Wealth manager St James’s Place (SJP) has adjusted its portfolio positioning to maintain ‘resilience in a late-cycle market environment.
The Investment team have introduced an allocation to emerging market debt across portfolios. Whilst its overall stance on emerging market debt remains neutral, SJP believes it represents a structurally underrepresented segment of global government bond markets and provides valuable diversification benefits to a portfolio.
It has also reduced exposure to higher-risk credit assets in developed markets, where spreads have become increasingly tight, and reallocated towards UK equities and government bonds. The wealth manager said these areas offer stronger fundamentals and more attractive compensation for risk, supporting portfolio stability while maintaining return potential.
The wealth manager said the changes would help its portfolios be in a better position ‘to navigate uncertainty’, focusing on valuations, diversification and resilience ‘rather than chasing returns’.
The changes have been implemented across SJPs fund-of-fund ranges including Polaris 1 and 2, Polaris Multi-Index 1 and 2 and the three in retirement funds.
Robin Ellis, director of multi-asset portfolio management at St. James’s Place, said: “Late-cycle environments demand discipline. Our recent portfolio changes reflect a deliberate focus on valuations, diversification and resilience rather than chasing returns.
“By trimming areas where risks are poorly compensated and reallocating towards assets with stronger fundamentals, we believe portfolios are better positioned to navigate uncertainty while remaining focused on long-term outcomes for clients.”
SJP grew significantly in 2025, with funds under management passing £200bn for the first time.
The wealth manager scrapped most exit charges in a major pricing overhaul in the second half of 2025, having come under intense pressure from several quarters in 2023.
Former Prudential group CEO Mark FitzPatrick joined the firm in December 2023 and has spent his time since then trying to turn the company around through a £500m cost-cutting programme and an overhaul of its fund range and charges.