The UK wealth manager said that at any one time, almost 28 million UK adults can be at risk of "financial vulnerability."

St James’s Place has introduced a range of tools to help advisors whose clients become financially vulnerable, for example those with mental health problems, suffering from bereavement or other stresses.

The UK firm’s tools come from Comentis and MorganAsh. SJP has worked with Comentis over the last year to run trials and provide feedback on the tool, which has been created by experts in mental health and capacity, financial vulnerability assessments and psychology. SJP’s partners can use the MorganAsh Resilience System, or MARS, a 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.

“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,” Edward Grant, director, Technical Connection, leading SJP’s efforts, said. “Not only does this lead to a better outcome for clients, but it provides much-needed support for advisors navigating some of the complexities in supporting vulnerable clients.”

The launch comes at a time when the pandemic, and other stresses in modern life, have shone a bright light on issues such as mental health. The industry has also had to wrestle with challenges such as cognitive decline among older clients and the stresses associated with bereavement and family breakup. In the case of cognitive decline caused by dementia, for instance, this also raises questions over whether lasting power of attorney tools used in inheritance and decision-making are fit for purpose.

St James’s Place said almost that 28 million UK adults are estimated to be at risk of financial vulnerability at any one time. 

The firm uses Comentis’ technology to enable partners to identify financially vulnerable clients through a clinically developed online assessment. 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 said in a statement. 

The MARS system supports advisors 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.