St James's Place attracts record funds

St James’s Place attracted record investor funds in 2021 to send assets under management to an all-time high.

Gross inflows rose to £18.2bn in the year to the end of December from £14.3bn a year earlier and net inflows increased to £11bn from £8.2bn. Funds under management jumped to £154bn from £129.3bn, also boosted by rising markets.

The wealth manager's underlying cash result rose to £401.2m from £264.7m and profit before shareholder tax increased to £353.8m from £327.6m.

St James’s Place declared a final dividend of 40.41p a share, up from 38.49p a year earlier, taking the annual payout to 51.96p a share compared with 38.49p in 2020.

Andrew Croft, St James’s chief executive, said: “Whilst 2021 was another extraordinary year, with society continuing to navigate lockdowns and disruptions caused by COVID-19, the roll-out of vaccination programmes saw many economies rebound strongly with investment markets recording positive returns.

“Supported by this more favourable external environment and the desire by individuals to save and invest for the future, I am very pleased to report that St. James's Place had an excellent year. During 2021 we achieved record gross and net flows and these, together with positive investments markets, drove funds under management to an all-time high.”

Shares of St James’s Place fell 3.9% to £14.21 on a day when markets were hit by the escalation of conflict in Ukraine.