Wealth manager St James’s Place has partnered with the University of Gloucestershire to launch the UK’s first specialist MBA in Financial Planning.

The MBA programme will launch in May.

The programme is aimed at Financial Planners who have achieved Chartered status and wish to develop their skills further.

It will focus on goals-based planning.

The MBA will also examine in greater depth the behavioural aspects of financial decision-making supported by technology to help clients visualise their financial goals throughout their lifetime.

Clair Vincent, senior lecturer in accounting and finance at the University of Gloucestershire’s Business School, said: “Being able to show clients the impact of the financial decisions they make today on their financial futures for tomorrow can only be a positive thing.”

The MBA is subject to validation.

St James’s Place says it encourages its partners and advisers to demonstrate their commitments to their profession by achieving professional qualifications.

St James’s Place says that over 23.8% of its partners and advisers now hold a Chartered title awarded by one of the professional bodies, including Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager, Chartered Associate and Chartered Financial Analyst.

St James’s Place revamped its brand and logo last month, dropping the words ‘wealth management’.

The company, of the UK’s largest wealth managers, will gradually roll out the brand changes over the next year but has already updated its logos on social media such as Twitter.

The firm, which has a network of more than 4,500 advisers, says the current brand has changed little since it was launched 30 years ago and it was time for an update. 

The famous SJP lion mark will be retained but is no longer part of the main brand.