Introduction
M&G is a leading wealth management business, supporting advisers and customers across a complex and highly regulated landscape.
Since 2017, Sandringham Financial Partners — which later became part of the M&G group — has partnered with Redmill Advance to support learning, development, and professional competence across its adviser population.
What began as a focus on exam support has evolved into a deeply embedded learning ecosystem, supporting CPD, instructor-led training, internally developed company content, competence frameworks, and insight across the business.
The partnership is led internally by Tim Grey, Advice, Strategy & Transformation Director, who has overseen significant growth, structural change, and capability development during that time.
“From the outset, the focus was on helping people grow — and giving them learning at the pace that worked for them.”
Tim Grey, Advice, Strategy & Transformation Director, M&G
The Challenge
In the early days at Sandringham, the adviser population was relatively small and included a number of less experienced team members. Rather than relying on external hiring alone, leadership identified that the most effective way to grow was to upskill existing people and support them through qualifications development and CPD.
That approach proved highly successful. Over time, the business grew from around 20 people to nearly 100, driven by internal promotions, adviser development through exam support, and structured CPD learning.
As the organisation evolved — and later became part of M&G — the challenge expanded. Learning now needed to:
- Support advisers at different stages of their careers
- Help people progress beyond diploma level towards Chartered
- Address complex and evolving regulatory topics
- Demonstrate competence clearly and consistently
- Provide confidence to both advisers and leadership
M&G also recognised that learning needed to go beyond exams. The business wanted a structured way to communicate complex ideas, build internal courses, and evidence capability across the adviser population — while remaining people-focused.
Why Redmill Advance
Redmill Advance stood out because it was far more than an exam and CPD training platform.
While the quality of exam support content was a key entry point — and remains a reason M&G consistently returns to Redmill Advance when new CII exams are released — it quickly became clear that the platform could solve broader challenges the business hadn’t initially set out to address.
Redmill Advance offered:
- A wide variety of engaging, dynamic CPD content rather than static materials
- The ability to create and customise internal learning
- A platform flexible enough to evolve with the business
- Strong MI and reporting to support competence oversight
Just as importantly, Redmill Advance invested time in helping M&G understand what was possible. Rather than prescribing a fixed solution, the Redmill Advance team worked closely with Tim and his colleagues to shape an approach that fitted around how M&G operates.
“We didn’t always know exactly what we were looking for — but Redmill Advance helped us get there.”
The Solution
Today, Redmill Advance is deeply embedded across M&G’s learning and competence framework.
The platform supports:
- CPD and exam preparation
- Instructor-led training and blended delivery
- Internal M&G-specific course creation and feedback mechanisms
- Daily MI reporting to monitor competence, engagement, and learner needs
- Fitness and declarations processes
Learning is both structured and adaptable. Leadership teams can use Redmill Advance’s content, layer in their own internally developed materials, and tailor learning pathways to meet specific business priorities.
A particularly critical area is vulnerable customer training, which accounts for a significant proportion of M&G’s activity. These topics are complex and high-risk, and Redmill Advance enables M&G to deliver consistent, high-quality training while clearly evidencing understanding and competence.
Because leadership teams believe in the platform, they actively use it. Staff also build content themselves, contribute to internal courses, and engage with learning as part of day-to-day work — not as a separate exercise.
The Impact
The impact of the partnership is best seen in how learning operates across the business.
Redmill Advance is now part of M&G’s internal processes. Creating a Redmill Advance course is often the starting point when new initiatives, regulatory changes, or development needs arise.
From a people perspective, the platform has supported:
- Strong qualification outcomes with high first-time pass rates
- Internal promotions and progression
- Broader upskilling beyond core exams via high-quality CPD
From a governance perspective, M&G runs daily MI reports to ensure ongoing competence and visibility across the adviser population. Learning, compliance, and development are closely aligned, giving leadership confidence that capability is both real and demonstrable.
“It’s become part of how we operate, rather than something bolted on.”
The “This Is Working” Moment
There was no single moment — but rather a gradual realisation.
Over time, Redmill Advance moved from being a solution for exam training to a central enabler of learning and competence across the business. The breadth of use, the quality of internal content being created, and the confidence teams place in the platform reinforced that it was delivering real value.
The flexibility to adapt, customise, and evolve has been key — particularly during periods of regulatory change and organisational growth.
The Result
Today, M&G has a learning ecosystem that is:
- Embedded across CPD, exams, training, and competence
- Flexible enough to support change and growth
- Trusted by advisers and leadership alike
- Grounded in a people-first approach to development
Redmill Advance continues to support M&G as a long-term partner — helping the business communicate complex ideas clearly, build capability at scale, and give advisers confidence in their development.
“The quality of content, the flexibility of the platform, and the strength of the relationship are what make this work.”
Tim Grey, Advice, Strategy & Transformation Director, M&G
