St James's Place shares slump 30% after £426m client refunds provision

Dividend slashed

St James’s Place shares have slumped more than 30% after the wealth manager revealed it had made a £426m provision to refund clients on ongoing advice fees and slashed its dividend.

In the firm's final results for the year ended 31 December 2023, SJP said it has made a £426m pre-tax provision to refund clients over ongoing advice charges, after it faced a "significant increase in complaints". The firm experienced a spike in the number of client complaints in the latter part of 2023, and after launching an assessment into the issue, it found evidence that its ongoing client servicing was "less complete in the years", prior to its investment into customer relationship management systems in 2021. In response to the findings, SJP has made a £426m provision to refund ...