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St. James's Place (SJP) works in partnership to plan, grow and protect our clients’ financial futures. We deliver personalised, face-to-face financial advice to our clients, who trust us to manage their money to reach their goals. We provide this service via the Partnership, a network of qualified, expert advisors. We put financial wellbeing and responsible business choices at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the value of difference and know that diverse teams can help us problem and innovate for clients. We look for people to join SJP to make an impact and to contribute to our culture which is based around long term relationships, doing the right thing, and being the best version of ourselves.
Our comprehensive range of training programmes are tailored to developing early careers at a number of stages. Whether you are looking to gain work experience whilst studying at sixth form or college, or graduating from university, our dedicated Early Careers team are here to support you in driving your career along your chosen path.
About the role
The Investment Division has a long and successful history of recruiting graduates, so you will work alongside people, who have recently and not so recently, gone through a very similar process to yourself. You will study towards Investment qualifications, depending on your existing experience you may start on the IMC qualification with the ultimate goal to be at least 1 year into the CFA by the end of your 2 year graduate programme.
The cornerstone of our investment management approach is our Investment Team. Its role is to work with our fund managers, whether we they are local or internationally based. The aim is to give our clients the best medium-term investment results by choosing and monitoring the best people and investment companies to make this happen, making changes when they’re needed.
You will be working in a division responsible for the creation, strategy, management and delivery of our investment proposition. You will need to be comfortable working with people from a wide range of backgrounds and business areas, who work closely to deliver a market leading proposition.
Across the 2 years you will rotate within the investment team, that sits in the Investment Management division. The Investments team is made up by a range of teams and it is in these areas you will spend your time across the Graduate programme. Those teams are:
Portfolios, Equities, Fixed Income, Alternatives, Macro Research, Investment Specialists and Discretionary Fund Management; most individuals in this area are Investment Analysts or Researchers.
You will pick up a wealth of experience and across your rotations and your daily activity can include, but is not limited to:
- Collaborating closely with fund managers and attend quarterly meetings to understand the reasoning of their investments into certain bonds and products
- Understanding and then deciding the fee structures for our fund managers
- Launching new funds after research and analysis to provide the best possible outcomes for clients
- Using Power BI, Excel, Bloomberg and Financial Express and performing data analysis
- Talking to partners about the investment proposition and associated topics
- Pulling together PowerPoints for conferences and attending conferences
- Speaking with external parties (State street, Partners, Goldman Sachs) alongside internal partners across a variety of divisions who can be based in any of the SJP offices
About you
You will need to be studying towards or have achieved a 2:2 in a Finance or similar subject, such as Economics, Business Management, Business subject. It will be exceptionally beneficial to also have a curiosity about investments, financial markets and the wealth market.
This isn’t a role that leads to investment baking or becoming a Wealth Manager and doesn’t have direct client interaction, so please make sure this role is in line with your aspirations.
Flexible working
We understand that employees work best in different ways, at different times and in different environments. We value all of our employees and appreciate that everyone is unique, and at one of many stages within their career.. Our people are encouraged to work in a flexible way that suits their lifestyle where it can be accommodated, so please ask the question and start a conversation!
Research tells us that applicants (especially those from underrepresented groups) can be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the criteria or have been on an extended career-break. If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you tick every box.
Why work for us?
Our rewards
In addition to an attractive salary and eligibility to participate in the discretionary annual bonus opportunities, you will also receive an excellent benefits package including:
- Non-Contributory Pension – 10% (increasing with length of service) with further pension matching
- Meaningful protection benefits with real value, such as 10X life cover, PHI, and critical illness.
- Best in class terms and conditions including 6 months paid parental leave.
- Private Medical and Dental Insurance
- 28 days holiday entitlement plus bank holidays (based on full-time equivalent) with the option to buy up to an additional 5 days holiday
- Discretionary bonus scheme dependent on company and personal performance, varied by level
- Not applicable to fixed term contracts (standard uplift applies in lieu of the protection benefits)
Our culture
Our culture is the glue that binds us together - It’s one of our biggest assets and one of the biggest reasons for our success. It’s underpinned by core values of doing the right thing, being the best version of ourselves and investing in long term relationships.
We want to embrace a diverse group of backgrounds and experiences to connect with clients, solve problems and innovate. We raise our voice on the things that matter to us and drive change from the front. Contributing to our inclusive culture is vital, ensuring a space for everyone to be their authentic self, no compromises.
In all we do, we consider how our work affects the communities in which we belong. Over 96% of our group employees are involved in supporting our communities through financial education, charitable giving and volunteering. Over 80% of all our employees and Partners donate each month to our Charitable Foundation, which is now the 3rd largest corporate charity in the UK.
SJP is delighted to have signed The Armed Forces Covenant, and we are active members of LGBT Great, 30% club, The Diversity Project, Disability Confident and more! Find out more: https://www.sjp.co.uk/careers/life-at-sjp
What happens next?
Our process is the same for each of our Graduate opportunities, so once you have completed the application form, we will invite you to complete a Job Focussed Assessment (JFA). If successful after the JFA, you will be invited to complete an online video interview and if successful at this stage we will invite you to the final stage of the process, that consists of a face to face assessment centre.
Our team will be in touch. As a business regulated by the FCA we would advise you to familiarise yourself with the conduct regulations and in particular consumer duty obligations prior to an interview with SJP.
