Deutsche Bank has reiterated its 'buy' rating on St James's Place PLC (LSE:STJ) and lifted its target price to 2,050p from 2,000p, calling the wealth manager its top pick despite a weak run for the shares this year.
The broker noted the shares had delivered a total shareholder return of minus 16% so far in 2026, against a 7% gain for the FTSE All-Share.
Analyst David McCann described that as a disappointing outcome, while maintaining that the case for the shares to exceed £30 by 2030, driven by earnings growth, looked intact.
The shares were up 3.4% at 1,186p.
Deutsche identified three main drivers of the weakness.
It pointed first to persistent concerns among some investors about the threat from artificial intelligence.
Second, it noted that first-quarter inflows had come in at the softer end, though it stressed these remained adequate to deliver the expected earnings growth.
Third, the broker said the shares had been strong in 2025, partly driven by momentum-focused investors.
It suggested many of those investors had at least paused for now, given the concerns over AI and the softer flows.
