Your potential. Our Academy. A career that makes a difference.
Aspiring Adviser | Eight Financial Advice Academy
12 places. One ambitious journey. A chance to build a career that changes lives.
At Eight, we believe financial advice can make a positive difference in people's lives. Behind every financial plan is a person, a family, a future or a dream. Our advisers help people make important decisions with greater confidence — and we're investing in the next generation of people who can do the same.
We're looking for 12 ambitious, people-focused individuals to join our Aspiring Adviser Academy at Whiteley, starting 1 April 2027.
This is an opportunity to build your technical knowledge, develop your commercial skills and learn alongside experienced Financial Advisers, with a structured programme designed to help you work towards a future career in financial advice.
We're not looking for the finished article. We're looking for the potential to become exceptional.
What makes this opportunity different?
From 1 April to 31 December, you'll take part in an intensive, structured development programme combining technical learning, practical experience, departmental insight, adviser shadowing and personal development.
You'll discover how Eight operates, how different teams support advisers and their clients, and what it takes to build trusted relationships and a sustainable advice business.
You'll also get to grips with the technology, tools and processes that help advisers work effectively. There's administration to understand and professional standards to uphold, but you'll learn how our systems and support functions help advisers focus on what matters most: their clients.
Our aim is for you to work towards the required competence and CAS sign-off during the programme, with the goal of being ready to take on your first clients from January 2028. Progression depends on meeting the relevant qualification, competence and approval requirements.
What will you learn?
- The foundations of financial advice: develop your technical understanding and learn how to apply your knowledge in practice.
- The client experience: understand clients' circumstances, listen to their needs and learn how to support positive financial outcomes.
- The business behind the advice: explore the roles of different departments and understand how each contributes to an adviser's effectiveness and client experience.
- Relationship building and business development: develop the confidence and skills to build trust, nurture professional networks and identify appropriate opportunities.
- Technology and innovation: become comfortable with the systems, tools and emerging technology that support modern financial advice.
- Professional judgement: understand the importance of integrity, accuracy, confidentiality, compliance and acting in clients' best interests.
- Your own development: receive feedback, work towards clear objectives and take ownership of your progress.
What you need to know before applying
This is a full-time, in-person programme based at our Whiteley office. You must be able to attend for full working days, Monday to Friday, throughout the programme.
The Academy is an intensive commitment. You'll need to be prepared to learn, participate fully, take responsibility for your development and demonstrate your progress.
The longer-term opportunity is to develop towards working as a self-employed Financial Adviser. This is an important part of the career pathway, and we'll discuss what it means, the expectations involved and the commercial realities openly during recruitment.
We'll also have an open conversation with you about salary and the overall opportunity as part of the process.
Why Eight?
We're a people-focused business with ambitious plans and a belief that investing in people is fundamental to success. We are the largest practice within SJP looking after £5.1bn in FUM and over 20,000 clients.
We have a proven track record of producing successful advisers through our intensive program, supporting the next generation of talent in Financial Advising!
Our values guide how we work:
Build Relationships. Be caring, honest and responsive.
Be Responsible. Take ownership and follow through on commitments.
Be Amazing. Be brave, curious, inclusive and always looking for ways to improve.
You'll be joining a business that wants to develop future talent, values relationships and is committed to helping people reach their potential.
Ready to take the first step?
If you have the ambition and the character to build a career in financial advice, we'd love to hear from you.
Twelve places. A structured development journey. The opportunity to build something for your future — and make a positive difference to others.
Don't just look for your next job. Start building your future.
Apply now to join the Eight Aspiring Adviser Academy.
Requirements
Who will thrive here?
You could already work in financial services and be looking for a route into advice. Or you might come from sales, recruitment, hospitality, customer service or another people-facing profession.
Your background matters less than your potential, provided you meet our essential qualification requirements.
We're looking for people who are:
- Safe but hungry: ambitious and commercially minded, without compromising integrity or the interests of clients.
- Natural relationship builders: able to connect with different people, listen properly and earn trust.
- Agile and curious: comfortable learning new things, adapting to change and embracing technology.
- Resilient under pressure: able to manage competing priorities, learn from setbacks and maintain high standards.
- Organised and accountable: reliable, detail-focused and prepared to take ownership.
- Open to feedback: willing to challenge themselves, reflect and continually improve.
- Motivated by people: genuinely interested in helping others and building a meaningful professional career.
You'll need to have passed both R01 and R05 through the CII before your Academy start date. These are essential requirements. The remaining 4 exams will be funded during your time in the academy.
Benefits
- Fantastic support and mentorship from industry leading advisers to begin your new career
- 28 days' holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off
- Private medical insurance & life assurance (4x salary)
- Wellbeing support: EAP, mental health helpline, cycle-to-work scheme
- Free mortgage and pension advice from our in-house experts
- Volunteering time: 8 paid hours annually via The Eight Foundation
- Regular socials & epic events
Skills Required
- Pass the CII R01 examination before the Academy start date
- Pass the CII R05 examination before the Academy start date
- Attend the full-time, in-person programme in Whiteley Monday to Friday
- Demonstrate ambition, commercial awareness, integrity, and commitment to client interests
- Build trusted professional relationships and communicate effectively
- Adapt to learning, technology, and change
- Manage competing priorities and maintain high standards under pressure
- Be organised, accountable, detail-focused, and open to feedback
What We Do
At EIGHT Financial Advice, a multi-award winning Principal Partner Practice of St. James's Place Wealth Management, we have a wide range of expertise and knowledge, developed over many years, to help people - both individually and in business - fulfil their aims and aspirations, as well as offering that all important 'peace of mind' for the future. Putting our clients firmly at the heart of everything we do enables us to run a genuinely client-focused business. In our experience, no two clients are the same and we therefore ensure that we understand your personal or business objectives and deliver solutions that are right for you. We aim to deliver our commitment by: - Providing personal face to face financial advice - Giving you the opportunity to review your financial affairs regularly - Effectively managing your investments via our distinctive approach - Keeping you informed of the latest news - Listening to your feedback - Offering you seminars and events We do not provide off the shelf solutions, but we offer the benefit of a single relationship for all of your financial planning needs. We strive to offer the very best service to develop great relationships. The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested. EIGHT Financial Advice is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website at https://www.sjp.co.uk/products. The St. James’s Place Partnership and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives. EIGHT Financial Advice is a trading name of Eight Wealth Management.
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