CompaniesNov 12 2014

1st: St James’s Place’s scores a hat trick at first place

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by

St James’s Place Wealth Management

With partner numbers nearing 2,000, and half a million clients in sight, St James’s Place Wealth Management continues to expand its business model in the financial advice sector.

The company also achieved a corporate milestone this year, entering the FTSE 100 in March with a market capitalisation of £4.26bn.

Underpinning this achievement is the satisfaction of both adviser partners and their clients. The company’s claimed 95 per cent retention rate for client funds would be remarkable for any business in any sector. Tony Dunk, director of investor relations at the company, said this was due to the business model adopted.

Mr Dunk said: “St James’s Place is a resilient business built on a unique business model and approach. This resilience is down to the strength of our partners’ relationships with their clients and the job they do in managing their financial affairs both when markets are good and when they are not so good.”

The first half of the year saw partners introduce 27,000 new clients to the company. Also, client funds under management reached a record high of £47.6bn as at 30 June 2014.

A fundamental part of the SJP model is the absence of in-house fund managers in favour of using external managers from around the world to manage its funds. There is an investment committee to manage these managers, assisted by Stamford Associates.

Like other advisory groups, SJP views the pensions freedom measures in the 2014 Budget as both an opportunity and a challenge. Mr Dunk said the company was “encouraged” by the pensions and savings initiatives in the Budget, adding that partners were expected to play “an increasingly important role in helping their clients to understand the options available to them leading up to, at and post retirement, in order that they can make the right decisions and plan accordingly”.

He added “With the increased freedoms and responsibility individuals have for their own affairs, the need for the kind of reliable and expert advice that our partners provide has never been greater, and this has driven the increase in clients. We remain confident that we are well-positioned for growth, in line with our medium-term objectives.”

Behind this success is a high level of expenditure on development of both the company and its partners. The past year saw continued expansions of the SJP Academy which saw more than 100 students join in 2013 and an expected further 50 to 60 new entrants for 2014.

Last July saw the company launch a masters degree in wealth management together with Loughborough University’s School of Business and Economics, which is available only to SJP employees, providing a level seven qualification.

All in all, SJP has good reason to be optimistic about the marketplace.

Stephen Spurdon is a freelance journalist