St James’s Place calls in new finance chief from UBS as turnaround effort continues

Embattled wealth manager St James’s Place has called in a new finance chief from investment bank UBS today as it tries to steady the ship following a torrid year in which nearly £3bn has been wiped from its value.

In a statement to the market this morning, the former FTSE 100 firm said it had appointed former UBS UK finance chief Caroline Waddington as chief financial officer as current CFO Craig Gentle retires from the company. 

Gentle is set to stay on “for a short period” to facilitate a handover to Waddington, who will take over the reins at some point in the second half of the year

“Caroline is highly experienced and has proven financial services expertise that she has developed in her career to-date,” said Paul Manduca, chair of St. James’s Place, said.

The appointment will form part of St James’s Place attempts to mount a turnaround after a year in which it has been embroiled in regulatory pressure and forced to set aside compensation to pay its customers.

More than a quarter of the company’s value was shed in a single day in February after bosses revealed they had set aside £426m to deal with a deluge of historic complaints from customers.

After the FInancial Conduct Authority rolled out stringent new consumer rules last summer, the company has also been forced to overhaul its fee structure in order to ensure it is delivering better outcomes for its customers.

Chief Mark Fitzpatrick slashed the dividend payout in February as he warned the bill of for its fees overhaul would likely weigh on the company’s growth in the years ahead.

“A combination of the provision we have established and an expected decrease in the level of profit growth in the next few years as we transition to our new charging structure, reduces our ability to invest for long term growth in our business over the next few years,” he said in a statement in February.

Shares in the company are trading down over 50 per cent over the past 12 months, leading to a relegation from London’s flagship FTSE 100 two weeks ago after a decade in the index.