Standard Life has launched a wholly-owned UK-wide financial advice business in response to the revolution in the pensions arena.
It has acquired a North of England advisory business from Skipton building society as the first building block in a financial advice network.
It marks the entry of Standard, led by David Nish, into a market seen as increasingly important after the whirlwind of changes to pensions in the past year.
Pearson Jones, which employs 102 staff including 39 advisers and paraplanners, will in due course become restricted to selling
Standard Life Investments products and offering the insurer's wrap platform. Standard is paying an undisclosed sum for the firm, which brings £1.1billion of assets under advice.
Clare Burston, spokeswoman for Standard Life, said: "The advisers will use the Standard Life wrap platform to place investment business and will be 'restricted' to using the wrap. But they will have access to funds from across the industry on the wrap and will also advise on non-investment products such as life insurance from other providers."
She went on: "We believe the value that clients get from advice is in the financial plan, the quality of the investment solution and the ongoing monitoring and adjustment to meet their goals. The fact that a service is 'restricted' from a regulatory perspective has little bearing on these factors, but from our point of view it removes a lot of unnecessary risk and complexity."
On Standard's ambitions, she said: "Obviously we want to have a national footprint, we are growing both organically and through acquisition.
"We believe our proposition is going to be attractive to a lot of other financial advisory firms."
Standard currently has 20 authorised advisers within the business. In a reassurance to its core client base of independent financial advisers, it said: "We will continue to support advice firms through the continued development of platform technology, products and support services. We expect this essential part of the market to continue growing strongly for exactly the same reasons we are building our own advice business."
Barry O'Dwyer, Standard Life managing director, said Pearson Jones, founded 40 years ago, was "an excellent example of a progressive firm".
Standard said that while more than half of those approaching retirement looked forward to the certainty of a final salary pension, and until recently everyone else had to take an annuity, the new flexibilities had created "a generation of individuals that will see advice as an essential service". It also meant that "demand for advice is likely to significantly exceed supply".
Standard added: "Through the creation of a new academy, the business will also be active in recruiting and training people for a career in financial advice." Compliance and support services would be outsourced to Threesixty.
It went on: "The growth of the advice business will be accelerated through the acquisition of progressive financial advice firms which align well with our operating model. This will enable Standard Life to tap into the proven expertise and professionalism in the advice market."
The business would be led as chief executive by Steve Murray, who had been instrumental in developing Standard Life's UK advice and distribution strategy.
David Cutter, chief executive at Skipton Group which has owned Pearson Jones for 12 years, said there were "many potential new opportunities for the business to realise".
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