- Regulators reported to be applying fee pressure
- Management says no decision has been taken
Shares in wealth manger and financial services provider St James’s Place (STJ) took a 14 per cent dive in morning trading after a report in the Financial Times that regulators are pressuring the company to overhaul its expensive fee structure.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has brought new requirements for advisers to put consumer needs first, known broadly as Consumer Duty.
St James’s is well known for both the expense of its services and the immobility of its customer base. The company maintains a large network of financial advisers in most market towns in the country.
It has already brought in changes this year in response to the new rules, including a cap product charges at 85 basis points a year for clients who have been invested for a decade. This change, alongside the announcement of weaker inflows in the first half, saw the share price crater in July. The year-to-date fall is now 38 per cent.
For its part, SJP put out a statement that reiterated the line it took at the interim results. “We continue to build on the work completed for Consumer Duty. This programme includes an assessment of our fees and charging models to ensure we operate with a simple and scalable charging platform for the long term.”
It also noted that its assessment is not yet complete and that no decision on its final fee structure has been made. It will be up to new chief executive Mark FitzPatrick to guide the company through a difficult patch. SJP will announce its Q3 client flows on 19 October.
