St James's Place confident on growth potential despite hit from war in Ukraine

St.James's Place reiterated its expectations for full-year new business growth and over the medium-term despite the "significant" impact the war in Ukraine during the first quarter of 2022.

"We continued to see high levels of activity throughout the period as advisers and clients sought ways of mitigating the risks posed to long-term financial planning by higher inflation and macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty," the wealth manager's chief executive officer, Andrew Croft, said.

Net inflows for the period edged up by £0.1bn to reach £2.91bn while the retention rate for funds under management improved from 95.8% in the year earlier quarter to 96.6%.

However, a negative net investment return of -£5.65bn meant that closing funds under management slipped from £153.99bn to £151.25bn.

During the period, clients raised their exposure to North American equities from 27% one year before to 30% and towards European shares from 11% to 13%, while lowering that to Asia Pacific from 15% to 11% and to UK shares from 14% to 13%.

Cash holdings meanwhile were reduced from 5% to 4%.

"Our results for the first quarter of 2022 are a credit to everyone in the SJP community and in particular to the Partnership who provide much needed support for clients seeking to navigate the impact that complexity and uncertainty can have on their long-term financial well-being," Croft added.

"Our performance so far this year means that we remain comfortable with consensus expectations for new business growth in 2022 and are confident of delivering on the broader ambitions of our 2025 plan."