The St James’s Place advisory model will overtake life company-backed distribution in the post-RDR world, analyst Kevin Ryan has predicted.
Mr Ryan, analyst for Investec, said life company distribution would become less attractive than SJP’s “unique” structure.
A note from Mr Ryan, following an interim management statement from SJP, said: “A key element of the fundamental attractiveness of St James’s Place is the self-employed sales force known as ‘partners’.
“This will become an increasingly valuable resource as we expect IFA distribution for other UK life companies to become less effective in the post-RDR environment.”
SJP figures for the first three months of the year showed funds under management surged to £39bn, with inflows of close to £1bn.
New business sales were 31 per cent up on the same period last year, according to the statement
An insurance sector review by Investec in January warned life companies have been too geared towards selling new business so will have to adapt to the new environment. It claimed that not all would survive the RDR.
