St. James's Place plc

The business has its origins in an entity founded by Mark Weinberg and Mike Wilson in 1991. It secured the financial backing of Jacob Rothschild and became known as J. Rothschild Assurance.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/jun/24/theobserver.observerbusiness9|title=Meet the newest grandees in town|date=24 June 2007|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=18 January 2023}}

In 1997 J. Rothschild Assurance merged with – and took on the name of – a much smaller entity, St. James's Place Capital.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xL7PXMs8xiIC&pg=PT134|title=Money Makers: The Stock Market Secrets of Britain's Top Professional Investment Managers|first= Jonathan |last=Davis |year=2013|publisher=Harriman House Limited |isbn=9780857191434}}

The business was restructured and transferred to a new legal entity in 2000, when Halifax plc (formerly the Halifax Building Society) took a 60 per cent shareholding for £760 million.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/mar/23/9|title=Halifax buys into St James's Place|last=Jones|first=Rupert|date=23 March 2000|work=The Guardian|access-date=2 July 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

In 2001 Halifax merged with the Bank of Scotland to form HBOS, which in 2009 was bought by the Lloyds Banking Group, which thus acquired a majority holding in St. James's Place Capital.{{cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE66R01U20100728|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015133731/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE66R01U20100728|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 October 2010|title= Lloyds to keep St James's Place stake|publisher=Reuters|date= 28 July 2010|access-date=17 March 2018}} In March 2013 Lloyds sold 20% of its holding to institutional investors,{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/SJP.L|title=St. James's Place PLC (SJP.L)|publisher=Reuters|access-date=17 March 2018}} and in December that year sold its remaining holding by private placement for £670m.{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/835c1dee-60f1-11e3-916e-00144feabdc0|title=Lloyds sells St James's Place stake for £670m|date=9 December 2013|publisher=Financial Times|access-date=17 March 2018}}

In 2014 the company bought Henley Group, a financial adviser with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, and renamed it St. James's Place Asia.{{Cite web |last=Thomson |first=Grant |date=16 June 2014 |title=St James's Place completes Henley Group deal |url=https://international-adviser.com/st-jamess-completes-henley/ |access-date=2 July 2019 |website=International Adviser |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=St. James's Place Wealth Management {{!}} Asia |url=https://www.sjp.asia |access-date=16 September 2018 |website=www.sjp.asia |language=en}} It bought Rowan Dartington, a discretionary fund manager, for £34.2m in 2015,{{Cite news |last=Dakers |first=Marion |date=29 July 2015 |title=St James's Place buys discretionary fund manager |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11770238/St-Jamess-Place-buys-discretionary-fund-manager.html |access-date=2 July 2019 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} and Technical Connection, a financial consultancy, in 2016.{{Cite news |title=St James's Place acquires Technical Connection |url=https://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/news/st-jamess-place-acquires-technical-connection/a903815 |access-date=2 July 2019 |work=Wealth Manager |language=en}}

In July 2017 an investigation by Which? accused St James's Place of misleading customers on charges. Tom Wilson, author of the article, writes, "There are legitimate reasons why costs might vary – SJP's recommended funds have different charges, so the actual fees will depend on which funds you end up with." The findings of the investigation were sent to the Financial Conduct Authority.{{cite web|url=https://www.which.co.uk/news/2017/07/exclusive-wealth-manager-st-jamess-place-misleading-customers-on-charges/|title=Exclusive: wealth manager St James's Place misleading customers on charges|work=Which|date=17 July 2017|access-date=26 April 2018}} The firm continues to have permission to provide regulated products and services.{{Cite web|url=https://register.fca.org.uk/ShPo_FirmDetailsPage?id=001b000000MfIiOAAV|title=Financial Conduct Authority|website=register.fca.org.uk|language=en|access-date=10 July 2018}}

In January 2018 Andrew Croft replaced David Bellamy as chief executive, after thirteen years as chief financial officer.{{Cite news |date=28 February 2017 |title=St. James's Place says CEO Bellamy to step down, shares lower |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-st-james-s-place-results-idUKKBN1670PB |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228084528/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-st-james-s-place-results-idUKKBN1670PB |archive-date=28 February 2017 |access-date=2 July 2019 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{cite web |date=2 January 2018 |title=St James's Place's new boss takes the reins |url=http://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/news/st-jamess-places-new-boss-takes-the-reins/a1080210 |access-date=17 March 2018 |work=City Wire}}

In July 2019, the Financial Ombudsman Service raised "serious concerns", after a client had been persuaded to transfer more than £60,000 to the company, over claims that St. James's Place had "doctored" documents with "forged" signatures to hide the advice allegedly given by the company to the client.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/money/article/forgery-and-mis-selling-allegation-rocks-advice-giant-st-jamess-place-99q8qbjdf|title=Forgery and mis-selling allegation rocks advice giant St James's Place|work=The Sunday Times|date=21 July 2019|access-date=21 July 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://citywire.com/wealth-manager/news/sjp-accused-of-forging-suitability-letter-in-misselling-allegation/a1252037|title=SJP accused of 'forging' suitability letter in misselling allegation|newspaper=CityWire|date=22 July 2019|access-date=27 March 2025}}

In November 2019 fourteen former footballers sued St James's Place for £15m, alleging that they had received poor advice concerning tax avoidance regarding film and overseas property investment schemes.{{Cite web|url=https://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/news/sjp-sued-by-ex-football-stars-over-tax-avoidance-schemes/a1293674|title=SJP sued by ex-football stars over tax avoidance schemes|date=14 November 2019|website=Wealth Manager|access-date=13 February 2020}} A spokesman for St James's Place said the partner was not authorised to direct investors to the plan, and that the proposal was not approved by St James's. The St James's Place spokesman also said the partner had retired when many of the investments were made, and that other investments were placed through a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) by a third party. The spokesman also said the statute of limitations on the claims had expired because the investments had been made more than 10 years before.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/andy-townsend-among-sports-stars-suing-over-tax-advice-1.4080742|title=Andy Townsend among sports stars suing over tax advice|date=12 November 2019|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=13 February 2020}}

Paul Manduca replaced Iain Cornish as chairman of the firm after the annual general meeting in May 2021.{{Cite news |last1=Darbyshire |first1=Madison |date=17 December 2020 |title=St James's Place appoints Paul Manduca as next chairman |url=https://www.ft.com/content/06cdced9-0709-42d3-a080-9932100c2c5f |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220321063948/https://www.ft.com/content/06cdced9-0709-42d3-a080-9932100c2c5f |archive-date=21 March 2022 |access-date=17 September 2021 |website=Financial Times}}

In May 2023, SJP opened an office in Dubai's International Financial Centre after receiving approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority.{{Cite news |title=UK wealth manager expands presence in the Middle East |url=https://citywire.com/middle-east/news/uk-wealth-manager-expands-presence-in-middle-east/a2418113 |last=Dey |first=Paromita |date=2023-05-30 |access-date=2023-07-21 |work=City Wire Middle East}}

In September 2023, the company announced that Andrew Croft would be stepping down as CEO after five years in the role. It was also announced that Mark FitzPatrick would be his replacement with effect from 1 December 2023.{{cite web |title=St James's Place appoints Mark FitzPatrick as CEO |url=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/thebusinessmagazine.co.uk/professional-services/st-jamess-place-appoints-mark-fitzpatrick-as-ceo/__;!!CmiNeg!Jpkd0315xIF2V36XlWF0aJqrsxrxCU0NWKlfYDcNjDih5dugF2-3cSi24LXRzPj8NMo4yUebTvEX95BO5yK5aCe1$ |website=The Business Magazine |date=14 September 2023}}

In July 2024, SJP announced a company restructure to save £100 million from the business by 2027. As part of the restructure, the company announced plans to reduce its headcount by 580 jobs in December 2024.

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• {{official website|https://www.sjp.co.uk//}}

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Category:Companies based in Gloucestershire

Category:Financial services companies established in 1991

Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange

Category:Companies in the FTSE 100 Index

Category:1991 establishments in the United Kingdom