St James's Place new business grows, chairman departs

5th May 2011 13:09

Shares in St James's Place (SJP) edged lower on Thursday, despite the group seeing new business grow by 18% in the first quarter, as the wealth management group announced the retirement of long-standing chairman and co-founder Mike Wilson.Wilson is due to leave the board at the end of the year and will be succeeded by Charles Gregson, who will become the non-executive chairman.Meanwhile, SJP reported that total new business on an annual premium equivalent basis increased to £156.7m, against what chief executive David Bellamy noted was a strong comparator in 2010 (£133.3m)."The performance was helped by improving investment market sentiment, low interest rates and an increasing demand for advice from individuals," said Panmure Gordon analyst Barrie Cornes, who added that "SJP [had] delivered another above the top end of the range performance".Funds under management at the end of the quarter were in line with analysts' predictions, coming in at £28bn, 4% higher that the same period last year.Looking ahead, SJP said that "The enduring need for individuals to save for their retirement bodes well for wealth management companies."---BC