St James’s Place shares slump despite £100bn funds under management
Shares in wealth manager St James's Place slumped this morning despite the revelation that the company had hit a record breaking £100bn in funds under management.
The firm announced that assets under management rose to £100.6bn, up 11 per cent since the beginning of the year, however shares slipped 4.6 per cent on news of slower quarterly growth.
Read more: Ex-Barclays exec says all banks will use AI in next five years
"The pace of growth has slowed compared to the first half of the year. Looking at the gross flows into the business, third quarter growth of 7 per cent is significantly down on the 15 per cent growth seen at the half year stage," Shore Capital wrote in a note to clients.
The fund saw gross inflow of funds of £11.75bn in the nine months to the end of September, up 12 per cent on the previous year.
St James's Place chief executive Andrew Croft said: “We have delivered this continued growth despite both tough comparatives and a more challenging environment for the industry, once again demonstrating our resilience in these market conditions.
"There remains growing demand for high-quality financial advice, notwithstanding the current macro and geo-political uncertainty.
"With the strength and professionalism of the partnership, together with the breadth of our client proposition, we have a major and sustainable competitive advantage. Consequently, we remain confident in our ability to grow our business in line with our stated objectives over the medium-term.”
CMC Markets analyst David Madden commented: "St James’s Place announced that assets under management topped £100bn – a record level.
"It is encouraging to see the company is continuing to attract fresh funds in the face of uncertainty in the financial markets."
Read more: What do the wealth management and tobacco industries have in common?