The restricted advice group has appointed current chief financial officer Andrew Croft to succeed Bellamy. SJP’s chief risk officer Craig Gentle will replace Croft as chief financial officer.
Bellamy, who has been chief executive for 11 years, will remain with SJP as non-executive chairman of its international division in Asia, currently headed up by Mike Gravestock.
Asia results
The FTSE 100-listed wealth manager entered Asia in 2014 when it acquired The Henley Group, an IFA firm in Asia with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. At the time of purchase, it had £400m of assets under management.
The announcement coincides with the company’s annual results, which shows that since the Henley Group acquisition assets under management in Asia have grown 8% from £430m at the end of 2015 to £466m as of December 2016.
Last November, Gravestock, partnership director for SJP’s international operations told our sister publication Fund Selector Asia that the firm had doubled adviser numbers in Asia from 42 to over 100.
Despite the growth, losses in the Asian business nearly doubled in the year to 2016 to £13.2m, compared to £7m the previous year.
Ongoing costs
SJP said this is down to the “corporate investment” required to secure the business, adding that costs have spiralled due to the fall in the pound following the Brexit vote.
“Costs reflect both the ongoing operational costs, but also the development costs associated with growing these businesses to achieve sustainable scale. We have also seen these costs increase due to the depreciation of sterling.
“Our investment will continue in 2017 and we expect this investment cost to increase by £3-4m,” according to the annual results.
The report added that SJP’s expansion into Asia through operations in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai is intended to provide “diversification of our growth model through exporting our successful wealth management proposition to new markets, starting with the UK ex-pat market”.
Last month, Gravestock told International Adviser that SJP is set to roll out services from discretionary fund manager Rowan Dartington across its Asian unit during the first half of this year.
Rowan Dartington sold international platform business, Ardan International, to offshore life company RL360° last November, which SJP said lead to a reduction in £50m funds under management.
SJP under fire
Bellamy’s exit comes at a time when SJP has repeatedly been the subject of The Sunday Times Money investigations as it faces mounting scrutiny over sky high fees.
Earlier this month, the company came under fire for paying its advisers using an ‘air miles’ type system which rewards them with trips and jewellery for bringing in high levels of client investment.
It has also been criticised over claims it will not be caught out by an incoming 1% cap on exit charges on pensions, converted or transferred by anyone aged 55 and over. SJP currently charges a fee of 6% if a client withdraws from their investment in the first year.
This falls by 1% every year for six years. The company has publicly claimed that since its charges are based on the duration the investment is held, not the age of the investor, it will not be hit by the cap.
