Ryan McCarthy's journey

After graduating from university, Ryan began his journey, at 22, within an SJP Partner Practice, working in an administrative role. During this time, he built a strong foundation, progressing through exams and moving into paraplanning.

After two and a half years, Ryan felt ready to expand his experience and explore what the wider industry could offer.

Exploring new opportunities

Ryan increasingly started to feel that some elements of the SJP proposition were not evolving at the same pace as the wider market, including the investment approach. Ryan was also looking to challenge himself further, so he moved to Maseco, a firm specialising in advising US-connected clients.

This move was significant for Ryan. Despite already being qualified, effectively Ryan found himself starting again. He was learning about complex cross-border advice, studying a different tax regime, understanding different financial products, working with new systems, and embedding himself into the world of international financial planning.

Ryan says it was a steep learning curve, but one that accelerated his technical development and significantly broadened his experience and knowledge.

A business that had moved on

When Ryan was approached about returning to SJP, he wasn’t actively looking for a career move. He was settled, progressing well, and enjoying his role.

But Ryan liked SJP, having worked within the Partnership earlier in his career. He could also see how much it had evolved.

Ryan knew SJP’s investment proposition had modernised, the technology and infrastructure had significantly improved, and crucially, the way advisers could build and scale their business within a practice had become more attractive.

That combination, recognisable, but clearly improved, made the opportunity at SJP difficult to ignore.

In February 2024, Ryan made the decision to return.

Joining an established practice

Rather than starting from scratch, Ryan made the conscious decision to join an existing Principal Partner practice, and this proved to be a defining factor in his experience.

This route gave him:

immediate access to an established business structure with high standards and an excellent back office
mentorship from a highly experienced Principal Partner with over 30 years’ experience
a platform to build momentum quickly.

While advisers at SJP benefit from strong support across the wider Partnership, joining an established practice allowed Ryan to develop within an environment that already had scale, infrastructure, and a clear direction in place.

Working closely with the business owners, he has benefitted from ongoing guidance and feedback. This has helped him accelerate his development while still maintaining autonomy over his own client relationships.

Accelerated growth through business sale and purchase (BSP)

A key opportunity available to advisers at SJP is the business sale and purchase (BSP) model, which allows advisers to acquire existing client portfolios from within the Partnership. This can provide a faster route to growth while building a business with real, long-term value.

While accessible to all advisers, Ryan found that being part of an established practice made things easier for him.

Operating within a larger business meant:

greater access to opportunities
support in evaluating and integrating client portfolios
the ability to participate in longer-term succession planning.

BSP is not just a growth tool, it also provides a clear framework for building and realising value over time, whether through ongoing acquisitions or a structured future sale.

As the Partner practice owners begin to consider succession planning, Ryan is well positioned to play a role in the future of the business, while continuing to grow his own client base.

Now undertaking his first BSP, Ryan sees this as a key step in building both his business and his long-term ownership position, rather than growth alone.

Technology and investment – enabling better advice

One of the biggest differences Ryan saw in SJP, compared to his earlier experience of the Partnership, was how much easier it is now to deliver advice efficiently. In a post-Consumer Duty world, the administrative burden is arguably greater than ever. Utilising the market-leading technology now on offer at SJP has helped Ryan to operate efficiently in this environment.

The investment proposition has also evolved, offering more modern, scalable solutions, and greater choice for clients.

Ryan typically uses a ‘core-satellite’ portfolio approach, with the larger ‘core’ element typically built around the Polaris or InRetirement range. The remaining ‘satellite’ element is allocated to individual funds of choice depending on the circumstances.

But the range of options means Ryan can now tailor each portfolio to specific client goals and needs.

Alongside this, the improved technology and digital ecosystem has also streamlined how Ryan works day-to-day, reducing the administrative burden.

This allows Ryan to:

focus more on building client relationships
spend less time on manual processes and admin
operate within a structured and supported advice framework.

Looking ahead

Ryan’s journey reflects a different approach to building a career in advice. It is a story that combines ambition with a structured career path.

By joining an established SJP Partner practice, Ryan has been able to accelerate his development, gain the trust to build his own client base, and position himself within a business that has long-term growth and succession opportunities.

For advisers considering their next move, it highlights an alternative to starting from scratch. It offers the chance to build something of your own, while benefiting from the experience, infrastructure, and future opportunities that come with being part of an established advice practice.