St. James’s Place Faces £426m Provision as Share Prices Plummet

In its recent 2023 full-year financial report released today (28 February), the financial advice behemoth disclosed a provision of £426 million earmarked for reimbursing clients for ongoing advisory fees. Following this announcement, the company’s shares nosedived by over 30% this morning.

The provision comes in the wake of a noted surge in complaints, particularly in the latter part of last year, which St. James's Place acknowledged were mostly related to the provision of ongoing service. The firm stated that its investigation into these complaints significantly impacted its cash result for 2023, which stood at just under £68 million.

St. James’s Place, a prominent player in the financial advisory sector, highlighted that the complaints mainly revolved around the execution of ongoing service agreements it had with clients.