Name

James Murray Associates

Legal name

James Murray Associates Ltd

Website

https://jmurray.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

James Murray Associates is a UK-based independent financial adviser, founded in 1986 in Cheam, Surrey, delivering holistic financial planning to private clients, corporate clients, and trustees across London and the Home Counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Financial Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive/Full-Service RIAs & Independent Wealth Managers (FSAAACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Banking & UHNW Wealth Advisory (FSAEABAC)

Keywords

• Independent financial advice
• Financial planning
• Retirement planning
• Pension advisory
• Investment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Sutton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Financial Planning Advisory Fees: Fees are charged for financial planning services. Two service levels are offered: Transactional Service with a one-off project fee, and Private Client Service with ongoing annual review service. Fees can be paid directly or facilitated by deduction from investments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

James Murray Associates is an independent financial advisory firm providing comprehensive financial planning services to private clients, corporate clients, and trustees. The firm offers modular financial planning covering investment, retirement, protection, estate, and tax planning, alongside corporate pension and employee benefits services including auto enrolment and salary exchange. Services are delivered through a structured 5-step advisory process with two service tiers: Transactional Services (one-off project fees) and Private Client Services (ongoing annual review service).

Product overview

James Murray Associates is an independent financial advisory firm offering a unified financial planning service with modular components. The core Financial Planning service encompasses Investment Planning, Retirement Planning, Protection Planning, Estate Planning, and Dynamic Tax Planning. For corporate clients, the Corporate Services umbrella includes Planning for Owner Directors, Auto Enrolment, Salary Exchange, Group Employee Benefits, and Employee Clinics. The firm offers two service tiers: Transactional Services (one-time project-based) and Private Client Services (ongoing with annual reviews, JMA Model Portfolios, and retirement cashflow modelling). All services are delivered through a 5-step advisory process and access is facilitated via a client portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning Comprehensive financial planning service creating tailored plans to achieve client goals and safeguard their future, covering investment, retirement, protection, estate, and tax planning for private clients, corporate clients, and trustees.
• Private Client Services Ongoing advisory service for private clients including structured annual reviews, retirement and cashflow modelling, access to JMA Model Portfolios, portfolio rebalancing, and ongoing tax planning.
• Transactional Services One-time project-based financial planning service for investors not requiring ongoing portfolio management, with a fixed fee agreed upon completion and no further fees unless the client returns for future advice.
• Corporate Services Comprehensive corporate pension and employee benefits advisory services including auto enrolment, group pensions, salary exchange, and group employee benefits for employers of all sizes.
• Planning for Owner Directors Tax-efficient profit extraction strategies for business owners including employer pension contributions, relevant life insurance, key person insurance, shareholder protection, and business loan protection.
• Auto Enrolment Auto enrolment advice, preparation and support for workplace pension schemes, including provider selection, contribution management, and compliance auditing.
• Salary Exchange Salary sacrifice mechanism enabling employees to exchange salary for enhanced pension contributions, providing savings in National Insurance and income tax, with up to £3,388 annual saving for an employee on £110,000 salary exchanging 4%.
• Group Employee Benefits Arrangement and management of group life assurance, group income protection, group critical illness, employee assistance programmes, and private health and dental care.
• Employee Clinics Face-to-face employee engagement sessions explaining employee benefits, pension arrangements, salary exchange, and retirement options to improve understanding and retention.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% tax-free lump sum available from pension at age 55
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Moneyfarm: UK-regulated digital wealth manager offering automated portfolio management and adviser access. Competes with JMA on investment management and retirement planning for mass-affluent clients via lower-cost technology-driven delivery rather than fully bespoke local advice.
• Nutmeg: UK digital wealth manager (JPMorgan-owned) offering ISA, pension, and general investment accounts with managed portfolios. Adjacent competitor for entry-level investment and retirement planning clients who might otherwise have used a small regional IFA like JMA.

Broad incumbents

• Quilter: UK wealth manager with a national IFA network (Quilter Financial Advisers) and direct-to-consumer platforms. Provides the same private-client financial planning, retirement, and investment services as JMA but at scale via a national adviser network and platform technology.
• Tilney (Evelyn Partners): Large UK wealth management and professional services group offering financial planning, investment management, tax, and corporate services. Overlaps with JMA's private client and corporate advisory capabilities but at significantly greater scale and national footprint.
• St. James's Place: Largest UK wealth management network with thousands of partner advisers. Overlaps JMA's private client wealth, retirement, and tax planning services but operates at vastly greater scale with proprietary funds and a tied-adviser model rather than whole-of-market independence.
• Rathbones Group: UK wealth manager offering investment management and financial planning to private clients, trusts, and charities. Comparable in private client, trustee, and estate planning services; materially larger and discretionary-managed.
• Mazars Financial Planning: UK arm of international advisory firm offering independent financial planning alongside accounting and tax services. Comparable whole-of-market independent advice model with strong trustee and corporate client base, but embedded in a much larger professional services group.

Direct peers

• Wren Sterling Financial Group: UK-wide independent financial adviser providing wealth management, retirement, protection, and corporate advice. Comparable in independent whole-of-market model and modular service offering covering investment, retirement, and tax planning for individuals and businesses.
• Foster Denovo: UK independent financial adviser group offering financial planning, wealth management, and corporate services to private and corporate clients. Comparable to JMA in being a multi-service UK IFA with both private client and employer-facing offerings, though materially larger in scale.
• LEBC Group: UK independent adviser specialising in pension and retirement planning with both individual and corporate employer clients. Directly comparable in corporate benefits, auto enrolment, and salary-sacrifice services, as well as individual retirement and investment planning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about James Murray Associates