InvestmentsDec 7 2015

SJP quits Investment Association and other trade bodies

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by
SJP quits Investment Association and other trade bodies

St James’s Place has become the first company to publicly confirm it is to quit the Investment Association, as part of a policy which will see it resign all its trade body memberships.

The wealth manager said the increasing scale of its business meant none of the trade bodies of which it is currently a member provided value for money.

A spokesman for the firm confirmed that its departure from the IA will mean SJP funds no longer feature in the trade body’s sector classification system.

SJP said in a statement: “Our business has grown in scale and complexity over the last few years and having reviewed our membership of a number of industry trade bodies, including the IA, we have concluded that none fully meet the needs of our business and therefore are not providing value for money.

“Of course we will continue to play an active role on industry issues and will review our position regarding membership of the various professional bodies as appropriate.”

Other trade bodies of which SJP is currently a member include the Wealth Management Association (WMA) and the Tax Incentivised Savings Association (Tisa).

The departure from the IA follows the news that Schroders and M&G were not planning to review their membership at the end of 2015. The unrest among members led to the departure of chief executive Daniel Godfrey in October. Mr Godfrey has been replaced by Guy Sears on an interim basis.

The IA’s director of regulatory affairs Richard Metcalfe has now followed Mr Godfrey out of the organisation.

Mr Metcalfe headed up the trade body’s regulatory lobbying for the past two years. He was focused on regulatory issues within the retail and institutional space and discussions around systemic risk in the EU and further afield.

It is understood that responsibility for relevant regulatory activities will now revert to the IA’s other divisions, a return to the system that had been in place prior to Mr Metcalfe’s arrival in 2013.

The IA said: “[Mr Metcalfe] has been instrumental in making our voice heard in all aspects of the EU legislative process in Brussels and the rest of the EU.

“The IA would like to thank Richard for his contribution and input into the work of [the organisation].”