St James’s Place is seeking regulatory approval to wind up its SJP Diversified Assets Fund closure, having concluded that the £1.4 billion vehicle no longer has a long-term role within its investment proposition. The wealth manager has suspended the Diversified Assets (FAIF) Unit Trust and submitted an application to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to formally close it.
SJP attributed the decision to a strategic review and what it described as a ‘shift in demand’ for the strategy as the alternatives and private markets landscape has evolved. For investors holding units in the fund, the immediate question is how an orderly wind-up of a £1.4 billion private assets vehicle will be managed, and on what timeline.
SJP Diversified Assets Fund closure: what the outflows signal
The scale of client redemptions preceding this announcement is instructive. According to Citywire, clients pulled more than £800m from the Diversified Assets Fund over 12 months, reducing the fund from its peak well before any formal closure process began. That level of sustained outflow from a single fund is rarely a quiet administrative matter; it reflects investors reassessing whether illiquid, private-market exposure belongs in their portfolios at all.
For those approaching or already in retirement, this episode is a useful reminder of a structural tension in private assets funds: liquidity constraints can sit uncomfortably alongside drawdown needs. A fund that cannot be exited quickly creates sequence-of-returns risk for anyone relying on it as part of an income strategy. The FCA’s approval process for the wind-up will determine how smoothly remaining investors can realise their holdings, and over what period.
Portfolio construction in the alternatives space has shifted considerably in recent years, and SJP’s decision reflects a broader industry conversation about whether retail-accessible private markets wrappers are genuinely suited to the clients who hold them. Anyone reviewing their own exposure to similar vehicles would be well served by examining the redemption terms, the valuation frequency, and whether the illiquidity premium on offer justifies the constraints placed on access.
Scottish Friendly appoints CFO ahead of OneFamily merger
Scottish Friendly has appointed Scott McNeill as its new chief financial officer, with the move coming ahead of the mutual’s proposed merger with OneFamily. The combined entity is described as set to become one of the UK’s largest mutual life assurance groups, subject to regulatory approval.
McNeill is currently chief actuary at Scottish Friendly and will succeed Alan Rankine, who is leaving to pursue another opportunity. On appointment, McNeill will take responsibility for the finance function and join the board as an executive director. Promoting an internal candidate to the CFO role during a complex merger process carries its own logic: continuity of financial governance matters when two balance sheets are being brought together and regulators are scrutinising the combined group’s capital position.
For policyholders and savers with products at either Scottish Friendly or OneFamily, the priority will be understanding what the merger means for their existing arrangements, their with-profits exposure if applicable, and how the enlarged group intends to manage costs and capital over the medium term. Mergers between mutual life offices can deliver genuine efficiencies, but they also concentrate counterparty exposure, and members would be prudent to monitor communications from both organisations as the approval process progresses.
Separately, Quilter Cheviot has confirmed that Fergus Caheny will join as head of London in January 2027, moving from Evelyn Partners where he has been a managing partner for four years, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in wealth management. Louise Williams will join as finance director in November from Aberdeen Adviser. Chief financial and operating officer Paul Barnacle is to leave Quilter Cheviot later this year after 20 years with the business, with the firm also recruiting a new chief operating officer.
