St James’s Place chief executive David Bellamy will step down at the end of the year as the company posted profits of £140m.
Mr Bellamy, who has been chief executive for 11 years, will be replaced by chief financial officer Andrew Croft.
He said: “The group is in excellent shape and better placed than it ever has been for the opportunities that lie ahead and I know that, under Andrew’s leadership, St James’s Place will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Following the announcement, St James’s Place’s share price took a dive, falling nearly 5 per cent to £10.34.
This morning the FTSE 100 company also published its results for 2016, which showed record gross inflows of £11.4bn for the year.
St James’s Place increased its funds under management by nearly £20bn to £75.3bn during the period.
Despite this, profits before shareholder tax went down slightly to £140m from £151m in the previous year.
Mr Croft said: "The amortisation of the intangible assets and liabilities will for a number of years exceed the establishment of new intangibles and be a negative to both the profit before shareholder tax and the IFRS profit after tax results."
The number of advisers at SJP increased by 10 per cent during 2016, reaching 3,415.
Sarah Bates, chairman of SJP, said: “Under David’s leadership, St James’s Place has gone from strength to strength.
“Client funds have more than quadrupled to over £75bn, the partnership has grown consistently to over 3,000 advisers today, and the company has become an established member of the FTSE 100.
“On behalf of the board, I thank David for his outstanding contribution throughout his 26 years of service.”
Mr Bellamy joined SJP when it was founded in 1991 and joined the board in 1997.
He will remain with the company in an advisory role and will become non-executive chairman of its new international operation.
damian.fantato@ft.com
