How Trusted Financial Advice Transformed One Client’s Future

SJP client Jo Cowper has transformed her life in the last six years – moving from Scotland to the French Alps relocating her business and her family.

Jo and her SJP Partner, Nicola, have worked together to help Jo achieve her goals – and invest her money in accordance with her personal values and sustainability principles.

Jo feels positive about their future knowing her finances are the one thing she doesn't have to worry about worth?”

Six years ago, Jo Cowper was poised to make a lifechanging move. Self-employed with two young children, she was leaving Scotland to make a new life in the French Alps for her and her family. “I had a lot of change ahead of me, and knew that I needed some financial advice,” she says. “But my past experience – before meeting Nicola, my SJP Partner, was of middle-aged male financial advisers visiting my parents when they were separating to discuss financial arrangements.”

It was the same, Jo says, when she inherited from her grandparents and took some advice to help decide what to do with the money.

“Financial advice seemed very technical and complex. There was reams of documentation, but not much follow up, or any personal relationship.“

She was left feeling that advice wasn’t really relevant to her life, or her personal circumstances.

"My finances are the one thing I don’t have to worry about. That’s a lovely feeling."

Jo Cowper,

Client

Advice that felt different from the start

Jo was introduced to Nicola by a mutual friend at the right moment.

Almost all of Jo’s money was tied up in her Scottish property, and she thought her best route was to sell up and invest. The two discussed options at length, with a surprising outcome.

“Jo was considering investing all the money from the house sale,” remembers Nicola, Jo’s SJP Partner. “And I advised her not to. We decided that she needed to go and start her new life and that keeping the money in the bank was a sensible choice.”

“I was still adapting to the idea of managing my money for the future” Jo says. “Everything was changing – I didn't know where or when I might buy a French house, or how much money I might need.“

According to Nicola, that wasn’t the advice Jo was expecting. “But I think that built trust in our relationship quite quickly.”

“It was a collaborative decision based on Jo’s unique circumstances. I never tell people what to do, that’s not my job. I filter down the choices by asking questions.”

“It felt very liberating,” recalls Jo “when Nicola said ‘you don’t have to invest right now’. It was so refreshing to find I was allowed to have a non-conventional life plan!“

"Where money’s concerned, it’s all about trust."

Jo Cowper,

Client

Finding a financial adviser you can relate to

Nicola is unlike any other financial advisers Jo says she’s met.

“I feel she’s a person with real life experiences similar to mine. She’s a parent, like me. Our values align. We relate to each other, and that’s very reassuring.“

As well as considering her financial situation, goals and risk appetite, Nicola also took into account Jo's personal values when giving advice.

“Jo has an alternative take on life, like I do,” agrees Nicola. “From the start, I realised we both want to change the world in our own way – and it was clear that she had very strong principles.“

Sharing life experiences and values

Jo also warmed to the sustainable way that Nicola ran her Partner practice, choosing energy efficient providers, and driving an electric car.

“We aim to be as close to carbon neutral and paperless as possible,” Nicola says. “My belief in sustainability and running the business responsibly is at the heart of what I do and how I do it.“

Some of her team volunteer for a Conservation Trust and the SJP Charitable Foundation. At Christmas and birthdays, they make charitable donations on behalf of their clients, rather than sending a conventional gift.

“It’s not about being different just for being seen to be different,” she says. “My clients know it’s what I truly believe in. You should do the responsible thing, even when no-one’s looking.“

Nicola’s practice recommits to the principles of the Good Business Charter, which encourages responsible business behaviour for the benefit of people and planet, each year.

Aligning your investing with your values

Once their initial work on pensions was underway, Jo and Nicola began to discuss responsible investment. “When Nicola explained what it was, and why it might align with my own values and beliefs,” Jo says,” I said ‘brilliant!’

Clients are often drawn to the idea of responsible investing, Nicola explains, but don’t necessarily understand what it means in practice. “I always begin by explaining the United Nations supported principles for responsible investment, because most people are, not surprisingly, unaware of them,” she says. “St. James’s Place is a signatory to these six principles, and is committed to incorporating material ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors into investment analysis and decisions, and to be more accountable for activities regarding responsible investing.

“Why I feel in safe hands”

Jo, her business and her family are now happily settled in their new life, and she feels positive about their future. “I feel that Nicola’s got my back. My finances are the one thing I don’t have to worry about,” she says.

“And that’s a lovely feeling.“

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

This is just one client’s story, and each situation is unique. The advice given to Jo was provided after a full evaluation of specific needs, circumstances and requirements, and was correct at the time it was given. The solutions provided may not be suitable for everyone, and the information provided here does not constitute advice.