Alan Miller, the veteran fund manager behind discretionary wealth boutique SCM Private, has launched a female-focused financial planning service to tap the growing pool of independently wealthy women.

SCM Financial Planning will be jointly run by Alan’s wife and co-founder of SCM, Gina Miller, and Susan Hill, a new hire from UK rival St James’s Place. Hill was based at St James's Place for about 15 years, most recently as an advisor. She joined six weeks ago to co-run SCM Financial Planning with Gina Miller. 

SCM Financial Planning will have a strong female focus as Hill and Miller believe more women are becoming financially independent, and they are seeking advice from women rather than men. “SCM Financial Planning is seeking to extend choice for women. It is normal to feel more rapport and trust with someone you identify with and you have more common experiences with,” said Gina Miller.

Only 16 per cent of advisory firms in the UK have a female advisor, according to unbiased.co.uk, despite the fact that there are over a million self-employed women in the UK, according to Prowess. By 2020 it is forecasted that 53 per cent of the UK’s HNW individuals will be women and SCM believes demand for female-oriented independent financial advice will rise.

SCM Financial Planning will focus on a range of risk-rated model portfolios that utilise passive, index-based investments rather than using traditional funds which often produce erratic performance with high fees. It is a fee-only practice. It receives no commission, introductory fee or partnership fee from any product provider or third party, said the firm in a statement. 

SCM Financial Planning’s investment strategy will see it work closely with SCM Private, which the Millers founded in 2009. The husband and wife team set up the business, which is focused on providing clients with low-cost investment solutions through exchange-traded funds, after Alan Miller left New Star, where he managed the firm's flagship hedge fund.  

“We believe this is the right time to set up a new model financial advisory service. Our approach is simple – we want to extend choice, guide clients through the thicket of financial and investment products and legislative changes to provide them with exceptional advice that empowers them to achieve their financial goals and ambitions. SCM Financial Planning will also strengthen SCM Private’s offering to direct clients by offering them independent advice from a chartered financial planner and PFS chartered accountant,” said Gina Miller.