UK midcaps fall as AI disruption concerns hit wealth managers

Wed, 11th Feb 2026 12:02

Feb 11 (Reuters) - UK ⁠midcap stocks fell on Wednesday, with British wealth managers ⁠slumping as the sector became the latest casualty of fears of disruption by artificial intelligence, while LSEG shares rose following reports activist investor Elliott has built a stake.

The FTSE 250 index of domestically oriented companies dipped 0.5% ‌as of 1137 GMT, having closed on Tuesday at its strongest level in four years.

Shares of Aberdeen Group, Quilter, IG Group and AJ Bell fell in the range of 2.4% to 6%, tracking losses in their U.S. peers after wealth management startup Altruist introduced AI-enabled tax-planning features, fuelling fears over disruption to incumbents.

FTSE 100-listed ‌St. James's Place tumbled 10.7%.

The blue-chip FTSE 100, however, rose 0.7%, helped by miners and bank stocks.

London Stock Exchange Group ‌rose 2% after media reports said activist investor Elliott Management has built a stake and is engaging with the financial data and analytics group to improve its performance.

In a busy day for corporate updates, investors were also looking to U.S. payrolls data later in the ‌day. The report is expected to show a pickup in job growth in January.

Preliminary reading of UK's fourth-quarter GDP is due on Thursday, while December jobs data will ⁠be ⁠released next week. The Bank of England said last week ‌that borrowing costs were likely to fall if an expected drop soon in inflation was sustained.

Among other movers, London-listed miners Rio Tinto and Anglo American rose 2.5% each, as copper ‌prices climbed on a weaker dollar.

Barratt Redrow fell 5.5% after the home builder reported a 13.6% decline in first half adjusted pre-tax profit amid subdued demand in the industry. (Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)