St James's Place and Rathbone get bottom line boosts

St James’s Place drew in record levels of funds from investors last year, with the group’s assets under management swelled to a record high.

The wealth manager’s net inflows rose from £8.2billion to £11billion in 2021, while funds under management swelled from £129.3billion to £154bilion.

Bumper inflows have helped SJP declare a final dividend of 40.41p a share, up from 38.49p a year ago, taking the annual payout to 51.96p a share compared with 38.49p in 2020.

Bottom line boost: St James’s Place drew in record levels of funds from investors last year

It comes as many consumers have turned to investing over the past few years, amid dismal returns on cash savings.

But, shares in St James’s Place have fallen sharply today and were down 6.36 per cent or 94.00p to 1,384.50p.

Andrew Croft, St James’s chief executive, said: ‘Whilst 2021 was another extraordinary year, with society continuing to navigate lockdowns and disruptions caused by Covid-19, the roll-out of vaccination programmes saw many economies rebound strongly with investment markets recording positive returns.

‘Supported by this more favourable external environment and the desire by individuals to save and invest for the future, I am very pleased to report that St. James’s Place had an excellent year.

‘During 2021 we achieved record gross and net flows and these, together with positive investments markets, drove funds under management to an all-time high.’

SJP’s underlying cash stash rose to £401.2million, up from £264.7million, and profit before shareholder tax rose from £327.6million to £352.8million.

Rathbone sees profit jump 30%

Rathbone saw its pre-tax profit rise by 30 per cent to £120.7million in 2021, its latest preliminary annual results reveal.

The group saw total funds under management and administration grow to £68.2billion, which is 24.7 per cent higher compared to the end of last year.

Rathbone’s investment management funds reached £50.3billion in AUM in 2021, marking an increase of 12 per cent on the year before.

The group’s funds totalled £13billion over the year, an increase of 32.7 per cent compared to 2020.

Inflows into the group’s multi-asset fund range reached £0.5billion last year, meanwhile flows into its single strategy fund also grew by 20 per cent year-on-year, to £1.2billion.

The firm’s funds generated total net inflows of £2.1bilion over the period.

Paul Stockton, Rathbone’s chief executive, said: ‘We set out our focused strategy over two years ago and it has driven some considerable and positive changes within the business over that period.’

He added: ‘After a decade of significant growth, the Rathbones of today offers a holistic range of wealth management and advice services, complemented by a high-quality fund management business; our December 2021 announcement to rename the company to Rathbones Group Plc reflects this.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk