One of the leading adviser support providers, Technical Connection, is to end its support for the wider advice market outside St James's Place, Financial Planning Today understands.
The company, owned by wealth manager St James’s Place since 2016, has written to users this week to say it will end support for the wider adviser market from March and will begin winding down services to non-SJP users.
It will instead focus on serving only SJP members.
Despite being owned by SJP, the company has continued to serve non-SJP advisers for the past decade.
The changes will affect the Technical Connection and Techlink services.
Technical Connection, headed by well known industry figure Tony Wickenden, has provided support services to Financial Planning firms and other retail finance firms and product providers for many years, acting as a technical guidance service, providing support and information on products, regulation, taxation and other areas.
In a letter to users outside of SJP, Technical Connection says that, “after much consideration” it has taken a strategic decision to bring the TCL proposition fully in house so its sole focus will be on the SJP partnership in the future.
SJP acquired Technical Connection for a reported deal worth up to £1.4m in 2016 and since then it has served both SJP partners and the wider Financial Planning community.
In its letter to users outside SJP, Technical Connection added that it will cease technical support services for non-SJP clients from 6 March 2027, giving users about six months notice to find alternative suppliers. Following the termination date no further services will be provided to users outside SJP, the company told users.
Technical Connection has told users that until 6th March 2027, the Techlink support website will continue to function as normal with new content added on a daily basis but from 7 March the Techlink website will no longer be accessible to users.
A St James’s Place spokesperson said: “We’ve decided to bring our Market Techlink service fully in-house. This move will give us deeper technical expertise, clearer oversight and greater control over quality, consistency and governance. It also allows us to ensure the service is fully aligned with our advice framework, ultimately enhancing the support we provide to advisers and clients.”