Press release and Half Year Report and Accounts 2023

St. James's Place announces record funds under management and strong financial results.

New investment and funds under management

• Gross inflows of £8.0 billion (2022: £9.1 billion)
• Continued strong retention of client funds at 95.6%¹
• Net inflows of £3.4 billion (2022: £5.5 billion), representing 4.6% of opening FUM (annualised)
• Group funds under management of £157.5 billion (31 December 2022: £148.4 billion)

Financial highlights and dividend

• Underlying cash result £207.1 million (2022: £198.8 million),
• IFRS profit after tax £161.7 million (2022: £208.2 million)²
• Interim dividend of 15.83 pence per share (2022: 15.59 pence), representing 30% of prior full year dividend

Other Highlights

• We are now represented by 4,766 qualified advisers across the Partnership, an increase of 73 year-to-date
• 169 advisers graduated from our Academy programmes; 346 now enrolled
• EEV net asset value per share £16.28 (31 December 2022: £16.66)

Consumer Duty

• Significant programme of work undertaken ahead of new regulatory regime
• Implemented a number of changes to further good outcomes for clients, including a decision to reward clients with long-term investments through the introduction of an annual product management cap on bond and pension investments after they have been invested for ten years

¹ Throughout this press release our retention rate is calculated as annualised surrenders and part-surrenders, divided by average funds under management. It excludes regular income withdrawals and maturities.   

² Restated to reflect the adoption of IFRS 17. See details of restatement on pages 51 to 69.

Andrew Croft, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“I am pleased to report a robust business performance in the first half of 2023, highlighting once more the fundamental resilience of our business model and the strength of relationships our advisers enjoy with their clients.

This has been a challenging period for many UK savers and investors who have had to contend with high and persistent inflation, rising borrowing costs, a mini banking crisis in the US and attendant stock market volatility, and continued macro-economic and geo-political uncertainty. Despite this, we attracted £8.0 billion of new client investments during the first half of 2023.

We are also pleased at the continued strong retention of client funds under management, with annualised retention of 95.6% in the first half of the year. Given the scale of inflationary pressures facing consumers in the UK it is, however, little surprise that we have seen a return to more normal investment withdrawal rates across our pensions and bonds business, together with an increase in surrender rates across smaller unit trusts and ISA portfolios.

As a result, we achieved net inflows of £3.4 billion. A strong outcome given the market environment and one that supported funds under management increasing 6% over the six months to a record £157.5 billion.

This operating performance has been mirrored by a strong financial outturn for the period. Despite the headwinds of a challenging new business environment, the impact of inflationary pressures on our cost base, and a marked increase in the rate of UK corporation tax, we have delivered an underlying post-tax cash result of £207.1 million, up 4% versus the prior year.

Beyond our operating and financial performance, it has been a period of intense activity regarding progress against our six business priorities, as well as in our preparation for the FCA’s new Consumer Duty regime. As a business focused on driving good client outcomes, we have welcomed the opportunity to further strengthen our commitment to clients and enhance the value we deliver to them.

As we look ahead, there continue to be challenges for UK consumers, but as a long-term business our focus remains on ensuring we are well positioned to support our advisers build great relationships and deliver trusted and valued face-to-face advice over time. This commitment underpins our 2025 plan and will enable SJP to capitalise on the scale of long-term market opportunity ahead.”