A recent value assessment from St. James’s Place reveals that 13 of their funds provide insufficient value, representing approximately £46 billion of client money.
The wealth management firm St. James’s Place (SJP) has been in the news due to its complicated fee structures, high exit fees, and lack of client advice. The firm made headlines again when it was reported that a recent value assessment statement showed that more than a quarter of its funds do not deliver value.
Although 32 of SJP’s funds were regarded as good value for money, 13 were not. The report rates the funds according to seven areas set out by City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), including:
- Quality of service
- Performance
- Fund charges
- Economies of scale
- Competitive market rates
- Comparable SJP services
- Classes of units
The FCA is the UK regulator of financial firms and markets. Value assessments have been an FCA requirement for financial advice firms since 2019 to encourage more demand-side pressure on fund prices.
Poor value SJP funds which were highlighted included:
- Global Absolute Return
- Global Emerging Markets
- Diversified Assets
- Global Equity
- Global Growth
- Global Quality
- Global Smaller Companies
- Greater European Progressive
- International Equity
- Japan
- North American
- Property
- Worldwide Income
The SJP assessment revealed its Global Equity fund was the largest fund (£14bn in size) to show poor value, followed by the St. James Place Global Growth fund (£7.6bn in size). Seven fund manager changes occurred since their last value assessment, and fees were cut for five funds.
SJP investment director Tom Beal said:
“I am pleased that the developments we have made to our funds in preceding years, alongside the strengthening of our own investment team, have contributed to an increase in the proportion of funds delivering value.
“The team and I are committed to making further enhancements to our fund range and are confident in our ability to deliver even greater value to our clients. We are also working to evolve our charging model to bring greater clarity for our clients.
“The primary ‘performance’ element of this year’s assessment compares our funds inclusive of all investment, platform and financial advice charges with benchmarks that don’t consider these elements.
“This creates an additional hurdle when assessing our performance that should be considered alongside the significant value that financial advice can bring. Most other funds in the market do not include such charges.”
SJP clients have been seeking redress and compensation for losses involving hidden fees, fund growth and paying for advice that they have not received. Earlier this year, St. James’s Place allocated £430 million to reimburse clients for compensation claims.
If you invested with St. James’s Place and paid the annual 0.5% charge for ongoing advice and reviews you have not received, then you may be eligible for compensation.
I have investments with SJP, what do I do?
+ −If you have invested through SJP and paid for a service that was not provided, you may be eligible to make a ‘no-win, no-fee’ refund claim for overcharged fees, loss of investment growth and interest.
We have many years of experience taking cases to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and securing client compensation. FOS is an independent government backed service to help settle disputes between financial institutions and their customers.
We help ensure that the correct claims information is submitted, your case progresses swiftly, and you receive the compensation you are rightfully owed.
TLW Solicitors’ view
+ −Sarah Spruce, Legal Director, commented:
“SJP hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons will always give their customers cause for concern.SJP has set aside substantial sums to compensate customers who have paid for advice that they haven’t received. I would therefore urge anyone who has invested through St James’s Place or one of their partner advisers, to get in touch with the TLW team for a confidential and no obligation discussion. We can review your case and advise on the next steps, including whether you can make a ‘no-win, no-fee’ refund claim.
“If you or a loved one are eligible to make a claim, then we will aim to recover not only any fees you’ve been overcharged, but also any loss of investment growth and interest.”
TLW Solicitors can help
+ −If you or a loved one are a current or former client of St. James’s Place and you have paid ongoing advice fees for a service that you did not receive, you may be entitled to compensation.
Contact our specialist team for a no-obligation consultation about your possible claim.
Call us on 0800 169 5925, email info@tlwsolicitors.co.uk, or complete one of the forms below.
It is essential to get advice as soon as possible as strict time limits can apply.
Minimum case values apply.
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