St James’s Place clawed back some of its lost fund under management in the third quarter, but FUM remains £5bn below the £148bn reported in Q3 2021.
The UK’s biggest wealth manager ended the three months to 30 September with £143.1bn in FUM, up from £142.3bn at the end of June. While adding £800m is undoubtedly something the celebrate, it still leaves SJP a long way from the £154bn of funds under management is recorded at the end of 2021.
Third quarter gross inflows of £4.1bn were offset by £1.3bn in negative market movements, £500m in regular income withdrawals and maturities, and £1.4bn in surrenders/part-surrenders.
Broken down by business division, year-on-year changes to funds under management and net inflows were as follows:
| Funds Under Management | Net Inflows | |||
| Q3 2022 | Q3 2021 | Q3 2022 | Q3 2021 | |
| SJP – total | £143.14bn | £148.06bn | £2.19bn | £2.59bn |
| Rowan Dartington | £3.18bn | £3.38bn | £50m | £120m |
| SJP Asia | £1.5bn | £1.48bn | £20m | £60m |
Source: SJP
Notable events during the third quarter include the announcement that investment director Rob Gardner is set to leave the firm at the end of the year, to be succeeded by long-standing SJP alum Tom Beal. The decision was also taken to merge four SJP funds to create a £4.3bn UK equity income strategy.
CEO Andrew Croft (pictured) said: “In a challenging external environment, I am pleased to report another strong quarter for St James’s Place. At times like these, the focus of our advisers is to remain close to their clients and provide them with timely, personal, and trusted advice that helps them consider and manage near-term pressures while maintaining a long-term mindset.
“This has underpinned gross inflows of £4.05bn, only modestly lower versus a record comparative period in 2021. Retention has remained very strong, supporting net inflows of £2.19bn and contributing to funds under management closing the period at £143.14bn.
“Although we face an uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop, the partnership remains critically placed to help clients plan, save and invest for the future, building confidence in their long-term finances. Our business has proven its strength over time and this, together with our resilient financial model, means that we expect 2022 to be another year of good progress towards the 2025 goals we have set, and we are comfortable with consensus expectations for new business and our financial performance for the year.”
See also: Acquisitions buoy Schroders in challenging markets as SJP sees rare asset tumble
