The chief executive of St James's Place has said the company has come under no pressure to reduce fees following the obligations to breakdown charges since January.
Speaking to FTAdviser after the FTSE 100 advice firm its profits for 2017 increase by nearly a third to £186m following record inflows, Andrew Croft said SJP's clients were happy with the service they were receiving and this had not changed since the introduction of Mifid II last month.
He said: "The fees have been disclosed for many years. What any adviser in the UK would say, whether or not they are with SJP or on their own, is that what clients value is not all about costs and it is the value they get in the round.
"We say there is the value of advice, which can save clients a significant amount of money, there is the personal relationship and there is the investment proposition and the returns.
"What our clients tell us through our surveys - and the 2017 survey got more than 40,000 responses - is that 99 per cent thought the service was either excellent, good or reasonable value for money."
Since the introduction of Mifid II in January, clients must have a "single figure" illustration of all costs and charges impacting them and they must have an annual summary of charges.
Advisers are ultimately responsible for delivering the pre-sale illustration and annual summary of charges to their clients.
During 2017, SJP saw record gross inflows of £14.6bn, taking its total funds under management to £90.7bn.
Net inflows were up 40 per cent to £9.5bn.
Mr Croft said: "If you give value to your clients, they will stay with you and introduce you to other clients. It is all about looking after your clients' interests."
SJP now has 3,661 advisers and it has said it wants to develop the infrastructure and support it provides to them in order to become the "go to place for successful financial advisers".
The company said the "principal source" of its income was the fees it charges on funds under management and during 2017 it received £1.77bn from this - an increase of around £75m on the previous year.
damian.fantato@ft.com
