The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 45: Oct/Nov 2019 | Page 23

IN PROFILE Gemma Young Founder Queens Square Wealth Management Gemma Young is owner of Queens Square Wealth Management, a Senior Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management. We met Gemma to find out more about her and the business. Based on Corsham High Street, the firm is celebrating 10 years of providing financial advice across the South West. The Practice is bucking the national trend, using its high street location to build relationships with the community and new enquiring clients when many traditional banks are closing their doors. What did you do before setting up Queens Square Wealth Management? “If you want wealth, you have to manage it and manage it from the start of your working life” I have always worked in financial services, and spent most of my career in the corporate world working for private banks – latterly in Bath for Coutts & Co. In 2009, I took a redundancy package and set up my business. I’ve never looked back! Queens Square Wealth Management started just down the road from our current office in the village of Box. At the time my kids were still very young, so it was a busy time, but between us my husband and I made it work. How do you balance being a busy mum and running a successful business? Creating a structured team was really important to me to ensure I could grow the business, do a great job for my clients and still be there for my two children. The back- up of the team ensures that I keep on track, alongside a lot of lists and much prioritising. Financial services is a very male-dominated industry. What qualities have helped you achieve in this sector? I think one of the key skills that often gets missed is being a good listener and having that female trait of being nosy and asking lots of questions! This is not to say men don’t display these traits too, but I think most men will say that as women, we always want to know what is going on! And that, I’m sure has helped me build the long-term relationships with my clients. What advice would you give other women starting out in the industry? If you enjoy meeting new people, have an inquiring mind and love listening to concerns whilst thinking of solutions then you’ve [email protected] 01225 742644 Queens Square Wealth Management was founded in 2009 amongst the backdrop of one of the worst global recessions. Despite this, it found the strength and resilience to succeed and has grown from just Gemma to a team of currently ten employees. just got to go for it! The key thing is to love working with people. If you enjoy that side of it, you’ll be brilliant. I think women have so much to offer the financial services industry. professional qualifications and good ethical practice. I’m really proud of the achievements of the team and being at the forefront of highly qualified financial advice. What would you say to this comment, ‘Wealth management is just for the super-rich, isn’t it?’ What are your future ambitions? Rubbish. If you want wealth, you have to manage it and manage it from the start of your working life. Wealth management is about understanding what your goals and objectives are and creating a plan to meet those needs. Starting with £10 or £10 million pounds, you need to create a sound financial plan to begin with and tweak it over the years as plans change. What are your top tips for building a sound financial future? Start as early as you can and build your financial plan with a wealth manager. Listen to the different ways that you can do it, don’t just feel that there is one way or one answer. Start with what you can afford, however little that may be, and it will build over time. Lots of challenges happen in a lifetime, so you have to understand that this is something for the longer term. What’s been your biggest learning in business? Learning to take risks and do what I believe in. For me it was all about creating a relationship-driven business, believing in that and taking the risks needed to execute it, no matter what everyone else is doing. What are you most proud of? We were recently awarded Chartered Financial Planning Status. This is the gold standard for financial planning and only awarded to firms which meet rigorous criteria relating to the highest level of To make Queens Square Wealth Management the go-to financial advisers in and around Corsham and the south west and to continue with the growth that we’ve seen in the first 10 years. However, whilst these are the ambitions, we have to also keep the same core values at the heart of it. These are trust, transparency and communication. Who inspires you? To be honest my husband and kids inspire me daily because they constantly motivate and support me in all that I do, whatever challenges I face. What do you enjoy in your spare time? As a family we’re season ticket holders for Bath Rugby and love heading to the Rec when the season begins. Tell us something we wouldn’t know about you. I’m a classically trained ballet dancer. Queens Square Wealth Management Ltd is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/ products. The title ‘Partner Practice’ is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives. For more info: www.queenssquarewealth.co.uk THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 23