Why are people making claims against St. James's Place?

At SJP, we understand things sometimes go wrong, and we're currently working hard to look into a number of complaints raised by our clients.

The majority of these claims (less than 2% of our 958,000 clients in 2023) are not about the suitability of advice given but the extent of ongoing service provided by the Partner. Where a client has chosen to pay an annual charge, advice reviews should take place, in addition to the provision of other services and ad hoc advice.

We take our responsibilities in this area seriously and we're working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority, to raise standards for ourselves and across the industry.

Our clients’ needs and outcomes remain at the heart of all that we do. To demonstrate our commitment, SJP has set aside £426mn to allow us to rebate charges where we find we could have done better.

Claims or concerns about all-inclusive charges

Whether you’re about to buy a house, want to check in before you open an ISA, or top up your pension pot, we believe you should have access to expert advice whenever you need it – without having to worry that the more advice you ask for, the more you’ll have to pay.

It’s our firm belief that financial advice should be one-to-one, face-to-face or online, as often as the client requires, annually or more frequently. For various reasons, this may not be possible or wanted by the client, in which case the requirements of the annual charge cannot be met. In such circumstances, the charge can be turned off, or may need to be refunded.

Why we’re changing our charging structure

Historically, SJP charges have combined the provision of ongoing advice, product, platform and fund charges. We have taken the decision to simplify our charges going forward. SJP’s chief executive officer, Mark FitzPatrick, explained the decision was taken in response to an increased number of complaints received in this area, to demonstrate our commitment to our clients.

From 2025, all charges will be separated out to reflect the ongoing advice charge, product, platform and fund charges. This will make it easier for clients to compare costs like for like with other financial advice providers.

Existing clients will not pay higher charges overall, they will simply be applied differently. Going forward, the Early Withdrawal Charge will be removed.

We’re putting things right

We're sorry to find some clients have not received the ongoing service they've paid for. We're committed to Investigating any complaint raised thoroughly and fairly, and we'll repay any charge where this is identified.

To make sure this happens, we’re proactively contacting every client who may not have received the service paid for, whether they raise it with us or not. If you have any concerns or questions about your charges, or the service you’ve received, you can get In touch here.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your Partner if you have any questions. The FCA has confirmed that where a client has concerns about charges paid, they should contact the company directly, rather than involve a third party such as a Claims Management Company (CMC), who may make a deduction from any payment made to cover their own charge.

Why you can continue to trust SJP 

SJP is one of the UK’s largest financial services providers, with more than 985,000 clients and £181 billion funds under management.  

Since we were founded in 1991, we have always had stringent regulatory controls in place, which we review internally and with the FCA. These measures include regulatory protection, industry compensation, safekeeping and assets held to back client products. Together, these help provide a ‘safety net’ for our clients. You can find out more on SJP’s client and corporate protection measures here.

We also have the largest network of accredited and chartered financial advisers in the country – currently more than 4,800 in over 2,500 local Partner practices. Our reputation rests on the individual integrity and accountability of those advisers, and the fund managers that we select to manage your investments.

We have a corporate responsibility to monitor the performance of our people and our processes – and to make changes if we fall short of our own high expectations, or those of our clients.

We’re proud that St. James’s Place continues to have an outstanding rating on VouchedFor, the UK’s leading consumer review site for financial advisers, with a score of 4.9 out of 5 from over 32,813 reviews.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.