(Reuters) -St. James’s Place reported a big slowdown in net inflows in 2023 on Thursday, sending the wealth manager’s shares down over 9% as higher interest rates and uncertainty over the economic outlook dampened investors’ appetite for managed funds.
Net inflows for 2023 stood at 5.1 billion pounds ($6.49 billion), compared with 9.78 billion pounds in 2022.
That was below a consensus of 5.3 billion pounds, according to Jefferies analysts.
Overall, funds under management climbed to 168.20 billion pounds ($214.00 billion) by Dec. 31, compared with 158.57 billion pounds at the end of September and 148.37 billion pounds at the end of 2022.
Shares in the FTSE 100 firm were down 7.9% to 622 pence at 0926 GMT, the top loser on the blue-chip index, having fallen more than 40% over the last year as client inflows have slowed, several of its biggest funds have underperformed and regulators have cracked down on its high fees.
“While the need for trusted face-to-face financial advice remains as strong as ever, client capacity and confidence to commit to long-term investment have been impacted by the economic environment and short-term alternatives in the form of cash deposit and savings rates,” CEO Mark FitzPatrick said in a statement.
Outside of the company’s funds under management, net flows into its cash deposit service increased significantly during 2023, with client deposit balances totalling 3.9 billion pounds compared with 2.5 billion pounds at the end of 2022, it said.
FitzPatrick, who took the helm last month, said he was “reviewing all elements of our business” as the company plans its vision for 2030.
($1 = 0.7857 pounds)
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Elaine Hardcastle)
