St James's Place bullish as profits soar

23rd Feb 2011 16:09

New business poured into St James's Place in the year to 31 December as the wealth manager benefited from low interest rates, higher taxes prompting more people to seek financial advice and improved productivity.Funds under management jumped to £27bn from £21.4bn in 2009. Pre-tax profits were up by 69% to £84.2m."Whilst the road to recovery for the UK economy is likely to remain challenging, the need for trusted financial advice is greater than ever," said chief executive David Bellamy. "Given the market opportunity available to us, together with the continuing growth and development of the Partnership, we remain confident of our ability to achieve the 15-20% per annum new business growth target over the longer term."