’s ‘meet our team’ section is home to short and snappy high-quality video interviews with each team member. 

“With the videos I wanted people to see what we are like so they know before they come,” Rowe said. 

“I’ll mess about and have a good time so I wanted people to see that before, but also know that there is a serious undercurrent even though you don’t have to be serious in how you deliver it. You just have to do it well," he said

To Rowe’s surprise, the videos have been productive in pulling in new clients.

“It probably gets mentioned half the time with new clients, they will say ‘we’ve seen your video’ and giggle,” Rowe said. 

He added: “And then I blush.” 

jane.matthews@ft.com

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