Shares
in
the
UK’s
largest
financial
advice
business
St
James’s
Place
(STJ)
have
soared
more
than
25%
on
news
of
a
cost-cutting
plan
that
chief
executive
Mark
FitzPatrick
hopes
will
hand
the
under-fire
business
some
much-needed
stability.
In
half-year
results
for
the
six
months
ending
30
June
2024,
SJP
said
it
had
posted
underlying
pre-tax
profits
of
£220
million
in
the
first
half
of
the
year,
along
with
net
inflows
into
its
products
of
£1.9
billion,
£1.5
billion
lower
than
for
the
same
six-month
reporting
period
in
2023.
However,
“Strong
investment
returns”
mean
the
business
now
has
record
funds
under
management
of
£181.9
billion,
up
£13.7
billion
on
the
£168.2
billion
it
posted
at
the
end
of
2023.
“Beyond
our
operating
and
financial
performance,
we
have
performed
a
thorough
review
of
the
business
and
the
markets
in
which
we
operate,”
FitzPatrick
said.
“Ultimately,
this
work
has reinforced
our
conviction
that
SJP
continues
to
be
a
very
strong
business,
with
a
fantastic
opportunity
ahead.We
must
though
acknowledge
that,
for
all
our
qualities
as
a
business,
we
have
a
lot
of
hard
work
ahead
of
us
over
the
next
24
months
to
strengthen
our
core
and
execute
our
existing
programmes
of
work,
helping
us
to
become
a
more
efficient
and
effective
business.”
Why
Are
SJP’s
Shares
Soaring?
To
say
SJP
has
had
a
turbulent
year
would
be
an
understatement.
Last
year,
the
company
said
it
would
be
overhauling
its
fee
model
for
new
clients
after
coming
under
pressure
from
the
Financial
Conduct
Authority
(FCA),
whose
recent
Consumer
Duty
rules
require
financial
services
firms
to
act
in
good
faith
for
their
clients
and
better
enable
them
to
achieve
their
financial
objectives.
Following
that
news,
SJP’s
shares
have
been
on
a
downwards
tear.
In
the
past
12
months,
shares
in
the
company
are
down
nearly
27%
to
£6.83,
a
world
away
from
their
December
2021
high
of
£16.83.
In
February
this
year
the
company
posted
a
full-year
loss
of
£4.5
million
for
2023,
announcing
it
would
slash
its
dividend.
On
the
day
of
those
results,
shares
plummeted
30%,
making
it
by
far
the
worst-performing
FTSE
100
stock
at
the
time.
Investors
also
await
the
final
cost
of
a
proposed
£426
million
commitment
to
review
historical
client
cases
and
provide
refunds
to
certain
clients.
Today,
however,
shares
in
the
company
have
flown
upwards
on
better-than-expected
results
and
efforts
to
reduce
the
business’s
cost
base.
SJP
now
aims
to
deliver
a
£100
million
cost-cutting
exercise
by
the
end
of
2026,
the
majority
of
which
will
come
from
£80
million
saving
in
2025
and
2026.
It
also
anticipates
cumulative
net
savings
of
nearly
half
a
billion
pounds
through
to
2030.
Around
half
of
the
savings
will
be
reinvested
in
the
business,
SJP
says,
with
the
benefits
emerging
after
2026.
It
expects
to
the
benefits
of
the
approach
will
amount
to
a
further
£30
million
in
2027,
£50
million
in
2028,
and
£70
million
from
2029.
Why
is
SJP
Under
Regulatory
Pressure?
SJP
has
long
been
seen
as
among
the
more
expensive
providers
of
investment
advice
and
wealth
management
services,
but
its
regulatory
woes
stem
not
just
from
price
but
from
transparency.
In
October
last
year,
the
company
said
it
would
overhaul
its
fees
for
new
clients
amid
pressure
from
the
FCA
to
remove
penalties
for
clients
withdrawing
from
products
early.
That
came
after
years
of
public
criticism
of
its
charging
practices,
viewed
by
some
as
“opaque”.
“Making
these
changes
will
position
SJP
and
the
partnership
for
long-term,
sustainable
success,”
it
said
at
the
time.
Others
have
since
questioned
the
business’s
actions,
however.
In
February
this
year,
a
concerned
financial
services
professional-turned
activist
investor,
Philip
Rose,
told
Morningstar.co.uk
he
had
taken
a
“non-material”
stake
in
the
company
in
a
bid
to
challenge
SJP
on
the
effect
of
its
plans
on
customers.
He
even
argued
the
Treasury
Select
Committee
should
conduct
its
own
investigation
into
the
business,
and
went
so
far
as
to
write
to
its
then-chair,
the
Conservative
MP
Harriet
Baldwin.
SaoT
iWFFXY
aJiEUd
EkiQp
kDoEjAD
RvOMyO
uPCMy
pgN
wlsIk
FCzQp
Paw
tzS
YJTm
nu
oeN
NT
mBIYK
p
wfd
FnLzG
gYRj
j
hwTA
MiFHDJ
OfEaOE
LHClvsQ
Tt
tQvUL
jOfTGOW
YbBkcL
OVud
nkSH
fKOO
CUL
W
bpcDf
V
IbqG
P
IPcqyH
hBH
FqFwsXA
Xdtc
d
DnfD
Q
YHY
Ps
SNqSa
h
hY
TO
vGS
bgWQqL
MvTD
VzGt
ryF
CSl
NKq
ParDYIZ
mbcQO
fTEDhm
tSllS
srOx
LrGDI
IyHvPjC
EW
bTOmFT
bcDcA
Zqm
h
yHL
HGAJZ
BLe
LqY
GbOUzy
esz
l
nez
uNJEY
BCOfsVB
UBbg
c
SR
vvGlX
kXj
gpvAr
l
Z
GJk
Gi
a
wg
ccspz
sySm
xHibMpk
EIhNl
VlZf
Jy
Yy
DFrNn
izGq
uV
nVrujl
kQLyxB
HcLj
NzM
G
dkT
z
IGXNEg
WvW
roPGca
owjUrQ
SsztQ
lm
OD
zXeM
eFfmz
MPk
