Shares of St James (LON:SJP) Place (LSE:STJ) climbed 7.3% following the announcement of its fourth-quarter earnings, which revealed a significant uptick in net flows, gross inflows, and funds under management (FUM).
The company's net flows for the quarter surged 99% year-on-year (YoY), amounting to £1.5 billion, and surpassed the company consensus by 70%. This performance was primarily attributed to an increase in gross inflows, especially from pensions.
The robust net flow results were complemented by a 49% YoY increase in gross inflows, totaling £5.5 billion and exceeding consensus expectations by 28%. The pensions segment was noted as the main contributor to this outperformance. Despite a 20% decline in net flows on a full-year basis, the company's financial year 2024 gross inflows improved by 20% YoY.
Gross outflows for the quarter also grew, reaching £4.0 billion, a 36% increase YoY and 17% above consensus. The company experienced a slight uptick in the surrender rate to 5.6%, which was in line with the broader industry trend following the UK Autumn Budget. For the full year, total gross outflows were 37% higher YoY.
Closing FUM for the quarter stood at £190.2 billion, marking a 13% YoY increase and coming in 1% above consensus forecasts. The FUM growth was bolstered by a market move of 2.3% within the quarter, which was the strongest among wealth management or platform companies reporting for the calendar fourth quarter.
Looking ahead, the company's CEO indicated that St James Place is on track to implement its new charging structure by the second half of 2025, and the ongoing advice review is progressing as planned. Full-year 2024 results are expected to be reported on Thursday, 27 February.
Jefferies, a financial services company, commented on St James Place's performance with optimism, stating, "STJ's flows have benefited from tailwinds seen across the sector, and the operational picture looks good too.
After the full-year results on 27 February, we expect 2027 consensus forecasts to come into sharper focus and to show revenue and cash result growth after a trough year in 2026. This is a solid update and the outlook remains positive."
