More than 100 Financial Planners and Paraplanners have become the latest graduates from wealth manager St James’s Place’s training academy.

A graduation ceremony was held last week at Guildhall London for 63 qualified advisers entering a new career in Financial Planning and 36 new Paraplanners.

The Academy programme has so far welcomed 1,013 ‘second careerists’ from a range of professional backgrounds including professional athletes, teachers and women returners. 

In July the Academy celebrated its 500 Academy graduates and by the end of this year, across all three Academy programmes there will be a total of 495 people being trained and developed, with more set to join in 2020, said SJP.

A third (36%) of the current recruits are women and the number is growing.

Jason Flood, Academy director, St James’s Place, said: “I’m proud of everyone’s achievements so far and delighted to see an increasingly diverse set of graduates. We are proud to be making a positive impact to the profession and helping to bridge the advice gap in the UK.

“Looking ahead, we want to continue to grow our Academy programmes, by opening in new areas and attracting people from different backgrounds. We all look forward to another exciting year ahead.”

Academy graduates can work autonomously running their own business under the umbrella of St James’s Place or work within existing partner practices.

The graduation celebration was also supported by The Clink, a charity catering company which works with reformed characters in prisons, providing them with training and the opportunity to gain experience in event catering.