The St. James’s Place (SJP) Financial Adviser Academy welcomed a further 180 qualified advisers to a new career in financial planning on Friday (13th September) in a graduation ceremony held at London’s Science Museum.
The ceremony, which celebrated the success of those who have completed their training with the SJP Academy, saw a variety of speakers – including Head of Academy, Andy Payne, who welcomed the event, and SJP’s CEO, Mark Fitzpatrick, who addressed the group. Alongside this, previous Academy graduate and now SJP Partner, Vikash Kanani spoke on his experience building a successful career within the SJP Partnership, and there was a panel discussion, hosted by SJP’s Joanne Hill, Head of Academy Programme and Strategy, with graduates from a range of backgrounds including teaching, transport, and financial services.
Established in 2012, the Academy trains high calibre candidates in financial advice, providing support for future Partners of SJP to start and build their own high quality wealth management Practice. At the end of the programme, Academy graduates can enjoy the autonomy of running their own business under the umbrella of SJP or choose to work within existing Partner Practices. To date, SJP Academy has welcomed over 1,300 budding advisers through its doors, from professional athletes and former members of the military to teachers and female career returners.
Andy Payne, Head of Academy, St. James’s Place, says: “We’re delighted to celebrate the latest graduates that have completed our Academy programme. We want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to financial advice, and bringing new advisers into the industry is an essential part of this. I am incredibly excited to see what the future holds for them.”
The ceremony marks three years since the Academy announced a more flexible structure to better support its drive towards training growing numbers of candidates each year, moving to a “location-less” way of working to reduce the barriers of having to travel to particular sites and better support the complexities of candidates’ individual situations.
Andy Payne continues: “The SJP Academy is an Academy for All, and we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive environment where all advisers, regardless of circumstance, whether that be gender, sexuality, personal identity, disability, or social or ethnic background, feel welcome. Our ‘location-less’ format plays a key role in this, enabling our recruits to shape their own style of learning. This not only has benefits for the individuals undertaking the programme but, ultimately, will also lead to better outcomes for their clients.”
