Women in Wealth Awards 2016

www.wealthandfinance-intl.com 9 Lark Group are an independent insurance broker providing cover across a wide range of areas, in- cluding financial, commercial, travel and even musical instruments. We invited Eloise Ellis to talk us through her role and how she has contributed to the firm’s success. Originally established in 1948 by Roger Lark, Lark Group are now one of the remaining few independent brokerages in the UK, and still have Roger’s descendants – Graham and Stephen Lark – on the board today. Whilst the firm are a general broker, one of its areas of specialism is in supporting Financial Institutions which is Eloise’s area of focus. She discusses her role and how she supports her clients in more detail. “I’ve worked at Lark for over 11 years, starting out as a trainee in our SME team based out of our Kent office, progressing to head up a New Business team there, before moving to our London office to head up the Development of our Financial Institutions Division. “Now I work solely with new clients to Lark; clients that do not buy through the company at present. Typical clients that we work with are anyone in the Financial Services sector who are regulated by the FCA. We are able to assist all sizes of clients, ranging from large corporate clients to smaller firms who need some additional support. “Recently, we have seen an increasing number of early stage FinTech firms who need valuable guidance at this crucial stage of their business. We are able to offer them support with not just their insurance arrangements, but with introductions to other firms who may be able to provide ancillary services to them, as well as helping them with their own Risk Management.” Having worked in the male dominated financial market for over a decade, Eloise believes that she is beginning to see this changing. “Fundamentally there is no getting around it; the financial services industry is still largely male dominated. However, this is starting to change. I have been to several events for women in the sector, and there seem to be more of these being planned. I would say that those in the financial services industry are actually more accepting of women in high profile roles. WW160030 Company: Lark (Group) Limited Name: Eloise Ellis Web Address: www.larkinsurance.co.uk Address: Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, London, EC3N 1DY “This is a great step but there is still much further to go. The challenges for women in finance are the same as for all women in any sector – for those who wish to have children then you have to make a decision as to at what stage you feel comfortable doing this and how this will impact your career. Increasingly firms support part time roles, flexi time, working from home etc., which can support women who want to come back to work, but it is still a challenge for women everywhere. “My advice to anyone looking to succeed in this market is simple: work hard. Accept that there will be challenges to overcome, and learn from every mistake. You may find that you change your mind along the way as to what you ultimately want to do, so be prepared to be flexible and be open to opportunities to try different things. Support your colleagues, earn their respect and treat them with respect too.” Over the past year Lark have performed positively. The sector is very competitive so achieving organic growth is challenging for any business, but Eloise is optimistic that Lark will continue its positive growth moving forward. “Looking ahead, our Financial Institutions Division is a really exciting area of the business, and we are keen to continue to grow this, providing many great opportunities for myself and my team. We have recently taken on more resources to help us with this and have some exhilarating plans for 2017 and beyond, which include the launch of a research report which we commissioned earlier this year into the wealth management sector. This is a totally unique offering and we are looking forward to sharing it in the near future. Ultimately, our made to measure, personable approach combined with our strong existing client relationships will ensure that we continue to grow organically and through strategic acquisitions, maintaining our great client service whilst being able to serve a much wider client base.”