St James’s Place poaches finance chief from UBS

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St James’s Place’s chief financial officer Craig Gentle will leave the business this year as the wealth manager’s new head seeks to reform the company following scrutiny over its fees.

The FTSE 250 wealth manager said Gentle, who joined in 2016, would be “retiring from the business” in the second half of the year and replaced by Caroline Waddington, who joins from UBS.

The move comes as Mark FitzPatrick, chief executive since December, attempts to overhaul the business with a clearer fee structure in the wake of the UK financial watchdog’s consumer duty rules, which came into force last July and are aimed at ensuring financial services customers receive a fair deal.

Fahad Changazi, analyst at Mediobanca, said this was an example of “the new CEO . . . making changes in his management team”, noting that there has been “a trend of refreshing management teams [and making] external appointments to bring a fresh perspective”.

Ben Bathurst, analyst at RBC, said the move “doesn’t come as a surprise” given the length of Gentle’s tenure and “the issues that have faced the business over the past 12 months”.

He added: “It feels to us like the right time for a change, particularly given the messages [FitzPatrick] has delivered so far in the role around repositioning the business for the future.”

SJP’s shares have come under pressure since last summer when it started overhauling its fee structure, which had been criticised as being complicated and opaque. As part of the shake-up, the wealth manager said it would axe its exit fee on certain products for new customers from next year.

The business also took a £426mn provision this year for potential redress to customers who had not received sufficient advice. Shares in SJP have more than halved over the past year.

FitzPatrick previously served as chief executive of insurance company Prudential. He is keen to underscore a break from the past for SJP, which has faced criticism for its lavish perks for advisers.

SJP is the UK’s largest wealth manager, with about £170bn of assets under management and a fleet of about 5,000 advisers.

The company said Waddington, who was chief financial officer at UBS Group’s UK Credit Suisse entities, will join the business in the second half of the year, at which point Gentle will leave as director. He will remain at the company for a short period to facilitate the handover.

Paul Manduca, chair of SJP, said: “The board conducted an extensive and robust selection process in making this appointment and I am confident that she will prove to be a great asset to the business.”