The changes are part of a restructuring under Mark Fitzpatrick, SJP's new CEO, reports said. The chief executive plans to shed £100 million a year from the firm's costs by 2027 and save £500 million by 2030.

Last year, in the wake of the new UK Consumer Duty regime at the end of July 2023, the firm changed its fee structure.

“At our half-year results in July, we committed to saving £100 million per year from the addressable cost base by 2027," a spokesperson for SJP told this publication. "Our cost reduction plans are focused on simplification and standardisation of processes within the business, but a programme of this size and scale will inevitably impact colleagues. We have now begun consulting with colleagues to share our proposal for how this might impact roles, the outcome of which will not be known until next year. In the meantime, we are fully committed to supporting all potentially impacted colleagues and to keeping them fully updated on key decisions and developments.”

St James's Place, which has been one of the most recognisable wealth management brands in the UK, has reported an after-tax profit, on an IFRS basis, of £165.1 million ($209.3 million) for the first half of 2024, up from £161.7 million a year before; on an underlying cash result basis, the H1 figure was £205.2 million, down from £207.1 million. The group's funds under management stood at £181.9 billion at the end of June, against £168.2 billion at end-December 2023. 

The restructuring initiative appears to have cheered investors. Shares in SJP have risen almost 35 per cent since the start of January to 888.5 pence per share as of 08:30 am London time yesterday.

Fitzpatrick, who became CEO at the start of December last year, took the helm from Andrew Croft, who had been in the post since 2018.