Jason Turner didn’t follow a conventional route into financial services; in fact, it was a lucky break that got him there. He was playing rugby for the London Wasps when after four years, an injury, a misdiagnosis and delayed open hip surgery put paid to his sporting career.
“Considering a career in the industry didn’t occur to me at all when I was growing up,” he explains. “I didn’t come from a wealthy family, but my mother was the beneficiary of an educational grant, following the death of a grandparent.”
“I was lucky in some ways, but I came through an experienced, driven career path – I’ve come up through the ranks”
This allowed Jason (pictured right) to benefit from a private education, which unleashed the sportsman within, and he quickly developed a keen interest in rugby.
When his schoolmaster, a former London Wasps player, suggested he try out for his old team, Jason didn’t need to be asked twice.
But those early years before injury put paid to his sporting career were not lost on Jason. Now a director at Deutsche Bank, working with family offices and ultra-high-net-worth clients, he still finds value in many of the skills he needed as a rugby player.
Of course, it wasn’t a smooth transition from rugby player to director at Deutsche – but a penchant for networking and a strong work ethic certainly helped. Initially, a stint spent cold-calling businesses as a financial adviser for City Financial Partners helped Jason to prove he could converse and engage with clients.
He later went to work for UBS, where he became a director on the Private Wealth Management Desk.
“There’s a big teamwork ethic at Deutsche; it’s very collaborative,” he says. “The divisions that we have in the bank are designed such that we are able to work in confidence with our colleagues and not feel like we’re competing for the same end result.”
He then secured the position of Executive Director at Kleinwort Benson, having completed the CISI Level 6 Certificate in Private Client Investment Advice & Management.
"There’s a big teamwork ethic at Deutsche; it’s very collaborative"
“The reason I came to work for UBS, Kleinwort and Deutsche is because I’d shown certain levels of competence and results,” Jason notes.
“I was lucky in some ways, but I came through an experienced, driven career path – I’ve come up through the ranks.”
Outside of the office, rugby still plays a big part in Jason’s life. He currently volunteers in an advisory capacity with the School of Hard Knocks, a social inclusion charity that uses the power of contact sport to change the attitudes of the long-term unemployed. As Business Ambassador, Jason looks for ways to promote the charity within the corporate and ultra-high-net-worth community.
If you would like to tell us your own back story, email
janice.warman@wardour.co.uk
The original version of this article was published in the June 2015 print edition of the Review.