Luke Marshall CFP® isn’t afraid to jump into something new. As a teenager he was told by a judge he could either go to jail or the defence force; he chose the Navy.
After training in dive medicine and hyperbaric medicine and being posted to some of the Special Forces teams as a medic, and working in domestic counterterrorism, when his six-year commitment to the Navy ended he left.
He traveled to the UK and started working as a paramedic.
Two years later, and tired of working shift work and wanting to settle down, he decided he’d focus on something he’d developed a passion for – financial advice.
“Whilst I was in the Navy, I always liked doing the finance stuff and I was always the go-to person in the Navy and then as a paramedic for people who had super questions and investments questions,” Luke said.
Because many people start their work in financial advice doing insurance, having a paramedic background was a boon for Luke.
“I could talk to people about medical conditions and at least have some understanding with the jargon and I also wasn’t scared to ask them about their medical history because I was just so used to it,” Luke said.
As a paramedic you also get used to dealing with people when they’re stressed and that’s exactly what being a financial adviser is like, Luke said.
“You know, you’re dealing with people with stress trying to give them confidence; trying to influence them to do the right things.
“The two careers aren’t as different as it seems on paper.”
New horizons
Luke joined AMP’s Horizons program in 2014 and then left after 18 months to start his own business.
He was the only one in his cohort with a medical background, but there were a few other ex-military people, and the rest came from law and accounting.
Of this, Luke said he is the only financial adviser left in Australia; one of his former colleagues is now a mortgage broker, one works for the Bank of Canada, and the other is a financial adviser based in Malaysia.
“I actually still refer clients to him over there and he refers his Aussie clients back to me.”
Training through Horizons was very similar to the Navy, according to Luke. “It was 12 weeks intensive training. Much of the training was focused on old products but there were actors employed to role play in meetings. It was really good for soft skills,” he said.
AMP had all Horizons graduates sign a non-compete clause so when Luke left he started on his own, did his Masters in Financial Planning and then the CFP® designation.
Luke said he was lucky the university he did his Masters at was the only university that would allow an unrelated degree; his was in paramedical science but it was allowed to count towards something.
Luke had some investment properties and a share portfolio which he liquidated to start his own business.
He now has a business partner, Chris Barnes and 27 staff with offices based in Lutwyche and Mount Gravatt.
Passion behind finance
Luke attributes his success to the fear of going back to his teenage years and being poor again.
“Like most people that are successful, a traumatic childhood drives most people,” he said.
“So most of my drive is just complete and utter crippling fear.
At 13, he was homeless – couch surfing.
However, a turning point for him was joining the Navy.
While in the defence force, Luke saved and saved – and was able to afford a number of investment properties some which he renovated and sold, and a couple he kept.
Luke also devoured books on money and finance. “I think it’s a case of you just read, you read anything and everything,” he said.
Starting a business aged 27 and throwing all his energy into making it a success was easy for him because, as he told his friends, “I didn’t have a wife, I didn’t have kids, I didn’t have a mortgage.
“Whereas when you’re 40 with all those things, it’s hard to just drop everything and start a business,” he said.
Luke now has a wife and two kids; and a mortgage – and a successful business.
The business targets mass affluent clients with $500,000 to $2 million of investable assets.
However, his own specialties are special disability trusts; complex estate administration and estate planning; and expats who return with a lot of different investment policies, a second family and proceeds from a business they’ve just sold.
“That’s because I like solving puzzles, so if it’s really complex and takes me days to get my head around their circumstances, then I build out a plan.”
And after experiencing a range of careers, Luke said he now believes in destiny.
“I’m right where I should be. I love this job.”
We love hearing about the diverse backgrounds of our members. If you have a career story that is a little bit different, we would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].
