SJP Our investment management approach
Investing with St. James’s Place looks very different now from a decade ago. We’ve grown into a company that builds client-focused investment solutions, backed by proven expertise and robust governance.
We work with world class managers to provide a broad and diverse range of leading investment strategies. This gives clients access to investment opportunities that smaller firms cannot replicate.
The result? Client portfolios designed for long-term wealth creation. Solutions responding to what clients actually need, not just market trends.
Our investment principles
These guide how we design our investments and make decisions.
Client focus
We put client goals first. We listen, offer options and communicate clearly.
Active decision-making
We make evidence-based decisions for better outcomes. We stay patient and realistic, accepting short-term dips for long-term gains.
Diversification
We spread investments across different assets and strategies. This builds stronger portfolios while managing risk.
Discipline
We follow a clear process that controls bias. This helps us think big and avoid reactive decisions.
How our approach works
Our IMA has three main parts that work together to support long-term investing:
Asset allocation
As the main driver of opportunity and risk, asset allocation is the cornerstone of our process. We focus on long-term value rather than short-term market noise.
Our attention is on whether there is a dislocation between the price of an asset and its fundamental value.
Select, Monitor, Change
We look beyond performance to understand a manager’s process, philosophy and culture.
We choose managers with a distinct investment edge to their approach.
Portfolio management
We focus on what we do best: translating our deep investment knowledge and heritage into resilient, client-focused portfolios, that are carefully designed and actively reviewed.
Asset allocation: what to invest in and where
Asset allocation is about deciding what types of investments to hold and where in the world to invest. Mixing different investments helps to balance growth and risk.
We decide how much to invest in areas such as:
- shares
- bonds
- cash
- different countries and regions
Our investment team focuses on finding good opportunities for the long term, rather than reacting to short-term market ups and downs.
When making decisions, we also look at other factors and potential risks.
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Valuations
Starting valuations and expected returns.
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Fundamentals
What’s driving investment returns?
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Economic conditions
Where we are in the economic cycle.
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Behavioural flags
How investors are positioned and feeling.
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Tail risks
Rare events with big impacts.
Starting valuations and expected returns.
What’s driving investment returns?
Where we are in the economic cycle.
How investors are positioned and feeling.
Rare events with big impacts.
Select, monitor, change: how we pick external fund managers
We use our expertise and research to select the best fund managers who specialise in different investment areas.
Portfolio management: bringing everything together
We combine our asset allocation process with some of the world’s top fund managers to build funds and portfolios. These are designed to give your money the best chance to grow steadily over time.
Elite manager access
Funds and portfolios draw on the expertise of leading fund managers from around the world.
Robust portfolio building
Our data, research and experience help us to build funds and portfolios that suit a variety of risk levels.
Long-term thinking
Our focus is on long-term value rather than reacting to short-term market events or shocks.
Risk management
We manage risk through global diversification and, where helpful, currency protection.
Governance: who’s responsible for what
Decides the investment strategy, carries out research, analyses markets and selects fund managers.
Sets the policies and parameters for investment decisions.
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Our Value Assessment Statement explores the value you receive from us. We provide details of how we deliver value, the actions we’ve taken over the past 12 months and where we can do more. This is part of our commitment to giving you clear and fair information about your investments with us.
Please be aware though that past performance is not indicative of future performance.
If you have any questions, please contact your St. James’s Place Partner.
Responsible investing fosters long-term company resilience in the transition to a more sustainable economy. We believe the consideration of material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors within our investment decision-making supports good client outcomes. Engagement is pivotal to our approach, to encourage firms to address material ESG risks and capitalise on opportunity.