St James's Place PLC (LSE:STJ) shares rose 7% after the wealth manager delivered interim results ahead of expectations, providing some reassurance to the market.
Gross inflows for the half-year reached £10.5 billion, beating consensus and helping net flows hit £3.8 billion. Client retention improved, with funds under management closing at £198.5 billion, better than analysts had forecast.
Underlying cash profits rose 17% to £240 million, compared with a consensus estimate of £224 million, equating to earnings per share of 45p.
The bottom line received a boost from an £84.5 million provision release, linked to a review of client servicing records; this will be returned to shareholders via further buybacks.
The interim dividend was held at 6p, while £32 million was returned through share buybacks.
A new charging structure, set for late August, remains a key area to watch, with Peel Hunt noting that while full-year profits will be affected by this change, first-half strength points to potential upside.
St James’s Place currently trades at around 17 times 2026 forecast earnings, and Peel expects earnings to start growing from this low point.
With a 6% free cash flow yield, the shares continue to look attractive on a long-term view.
The stock was up 83.5p to 1,253p.