St James’s Place is a phenomenon, and not always for the right reasons. Like a magnet next to iron filings, the wealth manager has reliably sucked up the savings of Britain’s affluent classes for years.
Last year was no exception, though it wasn’t a record, thanks to the pre-election wobble in sentiment. Net inflows fell from £10.3 billion to £9 billion. Add in investment returns, however, and the total client assets under management rose from £95.6 billion to £117 billion.
An additional 51,000 clients were recruited by its self-employed advisers, raising client numbers to 733,000. Adviser numbers increased too, up 8 per cent to almost 4,300.
Cash generation was down 15 per cent to £229.4 million because of investment in computer systems, but St James’s
