Gross inflows at wealth management giant St James’s Place (SJP) fell 5% in 2020 to £14.33bn, according to its latest trading update published today.

The number of partner businesses fell slightly to 2,540 (2019: 2,564).

Net inflows for the year were £8.25bn, representing 7% of opening funds under management for the quarter.

Gross inflows for the fourth quarter grew 1% year on year to £4.02bn, net inflows fell by 6% to £2.29bn.

Year end funds under management were £129.34bn, a rise of 11% from the start of the year.

The wealth management giant said it achieved strong retention of client investments “in spite of the unprecedented external conditions.”

The firm’s funds under management retention rate remained steady at 96.4% (Q4 2019: 96%).

While the fund management giant slowed its adviser recruitment activity and paused the intake of new students into its academy, 2020 still saw an increase in the number of advisers working for at St James’ Place.

Modest recruitment saw 4,338 advisers at the group at the end of 2020, in comparison to 4,271 at the close of 2019.

Andrew Croft, chief executive at SJP, said the firm expects challenging conditions to continue but he still has confidence in the growth prospects for the business.

He said: “Sensitive to the challenging external environment for many financial advice businesses across the UK, we decided to slow the pace of our experienced adviser recruitment activity and paused the intake of new 'students' to our Academy programme during the year.

“Whilst the current lockdown restrictions remain in place, the operating environment will continue to be challenging. However, the quality of the Partnership and the strength of our client proposition, together with the resilience of the St. James's Place community, underpins our confidence in the medium to long-term growth prospects of our business.”