Chris Ralph of St James’s Place is leaving the firm after 11 years, but will remain on board in a non-executive capacity.
Ralph, who was chief investment officer at the wealth manager until January, is leaving his current role as chief global strategist at the end of this year.
Writing on Linkedin, Ralph said he will remain in a “non-executive capacity” as a member of the firm’s investment committee. He is also a non-executive director at the Baillie Gifford China Growth Investment Trust.
An SJP spokesperson said no one is currently being appointed to replace Ralph in the chief global strategist role.
Ralph joined SJP in 2009 from Maia Capital and before that, was a portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments.
In his LinkedIn post, Ralph paid tribute to SJP investment committee chairman David Lamb “from whom I have learnt so much over this period”. He also singled out Tom Beal, who replaced him as SJP CIO in January, for coping “magnificently with everything that has been thrown at him”.
“Partners and clients of the company are very fortunate to have him,” he said.
Ralph also said he is shutting down Investment Thinking, an investment website and podcast he set up in March.
Last week, SJP announced Paul Manduca is set to become the company’s next chairman at the annual general meeting on 17 May 2021. He replaces Iain Cornish who has been on the SJP board since 2011.
