High achiever

King made $5 per hour. What she didn't spend on presents for others, she'd put the rest into a Hello Kitty money box. At the end of the year, she realised how long it took to save that money.

So, from quite a young age, King was aware of the value of money.

"I also remember as a kid, my grandpa saying, 'Save your money'. My dad left my mum when I was six weeks old. There was a period where things were tough financially and I have those reflections from childhood - that money sounds hard and it doesn't come easily," she says.

"I realised making money is hard. It takes time and effort. If only I knew about other ways to make money, like passive investing back then."

Growing up in the Northern Beaches of New South Wales, King attended Pittwater High School.

Bright, studious and determined, King went on to become school caption and dux of her year.

She wanted to study communications, but at the eleventh hour decided on a business degree, enrolling in the Bachelor of Business and Arts in International Studies at the University of Technology Sydney.

"Part of that meant living overseas for one year. I went to Hamburg, Germany and when I came back, I completed my final year and then graduated. By that stage, I knew I wanted to work in finance," she says, but faced an overwhelming number of options.

"A lady I was working for at my deli job in Mona Vale referred me to her financial adviser, Bruce Christie. We met and started chatting about his work and the business and he offered me a role as a client service associate. I thought, 'I'll give this a go,' and started working in the industry."

King grew to love personal finance so much she sought to learn all about it.

"I then decided I really wanted this as a career and began a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning. That took a good couple of years to complete while I was working full time in client service," she says.

King quickly progressed from client services to paraplanner, helping advisers with their medium- to high-net-worth clients with holistic advice. The firm was an advocate of index investing, which is where her interest and passion was born.

When the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2009, King made the move to London with "eyes wide shut".

"A mentor of mine at the time encouraged me to travel while I was young. In hindsight, it was the best thing that I ever did. It led me to where I wanted to be and doing what I'm passionate about and love, which is helping retail investors invest sensibly in a very honest and transparent way," she says.

But it was tricky finding work in financial planning. Many of the roles were sales-driven and commission-based.

Coming from a background in index investing and charging fee for service, King didn't go down that other path in London.

"I eventually found a job at Morgan Stanley, but it wasn't in financial planning. It was more EA work and financial admin for top global executives. That was a huge learning curve. It gave me the ability to think quickly, work at pace and be highly professional," she says.

"That was across global real estate investing. I did that for a good year, and then I came back and did similar roles at Deutsche Bank and KKR."

After a while, King realised her passion for advice and helping others reach their financial goals and dreams and wanted to return to the industry. She was also undertaking a coaching course, and wanted to combine these skills and interests.

At the same time, she was closely watching robo advisers in the US.

"There was a platform for women called Ellevest. I ended up finding Stockspot and kept a close eye on the company. Stockspot was recruiting for a role in client care and advice. I reached out, applied and here I am almost nine years later," she says.

Stockspot has grown to $1.5 billion in assets under management, catering to 20,000 investors across the wealth spectrum. Many clients are young professionals who want to make use of their money idly sitting in a savings accounts. It services the bigger end of town, too - SMSFs, trusts, high-net-worth individuals and non-profit clients -  have all helped bolster AUM.

"It shows that more people are wanting to access digital advice and trust us with their money across savings, investing, super and now pensions," King says.

With the launch of the pension product in the coming months, Stockspot will soon offer a full lifecycle strategy.

"It is great to be in the retail superannuation space now, offering true transparency to the Australian population, because transparency around investment and fees hasn't always been the case in the super industry," she says.

While King's role involves providing advice on investments, much of it is also spent on behavioural coaching.

"I speak with a lot of women who are looking to grow and build wealth - all types of clients. It's a great reflection of Australia and the different types of people who need financial advice," she says.

Practising what she preaches, King and her husband saved for a 20% deposit to buy a property off the plan during Covid.

"We used Stockspot to help us grow our savings and used that money for the deposit. Every single month now I try to save some of my pay, put a little in super and invest in my Stockspot portfolio," she says.

While her career did not follow a linear trajectory, King values every experience.

"I've tried different things, worked in many different areas of the finance industry, across financial planning, investment banking and private equity. But what I learnt from it is that continuing to learn and grow is important," King notes.

"That way you can work out what you enjoy and what you're good at."

She also believes that time spent working in customer service and hospitality from a young age helped her career immensely, instilling a view and approach that always puts clients first.

"I've met so many amazing people throughout this journey, all have helped lead me to where I am today," she says.

King's work in advice and uplifting financial literacy via presentations and the media have previously been recognised in the FS Power50, making her one of the country's most influential advisers.

Yoga, which is a huge part of her life, keeps her grounded, focused, clear minded and flexible.

"When I'm moving and feeling good and present, I can be good for my team, which has recently grown from three to seven. So, I need to wake up and feel motivated and be switched on by being active and moving," she says.

King counts Stockspot chief executive Chris Brycki as one of her big supporters and a source for "being motivated and being the best I can for my team and our clients."

"My family also keeps me motivated. My mum and I are very close and I look up to her and admire her strength and kind nature," King says. fs