St James's Place, the 海角视频's largest wealth manager, reported a loss of £3.3bn due to market downturns in the first quarter of 2025, despite continued investment inflows.
For the first time in several years, the Gloucestershire-headquartered firm's assets under management decreased during the quarter as stock market turmoil affected investments, according to a trading update, as reported by .
Analysts had predicted that St James's Place's funds under management would continue to rise from £190.2bn to £197bn, underestimating the impact of market performance on the company.
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However, all sectors of the Cirencester-based business experienced market losses, with its investment division losing £530m, its pension division losing £2bn, and its discretionary fund management business losing £820m.
St James's Place has 38 per cent of its assets invested in North American stocks, which saw a significant drop in the first three months of 2025 due to concerns over trade wars and threats to the dominant position of the Magnificent Seven in the market.
This resulted in the firm's funds under management falling to £188.6bn by the end of March, lower than the level at the start of the year.
Despite this, all parts of the firm generated new cash throughout the quarter, with the firm's £101bn pension arm being the preferred choice among investors, who deposited £1.3bn into it during the quarter.
In total, investors deposited £1.7bn into St James's Place in the first three months of 2025, surpassing analyst expectations of £1.3bn.
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Despite high fees and performance queries, investors have continued to pour more funds into the wealth management firm, surprising analysts.
"We are pleased to have built momentum in new business in recent quarters, and we have continued to see good levels of client engagement and activity so far in April," stated Mark Fitzpatrick, CEO of St James's Place.
St James's Place fees
In its trading update, St James's Place also shed light on its forthcoming cost structure reform, which has been eagerly awaited by the market.
"We will be implementing our simple, comparable charging structure over the summer, and our work to review historic client servicing records and implement our cost and efficiency programme continues to move forward," Fitzpatrick announced.
St James's Place has previously faced criticism for its unclear fee structure that bundles charges together, leaving investors puzzled about where their money is being spent.
The commitment to revamp the cost system at the wealth manager forms part of a broader initiative to modernise and enhance performance.