‘There’s an awful lot of business’: St James’s Place boss defends rewarding cruises to partners
The chief executive of St James’s Place has defended the trips offered to its partners as part of the firm’s controversial incentive scheme.
The wealth manager is conducting a review into the scheme after details of rewards ranging from white-gold cufflinks to luxury cruises were made public last month.
Read more: St James’s Place maintains inflows amid ‘uncertain external environment’
“The overseas trips are also very much business meetings. There’s an awful lot of business content to them, ” boss Andrew Croft told City PM
But Croft added that scrutiny of the scheme had made St James’s Place reconsider whether they should still offer the trips. “The spotlight has made us say, actually, are these overseas trips still appropriate and proportionate a 21st century situation,” he said.
Croft said the ongoing review, which is due to be completed by the end of the year, would determine the fate of the trips, but defended the principle of offering incentives and said the company would continue to do so.
“There is nothing wrong with incentives,” he said. “The most important thing with incentives is to ensure that you have the right checks and balances.”
Read more: St James’s Place partners threaten rebellion over cancelled cruises
Croft was speaking after the publication of a trading update that showed St James’s Place had reported a record £112.82bn funds under management during the third quarter.
Net inflows were £2.1bn during the three months to September, a 14 per cent drop on the previous year’s figure.
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