“We do not see the world as it is. We see the world as we are.”
— Anaïs Nin
Today, St. James’s Place (SJP) made front-page news in Telegraph Money, announcing the long-awaited revamp of its fee structure. The message? Transparency. Value. Reform. The truth? An illusion of change designed to protect a model under pressure—not a genuine attempt to empower consumers.
At first glance, it appears progress has been made. The complex, bundled fee structure—long criticised for its opacity—has been unwrapped. The controversial early withdrawal charge is scrapped (for new clients). The charges are now tiered and, for some, slightly lower.
But beneath the glossy PR lies a much darker story. A story of regulatory pressure, brand damage control, and—most strikingly—a 60% hike in ongoing advice fees, dressed up as “alignment with industry norms.” The real question isn’t “Is it time to leave SJP?” It’s: “Why are we still asking?”
Read more from Telegraph Money:
⚖️ The Price of Progress?
Let’s examine the facts.
The new “unbundled” structure separates advice, product, and fund fees. That sounds reasonable—until you realise that the ongoing advice fee has jumped from 0.5% to 0.8%, a staggering 60% increase.
SJP claim this aligns with industry averages. But the comparison is misleading.
Independent financial advisers (IFAs) operating in the open market must fund their own paraplanning, compliance, admin, and tech infrastructure out of their fees. SJP Partners, by contrast, are supported by a centralised back-office—albeit one recently trimmed by 500 job cuts, with those savings likely redirected to maintain adviser earnings rather than client value.
It doesn’t take a financial analyst to smell the strategy: Reduce the eye-watering, hidden upfront fees on bonds and pensions. But claw it back—quietly—through increased annual charges.
🎭 The Independence Illusion: Advice or Asset Gathering?
The Telegraph makes much of SJP’s “restricted” adviser status—but fails to mention a critical fact: virtually the entire financial advice market now operates within Centralised Investment Propositions (CIPs).
These aren’t bespoke financial strategies. They’re pre-set, in-house model portfolios—rolled out across clients with minimal tailoring. While SJP discloses its restrictions, many firms masquerade as “independent” while pushing the same model portfolios, just in a different wrapper.
So why does the FCA still allow them to wear the independence badge?
Why aren’t consumers told that “whole-of-market” now means “whatever’s on the CIP menu”?
📉 The Alpha Myth and the Risk Dial Trick
If the public misunderstand one thing most, it’s this: they believe financial advisers can generate alpha—consistent outperformance of the market.
They can’t. And most don’t even try.
What they do is dial up risk—tilting asset allocations toward riskier funds—then attribute the results to skill. Meanwhile, their layered fees quietly wipe out the gain.
And the deception doesn’t end there. Many firms remodel performance reporting retroactively, selecting top-performing funds after the fact and applying them to past periods as if clients had held them all along. It’s a magician’s trick: a portfolio sleight of hand dressed up as skill.
These aren’t fiduciaries. These are asset gatherers with slick sales scripts.
💬 The People Are Speaking
The clearest sign that the tide is turning isn’t in the press—it’s in the comments.
Across hundreds of reader responses, a new financial consciousness is emerging. People are waking up. They’re rejecting the illusion of alpha, challenging the legitimacy of AUM-based fees, and increasingly choosing DIY investing, fixed-fee planning, or self-education.
“I wish more IFAs were paid by the hour, not this ongoing percentage of your wealth.”
— Poppy Russell
“£1 million in trackers costs £21.99/month on II. Why pay 0.8% forever?”
— Alex Landlord
“They dial up risk, then pretend it’s skill. It’s not. It’s luck. And fees kill the rest.”
— Neil Kirby
What’s clear is that the Aquarian model—empowered, transparent, self-directed planning—is no longer a niche idea. It’s becoming a movement.
🧭 What Comes Next?
This is no longer just about SJP. It’s about the soul of the advice profession.
People want to plan their lives, not just their money. They want alignment, not assets under management. They want clarity, not coercion. The real value lies in holistic wealth planning, not in picking funds or chasing benchmarks.
They want an adviser when they need one—not as a permanent toll booth on the road to their financial independence.
🪞 Final Word
SJP’s fee restructure is not reform. It’s reputation repair.
The industry should not applaud the shift as progress, but interrogate why these systems were allowed to persist for so long—under regulatory oversight that claims to protect consumers. Meanwhile, “independent” firms mirror the same restricted behaviours under a different label.
The age of the salesman-adviser is ending.
The age of the self-empowered planner is beginning.
And that, dear reader, is the future the Academy is here to serve.
✨ Join the M-POWER Movement: From Financial Extraction to Personal Liberation
We’re not here to sell you products. We’re here to help you reclaim your power.
The old financial system thrived on confusion, dependency, and hidden fees.
The new era is about clarity, confidence, and conscious choice.
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🌀 Conscious Evolution
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The future isn’t built on percentage fees.
It’s built on purpose, participation, and personal agency.
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