A Small business
with big ambitions

Delivering a high-quality service to our clients, growing our business and maintaining a strong financial performance are all important to us but we aspire to something far greater.

Committed to making a difference

In the UK there are almost six million small businesses - they make up more than 99 per cent of all businesses, employ more than 13 million people and contribute more than a third to our GDP. They are the lifeblood of our economy and the hearts of our communities and therefore, have the greatest opportunity to create a positive impact on society.

Source: Business population estimates 2020 - gov.uk, October 2020

It’s a responsibility we take extremely seriously.

People

“Great things in business are never done by one person.
They are done by a team of people.” Steve Jobs

As a responsible small business, we always consider our impact on people and first and foremost that means creating the right environment so that our own colleagues can thrive and grow.

Building a team that is engaged, committed and happy in what they do and how they are doing it doesn’t just make good business sense - it breeds the kind of positive culture that allows colleagues to think beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.

In 2020 we were delighted to be awarded the Good Business Charter accreditation in recognition of our commitment to good employment practices as well as our attitude towards tax, the environment, customers and suppliers. Established by the Good Business Foundation and supported by the CBI, the charter consists of 10 components, at the heart of which is a commitment to maintaining a fair and ethical approach in all aspects of our business.

When it comes to our colleagues at Penney Financial Partners, that means ensuring equitable pay and conditions for all, providing clear and transparent policies that support well-being and committing to investing time and money in creating an inclusive workforce that recognises the importance and opportunities presented by diversity.

More details about our accreditation and the commitments we have made can be found at www.goodbusinesscharter.com

GOING GREEN

Why do we care?

Mention corporate social responsibility and many people will imagine large multinational businesses when in many ways it is small businesses that have the opportunity to create the greatest impact.

One of the great responsibilities that we all bear, both as businesses and individuals, is to our planet – indeed it is the most pressing issue of our age. This means taking action now and so at Penney Financial Partners we have committed to a wide range of initiatives to ensure that we are not only minimising our own impact on the planet but also working with our clients to support them on their own environmental journey.

The pride we have in our business stems not just from the service we provide today, but the legacy we leave for tomorrow. In our view it is not possible to have one without the other.

Becoming a carbon neutral business

In 2021, we committed to becoming a carbon neutral business with a five-year target of achieving ‘net zero’ status.

This means that in the short term we will offset the carbon that we generate through our business every year by investing in mechanisms that absorb the equivalent amount of carbon that we produce. However, our longer-term goal is to become a net zero business and that means eradicating all carbon emissions from our business activities where possible.

To achieve our environmental aspirations means a significant change in our own behaviours and how we work.
This means...

Responsible investing

As part of the St. James's Place Wealth Management family, we are part of one of the industry’s most progressive organisations when it comes to responsible investing.

At St. James's Place, responsible investing is considered as standard. It is a key part of who we are, how we plan, grow and protect our client’s wealth and how we operate as a business. This means that St. James's Place’s entire fund range meets the highest standards of responsible investing by integrating environmental, social and governance issues into all investment decisions.

In a world where customers are becoming increasingly socially aware and want to engage with companies that share their own values, the way that a company approaches environmental, social and governance issues plays a significant role in its long-term prospects. This means that responsible investing is no longer solely of interest when considering the effect our money has on environmental and social concerns – it also makes financial sense.

Clients no longer have to put principle before profit and through St. James's Place’s Discretionary Managed Service, clients can go one step further and build portfolios from beyond the usual fund range with those that share specific responsible investment values and beliefs. There is also huge environmental benefit for every individual considering investing in a sustainable fund.

According to Nordea Group’s Sustainable Finance report (Jan 2018), moving a pension or ISA to a sustainable fund can be 27 times more impactful at reducing a carbon footprint than a combination of lifestyle changes including reducing flights and eating less meat.

listening to our clients

Source: The Wisdom Council, 2020. Survey of 2,000+ UK consumers and 114 clients of St. James's Place.

We no longer live in a world where investments are measured by value alone. The global challenges of climate change, mass consumption of energy and resources and pollution mean that investing today is about achieving financial wellbeing in a world worth living in.

We believe that if we can measure it, we can manage it and that is why through measuring the carbon footprint of our portfolios, we can identify the opportunities for change and limit the harmful impacts on our planet and people around the world.

We continually monitor our funds and track progress on any reported metric, including that of carbon emitted by the companies held by each of our fund managers.

We conduct annual responsible investment assessments of our fund managers to measure their alignment with our objectives through this regular analysis we are able to respond to substantial increases in carbon intensity and focus specific attention on companies that have particularly high emissions. Find out more about the carbon performance of each of our funds in our latest report.

Woodland Trust partnership

The Woodand Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK, planting more than one million trees every year. As part of our commitment to encouraging our clients to embrace the fantastic advances in technology that have been introduced over the past 12 months, we have pledged to donate £3 for every client who signs up to the Client Advice Portal (CAP), which provides a range of virtual meeting and administration opportunities for clients.

This initiative mirrors a pledge by St. James's Place to donate £3 to the Woodland Trust for every client that signs up to the St. James's Place Online Wealth Account, which allows clients to review their investments online and top up their ISAs directly using their own bank card.

St. James's Place has also committed to donate £5 to the St. James's Place Charitable Foundation for every person who signs up to go paperless in their correspondence with St. James's Place and for every client that signs up to all three of these initiatives, we will add a further £4 donation to the Woodland Trust.

At Penney Financial Partners we have more than 700 clients and we are part of a network of more than 4,000 Partner Practices with hundreds of thousands of clients and more than £129bn of funds under management. That’s the potential for a lot of new trees!

Access to valuations at the touch of a button

The Online Wealth Account provides instant access to portfolio valuations. All correspondence with St. James’s Place is also uploaded to the account to ensure that it is all in one place and all of this is easily accessible via a simple log in which can be provided by contacting the team at Penney Financial Partners.

OUR COMMUNITY

As a small business, we are emotionally rooted in our local community. Its health, wellbeing and economic vitality are all intrinsically linked to our own success and we strongly believe in the virtuous circle that derives from putting in as much as taking out. This means recruiting locally, supporting local supply chain and championing the people, places and businesses across our network.

This local approach means we understand the challenges within our own communities and allows us to develop initiatives that will have the greatest possible impact.

Community Day Allowance

Not all decisions at Penney Financial Partners are taken collectively but one area where colleagues have a really important input is in regard to how we engage with the local community.

Our colleagues are the neighbours, friends and contacts of the people we serve, the eyes, ears and conscience of our business. This understanding means they are best equipped to recognise where there is the greatest need and ultimately, where we can make the most significant impact.

As well as establishing an internal ‘CSR green team’ that reviews our sustainability performance and engagement with the local community, all colleagues are also provided with a two-day community day allowance where they can individually volunteer for community activities.

Through this initiative we are able to provide a minimum of 50 days volunteering in the local community every year.

A Small business
full of optimism

We believe that the world can be a better place and it is through this belief that we are able to take responsibility for making it so.

We are determined to create the best possible legacy through continuing to challenge ourselves and by ensuring we are doing the very best we can do in supporting both our clients as well as other like-minded businesses as they seek a more sustainable future.

We want to be the change while supporting those who truly want to make a positive impact on the world around them.

“A successful future for us all will be driven by collaboration. Come and talk to us and let’s make great things happen together.” David Penney