He’s boxing clever in the world of finance.

Now – at the age of 50 – Mark Stewart plans to hang up his gloves after boxing since his teenage years.

But he’s still aiming to pack a punch when it comes to working for his clients’ interests as director of Huddersfield-based Sheards Wealth Management.

Mark, who hails from Stalybridge, joined the firm as an equity partner seven years ago following a career in insurance.

“When I was at school, I wanted to be a deck chair attendant so I could meet pretty girls at the seaside!” he jokes.

“Actually, I was into biological sciences, which interested me at school.

“But I went to Australia for my 22nd birthday with a friend who had worked for Refuge Assurance. He told me about his job and that interested me – and I decided that was what I wanted to do.”

Mark joined Refuge Assurance when he was 23 and knocked on doors “selling kiddies’ policies and endowments”.

Later, he worked for Prudential before joining Towry Law, where he also became an independent financial adviser.

“I was at Towry Law for nine years,” he says. “Eventually, we were taken over and the new owners changed the way we did things.

“I was approached by a former boss and I went to work for him for about nine months. While I was there, the opportunity came up to join Sheards Wealth Management.

“I have always fancied having an equity stake in a business. It’s the sort of thing that motivates you to get up early in the mornings and keeps you up late into the night.”

Mark certainly puts in the hours. He says: “I will work from home occasionally, but I will get into the office for 7.30 and review what needs doing for the day.

“There might be a couple of client meetings – and there’s always a barrage of emails.”

The firm has personal and business clients, many of them already clients of accountancy firm Sheards, which shares ofices with the wealth management business at New North Road. “There’s a real synergy between us,” says Mark.

Sheards Wealth Management has a good number of clients and is winning more by marketing its activities.

Despite living on “the other side of the hill” Mark has strong connections with West Yorkshire’s business community.

“At Towry Law, I was based at St Paul’s Street in Leeds,” he says. “I’m also a member of the BNI networking group that meets in Brighouse. I have been going to BNI for five or six years.

“We get some business from it, but it’s about sowing seeds all the time and hoping something will grow from it.”

One thing to grow from BNI membership has been Mark’s involvement with ActionCOACH –a way of supporting people in business to help them become more effective in their roles.

Mark heard ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars speaking at an event and was impressed by what he had to say.

In essence, Action Coaching helps owners of small and medium-sized businesses with their sales, marketing, management, team building and more.

Like a sports coach, an Action MarkCoach pushes business people to achieve their optimum performance and provides support and advice.

Says Mark: “If you are running a business, you don’t get any training in that. It’s like being a parent, no one tells you what you should be doing.

“That’s where Action Coaching helps. A lot of the things it helps you with should be obvious – but aren’t – such as setting goals, having a strategy, setting timescales and sticking to them.

“My role is as a financial consultant, but I’m also a business owner – and they are different kinds of work. It’s like the mechanic who opens a garage and works as a mechanic, but doesn’t properly run the business.”

A calendar on the wall in Mark’s office is covered in yellow and pink sticky notes – each relating to a task or deadline to meet as part of the ActionCOACH “regime”.

Says Mark: “We do a full day setting goals for the first quarter, then we have fortnightly Skype meetings to see how we are progressing. That alone helps you to stick to what you say you are going to do.”

In a still-uncertain economic environment, Mark says some business bosses are failing to plan properly. “I know people running businesses who don’t even have a diary,” he says.

“But they are operating in a competitive environment – and if you are sleeping, there’s always someone else getting up early and doing things right.”

Commenting on the economic outlook, Mark says: “I heard someone saying that 2015 could be worse than 2008 because everything hinges on the US dollar and there’s nothing behind that. It’s another bubble that’s going to burst.

“I am more optimistic than that. Not every business is ‘cyclical’ and if things go wrong, it is sometimes more to do with the management of the company than the economics. We look after some very good businesses which are doing very well.”

If Mark exhibits a sense of self-discipline in his work, it could have something to do with his main hobby outside the office – boxing.

“My brother used to box and that got me interested,” he says. “I started when I was 18 or 19 and I have been in a number of semi-pro fights – these days at cruiserweight.”

His claim to fame is boxing in Australia against a fighter who went on to become the country’s heavyweight champion and was ranked 10th in the world.

Mark has vowed to pull off the gloves for good this year as far as competition boxing goes following his 50th birthday.

But he intends to help out as a sparring partner for younger fighters at the gym where he trains in Bury in order to give something back to the sport.

“I don’t like the idea of getting hurt,” he says. “But once you’re in the ring you don’t think about it. I have never had any serious injuries – I’ve had worse injuries playing rugby.”

So what’s the appeal of boxing? “You have to rely on yourself,” says Mark. “It’s good for self-disciple. If you can push yourself in the gym, you can push yourself in business. I

“t also helps boost your confidence. Some guys come to the gym for the first time and they’re very nervous. They put the gloves on and become a lot more confident.”

Role: Director

Age: 50

Family: Daughters Talia, 21 and Cory 19

Car: Mitsubishi Outlander

Holidays: I visit Australia where my brother lives and Lapland. I like the extremes of temperature

First job: Working at a factory making shirts for Marks & Spencer. I had to cut out the templates for the collars and cuffs. I worked there for three years before going to Australia

Best thing about the job? I like meeting people and I love what I do. Every day brings something different

Worst thing about the job? We are a very heavily regulated industry, which can be onerous

Business tip: Be the first one into the office and the last to leave – and forget about the long lunches!

Work: Financial advice

Site: New North Road, Huddersfield

Phone: W01484 448019

Email: markstewart@sheards.co.uk

Web: www.sheardswealthmanagement.co.uk