The figures on this page reflect St. James’s Place Half Year Results for the six months ended 30 June 2026.
Operating highlights
Financial highlights
Mark FitzPatrick, Chief Executive Officer
“I am pleased to report a strong set of results for the first half of 2026. We have delivered good operating and financial performance, continued to grow our client and adviser base, and made further progress against our strategic priorities.
During the period, our advisers supported clients through a complex and evolving environment. While markets have been supportive, consumers continued to navigate economic uncertainty, impending changes to the retirement savings landscape and evolving financial planning needs. Against this backdrop, we have seen continued demand for trusted financial advice, reflected in positive net inflows, improving funds under management (FUM) retention, and growth in our client base. We also delivered another strong period of investment performance for clients, with investment returns representing 16.4% of opening FUM on an annualised basis. Together, these factors contributed to FUM closing at £240.8 billion.
Alongside our first-half performance, this period has also provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made over the last two years through the Strengthen phase of our strategy.
We have strengthened our client and adviser propositions, advanced our technology capabilities and continued to improve how the business operates. Together, these changes have created a fundamentally simpler, more efficient, and more effective business with greater capacity to invest in future growth. They also reinforce St. James’s Place’s position as the best place to build, grow and realise value from a successful financial advice business.
Looking forward, we remain confident in the long-term outlook for financial advice, which is under-penetrated in the UK. As the industry evolves, clients will demand trusted advice, high-quality service, strong investment solutions and modern technology. St. James’s Place combines the personal relationships of a local adviser with the scale, expertise and security of the UK's leading financial advice business. We continue to invest in enhancing that proposition for both clients and advisers, and believe this increasingly differentiates St. James’s Place and positions us well to capture the growth opportunities ahead."
Shareholder returns
In line with our 2026 shareholder returns guidance, the Board intends to return 70% of adjusted IFRS profit after tax* to shareholders for 2026. We anticipate this will comprise:
- an ordinary dividend, which we expect will make up at least 40% of total shareholder returns. This is equivalent to at least 28% of the adjusted IFRS profit after tax*; and
- a share buy-back for the balance, subject to the Board’s ongoing assessment of the most appropriate mechanism for that return.
Half-year 2026 shareholder returns were set at a third of the prior full-year balance for ordinary shareholder returns, excluding buy-backs relating to releases from our Ongoing Service Evidence provision. In line with this guidance, the Board has declared an interim ordinary dividend of 6.00 pence per share, which equates to £31.0 million, together with an interim ordinary share buy-back for £45.3 million.
Combined with the buy-back due to the release from the OSE provision for the first half of 2026, this means our total buy-back programme for the period will be for £128.1 million. We will commence the buy-back in August 2026.
Director - Investor Relations
Hugh Taylor
Tel: 07818 075143
Director – Communications
Angela Warburton
Tel: 07442 479542
Data correct as at 30 June 2026.
Please note that this presentation was aimed at Analysts and Professional Investors only.
Where information on fund performance has been referred to, please note that past performance is not indicative of future performance. The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.
*The Underlying cash result is now referred to as adjusted IFRS profit after tax under our new reporting framework.