St James's Place encouraged by strong YTD new business activity

Wealth management business St James's Place said on Wednesday that it was "encouraged" that strong new business activity experienced in March had continued into the second quarter.

St James's Place stated the combination of improving client confidence and high levels of accumulated savings as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns had driven strong engagement between its advisers and their clients, resulting in gross inflows for the five months ending 31 May tracking roughly 23% higher year-on-year.

"While there remains uncertainty ahead given the ongoing pandemic, we are confident of another good year for St James's Place," said the FTSE 100-listed firm.

As of 0815 BST, STJ shares were up 0.69% at 1,383.50p.