St. James's Place is the UK's largest wealth manager with extensive exposure to defined benefit pension transfer complaints from 2015–2022. The FCA has scrutinised SJP's advice practices and its Partner network. If you were advised by an SJP Partner to transfer a DB pension, FOS and civil routes are available.
Start your free assessment →St. James's Place Wealth Management plc operates the largest UK adviser network — the SJP Partnership — comprising thousands of authorised representatives who give investment and pension advice under the SJP brand. SJP bears regulatory responsibility for the advice given by its Partners.
During the period 2015–2022, SJP Partners gave large numbers of defined benefit pension transfer recommendations. Many of these recommendations are now the subject of FOS complaints on grounds of suitability — specifically that the advice to transfer out of a guaranteed DB pension was not in the client's best interests, that the critical yield analysis was flawed, or that the client's capacity for loss was not adequately assessed.
SJP has also faced scrutiny over its charging model — in particular, exit charges on early encashment of SJP investment products. The FCA has investigated SJP's culture and has required remediation in relation to historic advice and charges.
A formal DISP complaint to SJP Wealth Management is the required first step. SJP must respond within 8 weeks. FOS escalation follows if the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily.
No cap on direct complaintThe FOS has jurisdiction over DB pension transfer suitability complaints against SJP. The FOS applies a 55-77% uphold rate on DB transfer cases generally. An upheld FOS decision can order SJP to pay full redress calculated using FCA DISP Appendix 4 methodology.
Up to £455,000 (post-Apr 2019)The six-year absolute FOS clock runs from the date SJP's advice was given. For DB transfer advice given in 2018 or earlier, this clock has now expired for the FOS route. However, the three-year awareness clock runs from when you first knew or ought to have known about your loss — if you only recently discovered the extent of your shortfall, the awareness clock may still be running. An urgent assessment is recommended. See redressadvisory.com/time-limits for the full limitation framework.
Yes. If SJP's complaint response does not fully redress your loss, you can refer the complaint to the FOS within 6 months of SJP's final response letter. The FOS will conduct an independent assessment and may award more than SJP offered.
Critical yield is the rate of return your SIPP would need to achieve to match what your DB pension would have provided. Where the critical yield was high and the adviser recommended transfer anyway without adequately explaining this, the advice may be found unsuitable by the FOS.
SJP exit charges have been the subject of separate FCA scrutiny. Depending on your circumstances, exit charges may form part of a wider suitability complaint or be the subject of a separate complaint about the charging structure.
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