Our Head of Business Support, Alex Langhorn was delighted to join Scott Stevens from the St. James’s Place Financial Adviser Academy. Together, we discussed all things SJP, dispelled common misconceptions, and engaged directly with the BTS community by addressing your questions.
As one of the largest academies, St. James’s Place Adviser Academy is a popular choice amongst BTS candidates, particularly our career changes.
Some of our students go on to the Academy in what we call ‘term one’ after achieving a pass in R01 and R05 first with BTS. We also work with students who complete the full Diploma with us at BTS, and then go on to join the Academy in ‘term 2’.
Watch the video below to catch up, or continue reading to discover more about our conversation…
Let’s start by thinking about those who are right at the start of their journey.
Some of our readers may have heard a bit about the St. James’s Place Academy, or indeed SJP as an entity. If we are looking for a no-nonsense elevator pitch – what is the Academy all about?
At a headline level, the Academy is all about creating the next generation of financial advisers and business owners. It’s worthwhile delving into a little bit of history because SJP has been around for about 30 years now, and for 30 years we’ve grown by recruiting what we would describe as the brightest and the best from within the profession.
But we realised that the pool has been older. The average age of a financial adviser in the UK is 57/58 years old. So, 10 years ago somebody thought, well why don’t we start growing our own? And that was the birth of the SJP Financial Adviser Academy.
We’ve now trained over 1,300 people through our programme, which has evolved over time and today consists of a 4 Term Programme over 12-18 months before then going into our Growth & Development team for a further 2 years.
Let’s zoom in on some of the essentials for anyone who is just starting to research the Academy. We’ve already alluded to some of the different options for joining the Academy; I mentioned ‘term 1’ and ‘term 2’. Can you tell us a bit more about these two routes? Why might someone choose to join in term 2?
The distinction is quite simple. If you don’t hold a Level 4 qualification from the CII, CISI or LIBF, you start in Term 1. If you do have the qualification you start in Term 2. As you said Alex, there are two routes.
Term 2 follows on then, after completion of the Diploma. What does the Adviser experience look like in Term 2?
Term 2 is all about turning academic understanding into practical know-how. Like Term 1, it’s 3 months, full time. This is where our trainee advisers can expect to build and develop both personal confidence and technical competence.
We believe in a blended learning approach, so that’s face to face, digital and immersive. You’ll start with a 3-day, F2F residential course at the beginning. There are a further 2 days F2F in the middle and again 3 days at the end. You are usually in a cohort of 20-25.
Our advisers and business owners are in this together and we’ve found this really works for us and our recruits. F2F is great for building rapport with others, introduces a ready-made peer group and creates a sense of community.
Expanding on our blended learning approach, recruits benefit from a digital suite of approximately 500 short, engaging video vignettes akin to a Netflix-style library, available on demand for a tailored learning experience. We’ve employed professional actors – it is genuinely amazing! These are supplemented by nearly a hundred virtual live sessions, woven throughout the programme, ensuring dynamic, real-time engagement and reinforcing our commitment to a rich, multifaceted learning environment.
So, term 2 is very much about that financial planning practice…in practice. A question we’re often asked is…I’ve got my diploma, now how do I translate that into doing the job? Where’s the next piece of the puzzle? The route to competent advisor status is important. It’s a regulatory requirement within the qualification framework.
Term 3 is all about achieving your Competent Adviser Status (CAS). The support and ongoing development primarily take place across one of our 20+ SJP locations. Again, learning is delivered through a blended approach: core modules are delivered via face-to-face, peer group sessions, and the elective modules are delivered remotely. Here, our advisers benefit from lots of 121 coaching and support from a specialist Academy Development Manager, an Academy Support Manager, and a mentor.
Once CAS has been achieved, they will then progress onto Term 4. Here, it’s all about building a sustainable business to enable our advisers and business owners to succeed and thrive in the Partnership. The support continues, and they can expect to become more integrated with the location that they will be working in. This takes several forms, including invitations to peer groups, as well as location and charitable events.
During Term 4, those who are establishing their own business receive a Business Health Check. This health check focusses on areas such as: Operations Risk Management, Business Planning and Resilience, whilst still having access to enrol in elective modules in areas they feel they need more support in.
The support doesn’t stop here though. Our advisers and business owners (we call them Partners) will then move on to what we refer to as Terms 5 & 6 overseen by our Growth and Development stage. These additional two years (Terms 5 & 6) are supported by a dedicated management team who all have the ILM Level 5 Coaching Award. This ensures unrivalled, on the job coaching after the classroom phases of training have ended.
I can see there’s a commitment for somebody wanting to join the Academy. There is a need to be able to commit full time study, but what other investment is required from somebody who wants to join, and what sort of support is available to help them manage that investment?
It’s a great question and an important one. Depending on how you join, there are different levels of financial support available. People can join our firms as a self-employed or employed adviser, or join the Partnership as a business owner. As part of the process, you’ll meet a Business Acquisition Manager, who can talk you through the different options. But there is absolutely support to get going from the beginning. We recognise that people usually need some help, and we have a range options to support with that.
The qualification journey is rarely described as an easy one, and one of the things we talk to potential students about is discovering their ‘why?’ before embarking on the road and I think this is just as important when selecting where to position yourself on that journey. Scott – you must have heard lots of inspirational adviser stories from individuals who have come through the Academy?
There’s lots of different stories and everyone is unique. Some had previous careers with SJP as support staff, such as an administrator and were inspired by their Partner and what they’d built and wanted to do the same.
Others I’ve met from military and sports backgrounds, who were looking at how they support their families once their careers came to a natural end. But they didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all the time. I suppose you did ask me about one that sticks in my mind.
One of our Partners lost her Dad in her 20’s and whilst helping her Mum keep their house and sort their family finances, she found she was quite good at it. Her driving reason is that she doesn’t want someone else to go through what she and her family went through. That’s just one of the many inspirational stories I’ve heard.
A question that BTS received prior to this webinar is about the perception of SJP Advisers and whether it is simply a sales role or something else? How would you describe the role of an SJP Adviser? Is financial planning simply sales?
That it is all about sales is an interesting perception. I believe some of that is born out of the success that SJP has achieved. We have over 4,800 financial advisers here at SJP and all I would say is that the proof is always in the eating. We have a 95.3% retention rate. Clients love their SJP adviser.
Regarding the word ‘Sales’ and our profession, I believe that died with the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review in 2012. Amongst other changes, this banned commission an introduced charging clients a fee. Today the role is far more about building great relationships, understanding clients’ needs, and providing tailored advice. Something we’re passionate about at SJP.
Would you say that there’s a typical adviser at SJP?
I would say no. Because they’re all different. But I would say, the one thing they’ve got in common is that they’ve got a genuine desire to really help people. During my career, I’ve seen that manifested in so many ways.
We’ve got a whole series of videos in production with advisers and their clients talking about how their advisers have positively changed their lives. I’ve also seen advisers consistently going above and beyond. For example, I was speaking to an adviser the other day who helped one of their elderly clients to go and buy their car because they didn’t trust anybody else.
To find out more, catch-up with the full webinar recording (at the top of the page), where we discuss in more detail what the Academy programme looks like, how the selection process works, and what it’s really like to be an Adviser with St. James’s Place.
Scott is a Director at SJP. Scott has over 30 years’ experience in financial services. He’s held senior positions in Investment Management companies such as AXA, Deutsche Bank, BNY Mellon and Quilter Cheviot, as well as in Wealth Management businesses such as Quilter Financial Planning.
Scott has spent most of his career focused on distribution activities – Sales, Marketing, Events, Press Relations, CRM systems implementation, data management and product development. He’s passionate about growing the advice profession, enabling more people to benefit from high-quality financial advice.
Find out more about the opportunities with St. James’s Place Financial Adviser Academy, check out their Featured Company Profile page.
You can also connect with them by editing your profile and updating your connect with featured companies preferences to start a conversation.
Need more inspiration? Read about the increased demand for advisers in “The Rise of the UK Retail Wealth Market” and find out more about the role of a Financial Adviser by reading “Don’t be fooled – What does being a Financial Adviser really mean?” below.
