Tony Wickenden, founder of adviser support provider Technical Connection, will launch a new independent firm when St James's Place ends its support for the wider advice market through the business.
The new business, The 3rd Act, will launch in February, with Mr Wickenden continuing as director of Technical Connection until the close of services to non-SJP advisers on 6 March.
The launch follows the news, broken by Financial Planning Today last week, that Technical Connection, owned by SJP since 2016, has begun winding down services to non-SJP users.
Senior figures joining the well-known industry figure in the new venture will be research expert Phillip Wickenden, regulation specialist Simon Collins and communications specialist Jamie Dunkley.
T3A's leadership team: Tony Wickenden, Phillip Wickenden, Simon Collins and Jamie Dunkley
The new business will offer two services, chiefly T3A Adviser, a professional platform which is built around information and insight advisers need, the firm said. Alongside it ASK Tony will launch as a premium technical support service for adviser and Paraplanners.
Tony Wickenden said: “I am immensely proud of what Technical Connection has achieved and of the positive contribution it has made to the advice profession and the businesses that serve it. But simply recreating that service would not be enough.”
He pointed out that advisers and the businesses that support them face greater technical complexity, constant regulatory change, more information than people can reasonably absorb and technology moving faster than the professional framework around it.
He said: “Through our response to these challenges, the expertise continues but the model changes. T3A takes long-built authority and experience and applies them through a broader, technology enabled independent business designed for what the market needs next.”
The business said it would confirm the formal launch date and pricing for its services in January.