SJP grows as advisers look for support to get qualified

Unfortunately Partners in St James place are not Independent Financial Advisers, although many clients think they are.

Their client portfolios could never be defined as "a broad investment proposition" as stated by David Bellamy, as they are Multi-tied and thus are not able to make recommendations from the whole of the market.

I think clients should question where this increase in profits has come from.

To Anonymous 1.

You're partly right - not IFAs, no, and never claim to be either to clients or on the IDD. But a "broad investment proposition" yes - which includes pretty much everything any tin pot here-today-gone-tomorrow high street IFA would ever offer and a whole lot more - including and not limited to: whole of market mortgages (yes, whole of market); life, CIC, private medical and income protection insurance as well as general and bespoke insurances(protection panel big enough to be called whole of market); stakeholder pensions from a panel of the best in the market as well as award-winning and UK league-table-topping pension funds within own wrapper; SIPPs from various providers; investments in every wrapper imaginable, including unit trust, ISA, on-shore bond, off-shore bond and other off-shore funds (er, no different to the over-rated "wraps" IFAs love to rave about); very sophisticated trusts and estate planning (researched and designed and backed up by a bigger technical and legal team than any IFA would ever have at their disposal); long term care planning with not only immediate needs annuities (from the whole of the market - yes all two of them), but also a unique hybrid product not available anywhere else - and to top it all, the funds offered in all of the above wrapper options are managed by the best of the best fund managers, not only from the UK but from around the globe, researched and hand-picked from the WHOLE OF THE MARKET from over 15 different investment houses including all of the biggies, yes the famous Neil Woodford (and Paul Reed and Paul Causer etc.) from Invesco Perpetual, but also the very best managers from Newton, AXA Framlington, RWC, Jupiter, GAM etc. etc. etc. - way more management houses than any IFA's 'pet panel' I've ever seen (how many different funds can you really research inside out and monitor on a daily basis for your clients anyway? The average IFA uses the same dozen every time).

And these managers are very carefully monitored not only by SJP but by leading external third party consultants to make sure they continue to deliver the expected results for clients, and if not they're replaced seamlessly - with no selling, no CGT, and no further charges to clients.

As usual - IFAs love to spout off about SJP without having the foggiest clue what SJP is really about - but you can be forgiven, because most of us at SJP also didn't know, and made similar assumptions and comments, until we actually took a closer look and realised it's the best proposition on the market and offers clients a very unique active management approach.

So tell me - what do you do? Mortgages and protection, a bit of CIC if you're lucky?! Be sure of your facts before you criticise - all this growth and success and profits wouldn't happen for no reason - think about it.

To S W

Did the earlier post touch a nerve?

When someone is overly defensive - it's usually because they've been found out. When someone sprouts a load of tosh then tells me to think about it,... I want to slap them in the face,...

Still it seems as though someone other than Towry is getting it this week,...

SW what you and SJP offer is really no better or worse than many IFA's out there,... But like IFA's you think what you offer is better.

You all do.

At the end of the day, most clients are happy with whoever is working for them, they usually have neither the nous nor the time to look after things themselves. All they want is a little honesty and not to lose too much money or feel like they're paying over the odds for bad advice.

As long as you all offer those three things you can all sleep well in your beds tonight!

BTW it's nice to hear David Bellamy finally acknowledging that RDR is going to happen and may the upgrade from Fools Practicing Certificate 1,2 & 3 to Jolly Orrible 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 or Relatively Orrible 1,2,3,4,5 & 6 be as painless as selling an insurance bond to a non-taxpayer

The reason that the number of "partners" at SJP has increased is that a small number of IFAs have elected to take the 30 pieces of silver.

Perhaps these chaps were so battered by the 2 years of financial mayhem from Sept 07 onwards that they felt they had no choice but to take the biggest bung they could get. We all know that SJPs parent has pretty deep pockets - ours since you ask - and can easily supply the dosh to acquire advisors and their clients. No doubt the now ex IFAs justified their actions by repeating the brainwash posted above by S W.

Having sold their clients - sorry - businesses down the river what happens next? Well first of all the agencies are novated to SJPs very own IFA. You didn't know? Some bloke in an attic somewhere in Scotland collects all that lovely renewal commission.

Then the churning begins and one by one the poor trusting clients are stitched up into nice shiny SJP product. No coincidence that SJPs precursor JRAs HQ was on the banks of the River Churn.

When the last clients have been so indentured the salesmans job is over and he slink away with his final paychecque. He will not now be needed as servicing of his clients can now be passed to a graduate trainee with a laptop and a £24k salary.

For the 2-3 years it takes him to move his clients over he will have to work for "someone" with meetings and reporting and sales figures and targets ........

All for a few quid. No decent IFA I know would ever stoop so low.

Adam - I take you mean an offshore bond to a non taxpayer as an onshore bond would be silly?

Apart from the fools who can't even leave their names is there someone here from the antecedents of SJR - or crowbar as the ryhme goes ?

Different sort of commission I would guess is the explanation.

I always enjoy the prospect of dismantling a SJP 'proposition'. In my years of experience there is a recurring theme; the products are expensive and usually poorly presented.

The more 'partners' the easier my job becomes!

Financial Services Markets and Regulation Exam Paper 2010;

Question 1.

SJP & Towry; what is the difference? (1 mark)

Gotta laugh!

A 4 - there is a big difference in that we can all see who and what they are wheras you and your fellow snivelling annonymous cowards choose to hide yourselves and simply throw brickbats.

Anonymous 2 - no, I mean what I said. I have several non tax paying friends who have been sold Investment Bonds (on-shore) by SJP partners. You can't beat paying more tax than is necessary,...