Wealth manager St James’s Place (SJP) has recruited Caroline Waddington from UBS to be its new chief financial officer (CFO).

She will join the board and succeed Craig Gentle who is retiring from the business.

Her appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

She will receive a basic annual salary of £625,000 and a pension allowance of 10% of salary. She will also be able to join the company's annual bonus and long-term incentive plans which could significantly boost her earnings.

Ms Waddington is set to join SJP in the second half of the year when Mr Gentle will step down as a director of the company. He will remain with the business for a short period to facilitate an handover.

Mr Gentle has been with SJP since 2016 and has been CFO since January 2018.

Ms Waddington joins from UBS where she was CFO for the group’s UK Credit Suisse entities, as well as chief operating officer for Credit Suisse International.

Prior to UBS she was CFO for UK and EMEA at Credit Suisse, and before that held senior finance roles at Barclays Capital, RBS and Deutsche Bank. She is a Chartered Accountant and began her career at Coopers & Lybrand.

SJP CEO Mark FitzPatrick said: “It has been a pleasure to work alongside Craig since I joined the business, and I am grateful for his support. At the same time, I look forward to working with Caroline as Craig’s successor as we look to the future with confidence.”

Mr Gentle said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the last eight years at SJP, and I look forward to seeing it thrive in the future as the clear market leader in such an important sector of UK financial services.”

Ms Waddington said: “I am delighted to be joining SJP as Chief Financial Officer. As a strong believer in the transformative power of financial advice, I’m excited to be joining the UK’s leading financial advice business and contributing to its future success.”