The market opportunity

The information on this page is aimed at Analysts and Professional Investors only.

The UK wealth management market

The market opportunity in UK wealth management is compelling. UK individuals have c.£3.3 trillion¹ in liquid investable assets, and this is expected to grow at around 7% p.a. compound to 2030¹. Growth is driven by factors including asset appreciation and growing provision for retirement, and is expected to be most rapid at the upper end of the market.

The UK financial advice landscape

The UK wealth management market is served by a range of different types of providers, from banks to pension providers to D2C platforms. We operate in the £2.1 trillion² fully advised market where clients want and need the support of a trusted financial adviser. Here we are the most significant operator with a c.9% market share.

There are significant opportunities for us to grow further, for example:

At the upper end of the market, we aim to take share from organisations moving further up the wealth spectrum, leaving many individuals feeling underserved.
In the mass affluent space, there are nearly 4 million individuals who are open to advice but are not yet receiving it³.

Increasing demand for financial advice

We expect demand for face-to-face advice to only get stronger over time because there are a number of systemic factors driving the need for advice, including the large range of investment products available, the complexity of pension and taxation rules and the growing advice and savings gaps.

Financial advice creates real value by supporting financial wellbeing and helping turn people in the UK from savers to investors. This is critical given the potential for long-term outperformance of risk-based investing compared to cash and savings rates.

£ 47,000

The amount of money a person who uses a financial adviser, is on average better off a decade later⁴

91 %

of people state that financial advice they had received was helpful⁵

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. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

An investment in equities does not provide the security of capital associated with a deposit account with a bank or building society.

How SJP can benefit from the market opportunity

We’re the leading advice-led wealth management business in the UK, with 4,920 advisers at 31 December 2024. We have a proven track record of attracting and retaining great financial advisers, as well as training those looking to build a new career in financial advice through our Academy programme.

Our advisers have an average age of 46, significantly below the industry average of 58⁶. Those training in our Academy have an average age of 37. As a result, our advisers can establish and build long-term relationships with clients, making us ideally placed to take advantage of the increasing demand for financial advice.

Visit the Academy website