London, June 16, 2026, 11:03 BST
- Rathbones shares dropped around 16% in London after the company put out a regulatory update tied to an FCA-requested skilled person review.
- The wealth manager sees around £60 million in non-underlying costs over two years. It also expects the new pricing to cut 2026 underlying pre-tax profit by £9 million.
- Investors look to interim results set for July 29. Attention is also on remediation progress, client flows, and if the £20 million buyback moves forward.
Rathbones Group PLC shares plunged Tuesday, dropping 15.98% to 1,640p by 10:47 BST, after the firm said a skilled person review flagged issues in its UK Wealth Management division. The stock slid to a new 52-week low of 1,590p earlier, according to Investors Chronicle citing LSEG data. Fidelity prices at 10:39 BST showed a 1,624p sell and 1,632p buy, with shares off 16.39% for the day. Investors Chronicle
Rathbones shares fell as investors zeroed in on profit outlook and confidence. The company said its Financial Conduct Authority review is finished. The watchdog told Rathbones to boost its work on Consumer Duty, compliance, oversight, and controls. Consumer Duty requires firms to get good outcomes for clients. Rathbones plans to spend two years on fixes, check some client files, and pause taking new Enhanced Due Diligence clients for up to a year. EDD means more checks on higher-risk clients. TradingView
Rathbones shares slipped after investors took issue with its latest numbers. The firm brought in about £370 million in gross inflows from new EDD clients in the past year, and another £530 million from existing EDD clients, although some of those accounts saw inflows stopped for general investment accounts. The two groups add up to around 4,700 clients, or about 4% of Rathbones’ 119,000 total. Rathbones said it expects to book £60 million in costs over two years, net of planned insurance recovery, and will record these charges as non-underlying items, outside of normal operating profit. Management called the costs unusual and not linked to the core business. TradingView
Rathbones shares slipped again. The company will cut investment management fees on cash in discretionary portfolios starting July 1 as it reviews pricing and fair value. The move is set to lower underlying pre-tax profit by about £9 million in 2026. CEO Jonathan Sorrell said Rathbones is “committed to operating to the highest standards on behalf of our clients.” The dividend policy stays in place. Rathbones’ planned £20 million buyback now has Prudential Regulation Authority sign-off and will kick off soon. TradingView
Rathbones backers point to its size, steady capital returns, and strong fee income. The group last month posted first-quarter operating income of £240.7 million, up 9.4% from last year. Funds under management and administration hit £113.6 billion. That’s the fee-generating asset base for the wealth manager. The analyst consensus Rathbones published on May 20 predicted 2026 underlying pre-tax profit of £261.8 million and a 108p dividend, both set before Tuesday’s regulatory news. Rathbones
Rathbones bear case stacks up after Tuesday: trust, flows, leverage all take damage. Halting higher-risk client business drags on gross inflows, and the fee tweak cuts into profit. The two-year fix leaves investor sentiment in limbo. Shares change hands at about 18.7 times trailing earnings and yield 5.1%. Cheaper now than before, but there’s no easy story here. Rathbones is a tough hold at the moment. The market needs to see outflows ease, check if the £60 million guess holds up, and wait for the July 29 interims to test if the main business is as stable as management hopes, while regulatory noise rolls on. Investors Chronicle
