St James’s Place PLC on Thursday reported a strong rise in funds under management in 2021 as the firm benefited from the economic rebound and strong demand for investment advice.

Shares in the FTSE 100-listed wealth manager were down 7.5% in London around midday on Thursday at 1,367.00 pence each, amid a general market sell-off.

‘In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, St James’s Place demonstrated real resilience during very difficult circumstances, thanks largely to the agility of our advisers and employees. Whilst 2021 was another extraordinary year, with society continuing to navigate lockdowns and disruptions caused by Covid-19, the roll-out of vaccination programmes saw many economies rebound strongly with investment markets recording positive returns,’ Chief Executive Andrew Croft said.

St James’s Place closed 2021 with £153.99 billion funds under management, up from £129.34 billion at the start of the year.

The growth was driven by £11.04 billion in net inflows and a positive investment return of £13.61 billion.

By asset class, St James’s Place North American Equities fund - which makes up 31% of total funds - increased in value by 51% to £47.3 billion from £31.3 billion at the end of 2020.

The wealth manager’s Fixed Income Securities fund - which makes up 16% of total funds - increased by 12% over the course of 2021 to £25.4 billion from £22.7 billion. Asia & Pacific Equities - 12% of total funds - dropped 6.5% during 2021 to £18.6 billion from £19.9 billion. UK Equities - 14% of total funds - advanced 15% to 21.5 billion from £18.7 billion.

Croft said there is ‘no doubt’ the demand for face-to-face financial advice ‘remains as strong as ever’.

‘St James’s Place is ideally positioned to continue to benefit from this increasing demand for advice. We have a Partnership that continues to grow in scale bolstered in part from our Academy, a rigorous and well-proven investment management approach, modern and scalable infrastructure, and a unique culture and brand. I believe this combination stands us apart from other advisory firms and means we are well placed to continue to lead in our sector with the benefits that confers,’ he continued.

‘As we look ahead, our performance in 2021, taken together with the investments we are making for the future, means we remain confident in achieving our 2025 ambitions and continuing to prosper thereafter.’

St James’s Place recorded a European embedded value operating profit - the company’s preferred metric - of £1.55 billion, up from £919.0 million the year prior.

EEV new business contribution totalled £1.00 billion in 2021, up from £766.3 million in 2020.

The wealth manager’s pretax profit surged to £842.4 million from £426.4 million.

SJP has declared a total dividend for 2021 of 51.96 pence, up from 38.49p in 2020.

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