Partially upheld: General financial advice complaint against St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6475263 of 2026-07-06T00:00:00+00:00. General financial advice complaint against St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6475263 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-07-06T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc |
| Product | Pension |
| Claim type | General financial advice |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | SJPWM must refund the 0.5% ongoing advice fees taken from March 2017 to February 2021 and from March 2023 to May 2024, with lost investment growth calculated using RA performance from date charges were taken to final decision date. Compensation should be paid into pension plan if possible (allowing for charges and tax relief), or as lump sum with 15% notional tax reduction if not. SJPWM must pay £350 total compensation for distress and inconvenience (comprising £200 already offered plus £150 offered in December 2024 response). Payment must be made within 28 days with 8% simple interest if paid later. |
Summary
Mr S complained about the quality of service from SJPWM regarding his Retirement Account, which he funded with £185,000 from transferred pensions in March 2017. He paid 0.5% annually for ongoing advice including promised annual reviews. Mr S's concerns were triggered when his adviser failed to respond to emails in May-June 2023 regarding adverse media coverage. The ombudsman found SJPWM failed to provide adequate annual reviews in most years despite charging for them, as regular contact points were separately charged ad-hoc advice services. Only reviews in March 2021 and February 2023 were adequately evidenced. The complaint was partially upheld, requiring refund of ongoing fees for periods without documented reviews (March 2017-February 2021 and March 2023-May 2024) plus lost investment growth, and £350 compensation for distress and inconvenience.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that while SJPWM provided regular contact with Mr S, most of this contact related to separately charged ad-hoc advice on additional contributions rather than the annual reviews Mr S was paying for through the 0.5% ongoing fee. The ombudsman distinguished between ad-hoc advice (separately charged) and annual reviews (covered by ongoing fee). Evidence of review meetings in March 2021 and February 2023 satisfied the requirement for those years, but no adequate reviews were evidenced for March 2017 to February 2021 and March 2023 to May 2024. The ombudsman rejected complaints about fund performance (not guaranteed and influenced by market factors) and fee transparency (clearly disclosed in point of sale documentation). The failure to respond to emails for over 5 weeks was poor service but the £200 compensation offered was fair.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc, all decisions | 690 | 26% |
| General financial advice, all decisions | 4,854 | 36% |
| Pension, all decisions | 15,621 | 47% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website