STJames's Place, the wealth management specialist that is 60-per cent-owned by HBOS, is trimming its sales force under a deal that will allow 99 mortgage advisers to join a rival.
The company said yesterday that the self-employed advisers, known at the firm as partners, had been offered the chance to join specialist mortage network Home of Choice Group as St James's refocuses on its core business.
St James's sells life insurance, pensions and investments to affluent customers.
The wealth manager said the 99 partners in question, out of a total of 1170 at June 30, generated just 1.2-per cent of group sales in the first half of the year. The move will not materially affect St James's 2006 results, the company said.
"The real reasons behind this move are two, " said chief executive Mark Lund.
"One, the advisers will be better off at Home of Choice, because it is a dedicated specialist. And two, we were never designed as a mortage specialist. We are a wealth management business."
In a research note, Cazenove analyst James Pearce said: "The move suggests a high degree of confidence in St James's Place's ability to show continued hiring momentum and bodes well for nine-month sales."
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