Rising Concerns Among Women: St James Place (SJP) Financial Advisers Under Scrutiny for Poor Service
I (Sam Secomb, founder of Women’s Wealth) am meeting an increasing number of women who are worried because they have read, seen, or heard stories about their St James’s Place (SJP) financial adviser being in trouble for not keeping up the right levels of service and care for their clients investments. SJP have had to set aside large sums of money in preparation for a surge of complaints after being called out by the Financial Conduct Authority for poor practice.
ARE MY SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS ON TRACK?
Who Can I Ask?
The details of changing regulation and the call to arms by some activists are of little interest to these concerned investors, but they are worried about whether the savings and investments they worked to build up are actually on track. The biggest problem they are facing is “who can I ask?”
It’s no good asking the trusted SJP adviser who set up the portfolio as they are bound to defend their own recommendations. There are lots of adverts for companies encouraging/urging investors to complain and demand compensation, but these “no win no fee” claims chasers have a vested interest in dishing the dirt as they get a cut of any compensation, thus both parties have a vested interest. One source is best served by praising the portfolio while the other is served by criticising it. What is really needed is an unbiased professional opinion on whether the clients personally have anything to be worried about.
IS MY SJP INVESTMENT SAFE?
From Self-Blame to Empowerment: Reclaiming Financial Confidence
The ladies I have been talking to are also starting to blame themselves. Admitting that the regular review with their financial adviser is not always their favourite way of spending time, maybe that they let the review slip or postponed and forgot to re-engage? Or perhaps missed an invitation to arrange a meeting? Please stop blaming yourselves. This is a systemic problem that the Financial Conduct Authority has disrupted because big financial advice companies like St James Place (SJP) are charging for services they are not delivering. If you order a parcel and you are out when they try to deliver, do you forfeit the parcel with no refund? Of course you don’t! Where advisers are collecting money from your investment to cover the cost of a review service, they are obliged to deliver that service unless you explicitly state you do not want what you have paid for.
Regardless of the reason, there is genuine concern for SJP clients about whether the arrangements they’ve got in place are still right for them. These are very genuine concerns because the investments often represent their future security and have taken many years to build.
ADVISOR TRUST AND INVESTMENT UNCERTAINTY
Is My SJP Investment Still Right for Me?
There is nothing more alarming to us as women than the idea that all the effort we have put into ensuring our families and our futures are safe, has been somehow undone, or is not as robust as we thought it was. Security and predictability are generally more important to us than great riches.
Investors have spent hours discussing their financial planning with an advisor and have trusted the advisor to build a plan that works for them. But, how do they know, in this very complex area, whether the plan is still fit for purpose.?
Now, investors at St James Place (SJP) are left wondering if they have been too easily reassured by their trusted advisor over recent years when it appeared that their investment hadn’t made money despite original promises of returns that would beat savings rates. They’re fully aware that the intimate detail of taxation, legislation and global economics is often beyond their normal everyday understanding and so reliance of a trusted source of advice has been important. It is a massive affront to that trust to hear stories about how their trusted advice provider may not have been putting their investment clients’ interests at the very forefront of the advice they’ve been giving.
PORTFOLIO REVIEWS AT WOMEN’S WEALTH
Your Financial Peace of Mind
We believe women should get a good service from financial advisers they can trust. At Women’s Wealth, we offer a personal service for anyone affected by high fees, confusing charges, and poor service. Our review is unbiased and tailored to your circumstances.
- Meet a Women’s Wealth Money Mentor for an online (zoom) chat about your circumstances and outline any concerns.
- Provide us with your latest investment statement/s (up to 3 personally owned investments such as ISA, Pension and General Investment Account)
- Provide us with some information about your personal preferences when it comes to investing- what you are tolerant of and what doesn’t work for you.
- Get unbiased professional feedback from an experienced and qualified financial adviser on how well aligned your investments are to your circumstances.
It is important to say that this is not a full financial planning exercise. It is a simplified spot check on existing investment arrangements to see if they align to the original objective they were designed to serve. Of course, we do offer comprehensive financial planning and advice services and the details can be found here.
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