St. James’s Place (LON:STJ), the wealth management group, today issued an update on new business inflows and funds under management for the three months ended 31 December 2019.
| Q4 2019 £’Billion | Q4 2018 £’Billion | |
| Gross inflows | 3.98 | 3.95 |
| Net inflows | 2.44 | 2.60 |
| Closing Funds under Management | 116.99 | 95.55 |
| Funds under management retention rate (full year) | 96.0% | 95.9% |
| Net inflows/opening funds under management (full year) | 9.4% | 11.3% |
| Number of qualified advisers at close | 4,271 | 3,954 |
The details of the announcement are attached.
Contents
1. Funds under Management
2. Analysis of Funds under Management
3. Gross Inflow Figures
4. Analysis of Partner and Adviser Numbers
1. Funds under Management
| Three Months Ended 31 December 2019 | Investment | Pension | UT/ISA & DFM | Total | |||
| £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | ||||
| Opening funds under management | 30.60 | 50.36 | 31.86 | 112.82 | |||
| Gross inflows | 0.63 | 2.35 | 1.00 | 3.98 | |||
| Net investment return | 0.40 | 0.79 | 0.54 | 1.73 | |||
| Regular income withdrawals and maturities | (0.13) | (0.35) | – | (0.48) | |||
| Surrenders and part surrenders | (0.28) | (0.31) | (0.47) | (1.06) | |||
| Closing funds under management | 31.22 | 52.84 | 32.93 | 116.99 | |||
| Net inflows | 0.22 | 1.69 | 0.53 | 2.44 | |||
| Implied surrender rate as a percentage of average funds under management | 3.6% | 2.4% | 5.8% | 3.7% |
Included within “UT/ISA & DFM” are closing funds under management of £2.89 billion and within the quarter, gross inflows of £0.12 billion and outflows of £0.04 billion in relation to the Rowan Dartington Group funds under management.
Not included within Group funds under management is a further £417 million of funds under management in third party funds within our Asia business.
| Three Months Ended 31 December 2018 | Investment | Pension | UT/ISA & DFM | Total | |||
| £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | ||||
| Opening funds under management | 29.45 | 42.35 | 28.79 | 100.59 | |||
| Gross inflows | 0.65 | 2.17 | 1.13 | 3.95 | |||
| Net investment return | (2.09) | (3.29) | (2.26) | (7.64) | |||
| Regular income withdrawals and maturities | (0.14) | (0.23) | – | (0.37) | |||
| Surrenders and part surrenders | (0.25) | (0.28) | (0.45) | (0.98) | |||
| Closing funds under management | 27.62 | 40.72 | 27.21 | 95.55 | |||
| Net inflows | 0.26 | 1.66 | 0.68 | 2.60 | |||
| Implied surrender rate as a percentage of average funds under management | 3.5% | 2.7% | 6.4% | 4.0% |
Included within “UT/ISA & DFM” are closing funds under management of £2.31 billion and within the quarter, gross inflows of £0.13 billion and outflows of £0.02 billion in relation to the Rowan Dartington Group funds under management.
Not included within Group funds under management is a further £403 million of funds under management in third party funds within our Asia business.
| Twelve Months Ended 31 December 2019 | Investment | Pension | UT/ISA & DFM | Total | |||
| £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | ||||
| Opening funds under management | 27.62 | 40.72 | 27.21 | 95.55 | |||
| Gross inflows | 2.28 | 8.66 | 4.16 | 15.10 | |||
| Net investment return | 2.96 | 5.99 | 3.50 | 12.45 | |||
| Regular income withdrawals and maturities | (0.56) | (1.31) | (0.02) | (1.89) | |||
| Surrenders and part surrenders | (1.08) | (1.22) | (1.92) | (4.22) | |||
| Closing funds under management | 31.22 | 52.84 | 32.93 | 116.99 | |||
| Net inflows | 0.64 | 6.13 | 2.22 | 8.99 | |||
| Implied surrender rate as a percentage of average funds under management | 3.7% | 2.6% | 6.5% | 4.0% |
Included within “UT/ISA & DFM” are closing funds under management of £2.89 billion, gross inflows of £0.56 billion and outflows of £0.15 billion in relation to the Rowan Dartington Group funds under management.
| Twelve Months Ended 31 December 2018 | Investment | Pension | UT/ISA & DFM | Total | |||
| £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | ||||
| Opening funds under management | 28.31 | 36.15 | 26.29 | 90.75 | |||
| Gross inflows | 2.41 | 8.76 | 4.53 | 15.70 | |||
| Net investment return | (1.60) | (1.98) | (1.90) | (5.48) | |||
| Regular income withdrawals and maturities | (0.51) | (1.12) | – | (1.63) | |||
| Surrenders and part surrenders | (0.99) | (1.09) | (1.71) | (3.79) | |||
| Closing funds under management | 27.62 | 40.72 | 27.21 | 95.55 | |||
| Net inflows | 0.91 | 6.55 | 2.82 | 10.28 | |||
| Implied surrender rate as a percentage of average funds under management | 3.5% | 2.8% | 6.4% | 4.1% |
Included within “UT/ISA & DFM” are closing funds under management of £2.31 billion, gross inflows of £0.54 billion and outflows of £0.10 billion in relation to the Rowan Dartington Group funds under management.
2. Analysis of Funds under Management
The following table provides an analysis of the funds under management at 31 December split by geography and asset type:
| 31 December 2019 | 31 December 2018(1) | ||||||
| £’Billion | % of total | £’Billion | % of total | ||||
| North American Equities | 25.1 | 21% | 19.9 | 21% | |||
| Fixed Interest | 20.9 | 18% | 16.9 | 18% | |||
| UK Equities | 20.2 | 17% | 17.6 | 18% | |||
| European Equities | 13.8 | 12% | 10.0 | 10% | |||
| Asia & Pacific Equities | 13.6 | 12% | 10.1 | 11% | |||
| Alternative Investments | 9.5 | 8% | 7.5 | 8% | |||
| Cash | 7.5 | 6% | 6.7 | 7% | |||
| Property | 2.9 | 3% | 3.0 | 3% | |||
| Other | 3.5 | 3% | 3.9 | 4% | |||
| Total | 117.0 | 100% | 95.6 | 100% |
(1) The geographical and investment type analysis of FUM for 31 December 2018 has been restated to better reflect the nature of the underlying investment types.
3. Gross Inflow Figures
| Unaudited3 Months to31 December | Unaudited12 Months to31 December | ||||||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||
| £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | £’Billion | ||||
| Gross inflows | |||||||
| Investment | 0.63 | 0.65 | 2.28 | 2.41 | |||
| Pension | 2.35 | 2.17 | 8.66 | 8.76 | |||
| Unit Trust and ISA | 1.00 | 1.13 | 4.16 | 4.53 | |||
| 3.98 | 3.95 | +1% | 15.10 | 15.70 | -4% |
4. Analysis of Partner and Adviser Numbers
Within 2,564 Partner businesses (2018: 2,489), we now have 4,271 qualified advisers (2018: 3,954).
Andrew Croft, St. James’s Place Chief Executive, commented:
“Against a backdrop of continued macro-economic and political uncertainty for much of the final quarter, I am pleased to report a robust set of new business results. Gross inflows for the fourth quarter totaled £3.98 billion, representing growth of 1% against the same period in 2018. This took gross inflows for the year as a whole to £15.10 billion, 4% lower than 2018.
Our advisers continued to work hard in supporting clients through a difficult environment, resulting in strong retention of client investments throughout the year and again demonstrating the resilience of our business. This contributed to net inflows of £2.44 billion in the final quarter and £8.99 billion for the twelve months, equivalent to some 9% of opening funds under management. When combined with the impact of positive investment returns, this resulted in closing funds under management of a record £117.0 billion, up 22% since the beginning of the year.
We are also pleased that by continuing to invest in our recruitment and Academy programmes, we have been able to grow the Partnership during the year by 8% to 4,271 advisers, strengthening our ability to serve and advise clients well.
Although uncertainties remain for the UK, the Parliamentary majority following the General Election in December provides for longer-term political stability. Following this outcome, we are encouraged to have seen improved investor sentiment and activity which, together with the strength and scale of our business today, gives us confidence that we are well placed to continue to grow.”
