She walked into financial planning by accident, earned her degree with a mortgage on her shoulders, and winds down by building LEGO Formula 1 cars. But it’s a single question that drives everything Lauren does for clients at People + Partners.
If you could only ask one question to find out whether your financial advisor truly cares, what would it be? Not about their qualifications or their investment philosophy – something deeper. Something about who they are when the laptop is closed, and the meeting room is empty.
Lauren Clifton has her own answer to that question, and we’ll come back to it.
The long way round
At eighteen, Lauren was working retail sales in a big-box electronics store. The targets were relentless. Then a serious health event pulled the handbrake on everything. It was, by her own account, a crappy experience – but it did what those moments tend to do. It forced her to ask whether any of this was actually bringing her value.
She had no university qualifications and no grand career plan. What she did have was clarity about two things: she wanted her weekends back, and she wanted to spend more time with the people who mattered. So she applied for an office job as a receptionist role at a financial planning firm. She’d never considered financial planning. The placement was pure chance.
She worked her way from that front desk into a role supporting insurance-specialist advisors. Still, she never sat in on client meetings. It wasn’t until she moved to People + Partners – where she’s now been for seven years – that Peter and Jonathan invited her into the room to take notes. That was the turning point. Watching how they worked with clients, breaking down complex strategies on a whiteboard, making people feel heard -something clicked. “That’s what I want,” she remembers thinking.
Studying with skin in the game
Lauren was mature-aged student when she finally decided to study. By then, she had a mortgage. Quitting to attend university full-time was out of the question, so she completed her degree online while working full-time. COVID lockdowns compressed the pressure further – new roles, remote work, and coursework all competing for the same hours in the day.
It’s a challenge she’s genuinely proud of. And it tracks with how she approaches most things: with determination, a stack of post-it notes always on her desk, and the understanding that nobody’s degree teaches them everything. “Never assume that finishing a qualification means you know everything,” she says. “Degrees do not teach you how to speak with clients or navigate the technical nuances. The most important thing is to keep asking questions.”
The insurance guru with a bigger view
Around the office, Lauren is known for her strong insurance knowledge. With ten years’ experience, she is often the go-to for tricky cover questions. But she was keen to broaden her role at People + Partners because, as she says, “good advice is about more than one technical area”. Today, she works across insurance, superannuation, and investments as a provisional adviser, with her advice reviewed by a senior adviser before it goes to clients. She is on track to become fully authorised later this year.
In practice, her days split between writing detailed technical advice documents and sitting alongside senior advisors in client meetings. She’s often the person on the ground – the one a client can pick up the phone to when they need a fast answer. It’s not unlike the dynamic she loves watching in Formula 1: a team where every detail matters, where one person’s responsiveness can change the outcome of the whole race. Lauren draws that parallel herself. She’s drawn to F1 for its intensity, its team dynamics, and the fact that one misplaced tyre can upend everything. She’ll stay up into the small hours to watch a race in a different time zone.
Making advice feel like it belongs to you
What clients might not see is how much thought goes into the way their advice is delivered. Lauren tailors every interaction. Visual learner? More diagrams. Detail-oriented reader? A deeper document. Someone who just wants the bottom line? She’s learned – the hard way, she admits – that less is more. It’s a skill she’s still refining: the discipline of clarity over volume. Quality of communication is the one thing she refuses to compromise on.
That attentiveness shapes how she handles stress, too – her clients’ and her own. She describes a scenario she sees regularly: someone arrives five to ten years from retirement, panicked, worried they don’t have enough. “Being able to take them from that initial stage — where they’re genuinely worried — through to a place where they’re saying ‘okay, I feel confident making this decision’ — that’s what we’re here for.”
It helps that People + Partners operates as an integrated firm, bringing accounting, financial planning, broking, and connections to estate-planning solicitors under one roof. Lauren sees that as a genuine advantage for clients. I might not have every answer, but I can make sure you are connected with the right person.
The case for being present
A couple of years ago, Lauren walked away from social media entirely. She found it freeing. More than that, it reinforced something she feels strongly about: presence. Phones down when someone is talking. Active listening. Full attention. “Even if people are great at multitasking,” she says, “it shows much more respect to actually be there.”
That conviction carries straight into her client work. Good service, for Lauren, means being upfront and honest – including saying “I don’t know, and I’ll find out” – being prompt, and being truly present. When a client is anxious, she asks more questions before offering solutions. She listens first and reassures second.
Away from the office, she recharges the same way: by slowing down. Long walks near the Blue Mountains with her two Labradors. A Pilates class. A quiet bench at the Botanic Gardens with a packed lunch and nowhere to be. A glass of wine and a cheese platter after a long week.
Her clients have taught her something about that, too. Across all the different people she’s worked with, the most consistent lesson has had nothing to do with money. “It’s about health,” she says. “If you are not well, both mentally and physically, it becomes very difficult to live fully – let alone enjoy the wealth you have built”. It’s a reminder she takes personally.
The answer
So, back to the question: if you could ask just one thing to know whether your financial advisor truly cares, what would it be?
Lauren’s answer isn’t really a question at all. It’s a quote she keeps close, from Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”
That’s the measure she holds herself to. Not the technical accuracy of a statement of advice – though she’ll chase that relentlessly. Not how quickly she returns your call – though she’s built a reputation for speed. It’s something less tangible and more lasting: the feeling you walk away with.
What does Lauren hope clients remember after working with her? That they felt heard, supported, and able to step away with less on their shoulders – free to get back to enjoying their lives.
For someone who insists she’d much rather listen to other people’s stories than talk about herself, she tells a pretty good one.
Quick-Fire: Get to Know Lauren
Coffee order: Piccolo
Early bird or night owl?: Aspiring early bird; confirmed night owl
Currently watching: The Big C on Netflix
F1 driver: Carlos Sainz — “not bad on the eye either”
Podcast: Diary of a CEO
Currently reading: The Art of Spending Money
Most-used non-work app: Spotify
Guilty pleasure snack: An entire block of dark chocolate
Food she can’t stand: Sun-dried tomatoes
Desk essential: Post-it notes
Dream holiday: Mountains and coastal — anywhere with nature and water
Wish she could master: Skiing – loves the idea, not so much the execution
Controversial opinion: White chocolate is not chocolate
Habit she’s improving: Her morning routine (she’s notoriously late)
Motto: “People will never forget how you made them feel” — Maya Angelou
Want to chat with Lauren or the People + Partners team?
Get in touch at peopleandpartners.com.au or call +61 2 9093 1311.
