St. James’s Place partners with Comentis and MorganAsh to enhance support for vulnerable clients

St. James’s Place (SJP) has today announced partnerships with fintech solutions providers Comentis and MorganAsh to help its XX Partners identify and better support financial vulnerability among clients.

With over 30 million UK adults estimated to be at risk of financial vulnerability at any one time1, SJP has implemented Comentis’ technology to enable Partners to proactively identify financially vulnerable clients through a simple to deploy, clinically developed online assessment process. The assessment provides a report determining the nature of any vulnerability, what it means, and what to do, which can be stored to create an audit record of vulnerabilities and actions taken.

SJP has worked with Comentis over the last year to run trials and provide feedback on the tool, which has been created by leaders in the fields of mental health and capacity, financial vulnerability assessments and psychology.

Through SJP’s partnership with MorganAsh, SJP Partners now also have access to the MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS), a secure platform that uses answers from client consultations to calculate an objective rating on the degrees of vulnerability for each client and provide recommendations on next steps. 

MARS also supports advisers when conducting mental health assessments, when introducing clients to the concept of power of attorney, in bereavement counselling, when providing tailored longevity estimates to inform retirement planning, and when assisting customers in sourcing care for later life.

In light of increasing regulatory pressure on firms to identify and fairly treat financially vulnerable clients, these technologies will enable SJP’s advisers to take a more consistent, objective, and proactive approach to their support.

Edward Grant, Director of SJP’s Technical Connection division and leader of the partnership’s efforts to support vulnerable clients said: “Supporting clients in vulnerable circumstances is hugely important so we are thrilled to be able to provide our Partners with two ground-breaking technologies that quickly spot signs of financial vulnerability which will ensure our clients receive the best possible support. Not only does this lead to a better outcome for clients, but it provides much-needed support for advisers navigating some of the complexities in supporting vulnerable clients.”

Jonathan Barrett, Chief Executive of Comentis commented: “With online contact between advisers and customers becoming more and more common and making it increasingly more difficult for advisers to spot signs of financial vulnerability early, technological platforms like the Comentis Financial Vulnerability app are providing a vital solution for advisers in the identification and support of vulnerable clients. It is great to be aiding SJP in their efforts towards supporting vulnerable clients.”

Andrew Gething, Managing Director of MorganAsh added: “Increasing regulatory pressure from the FCA to ensure vulnerable clients are treated fairly means it is more important than ever for financial advisers to have the capabilities to fully understand and support their customers. MARS provides advisers with a range of consistent and comprehensive services that align with FCA regulations to help support vulnerable customers. We are delighted to be partnering with SJP.”