Primestone Capital timed its intervention at St James’s Place with almost surgical precision (Ben Martin writes). On Monday, the activist investor published a ten-page letter lambasting the upmarket wealth manager for poor shareholder returns and calling for a cost-cutting overhaul. The attack came 24 hours before St James’s Place released its third-quarter update, ensuring that the company’s figures were overshadowed by Primestone’s scathing criticisms of the way the business has been run. Investors will be asking themselves now whether the activist has a point.
St James’s Place was set up in 1991 and has become one of Britain’s biggest listed wealth managers. Known for the high fees it charges, it offers its services to people who have between £50,000 and £5 million in non-property
