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LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - British wealth manager St. James's Place reported a sharp slowdown in inflows of client cash on Thursday, sending its shares down as much as 10% as higher interest rates and choppy markets dampened investors' appetite for managed funds.
Active fund managers have come under pressure from tough economic conditions and competition from low-cost passive investors, forcing many including abrdn to slash costs.
St James's Place said in a trading update on Thursday that it would review all aspects of its business to ensure it was "fully fit for the future", without giving further details.
The company's net inflows for 2023 stood at 5.1 billion pounds ($6.49 billion), compared with 9.8 billion pounds the prior year and below analyst forecasts of 5.3 billion pounds.
Analysts at JPMorgan said larger than expected withdrawals in the fourth quarter were partly to blame, adding that St James's Place's closest peer Quilter reported stronger numbers the previous day.
Shares in the FTSE 100 company were last down 8.8% at 1000 GMT, the top loser in the blue-chip index, having fallen more than 40% over the last year.
British fund managers have also come under pressure from regulators to reduce client charges to protect savers and pensions investors. St James's Place said in October it had revamped its fee structure to cut charges.
Overall, the company's funds under management climbed to 168.2 billion pounds ($214.00 billion) by the end of 2023, compared with 158.6 billion pounds at the end of September.
"While the need for trusted face-to-face financial advice remains as strong as ever, client capacity and confidence to commit to long-term investment have been impacted by the economic environment and short-term alternatives in the form of cash deposit and savings rates," CEO Mark FitzPatrick said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7857 pounds) (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Iain Withers in London; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Elaine Hardcastle)
