FTSE 100 Live: Schroders in £10bn deal; UK economic growth lags

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog.

It was another record day for the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, which secured its highest close of all time.

On a strong day for commodity-related stocks in London, London’s blue-chip index closed 1.14 per cent higher at 10,472p.

But it wasn’t all cheery in the City as Britain’s biggest wealth group, St James’s Place, suffered a 14 per cent drop, sinking to 1,250p after US-based wealth management platform Altruist launched a tool to help financial advisers personalise clients’ investment strategies.

The development from the Los Angeles-headquartered company spooked investors, sparking fear across the market about how technological advancements may undermine the traditional aspects of the industry.

St James’s Place was not the only UK company in the firing line, as AJ Bell’s share price slumped eight per cent to 419.40p.

It was a major blow for the industry, which have seen a surge in inflows in recent months.

St James’s Place reported a 19 per cent year on year increase in its latest results, with inflows reaching £21.8bn, as the company looked to move past its turbulent 2024.

Elsewhere, AJ Bell recorded inflows of £4.6bn in the first quarter, while Quilter reported a 21 per cent year on year increase to £2.4bn in the final quarter of 2025.

Still, the moves didn’t do enough to stop a number of City heavyweights taking the FTSE 100 to another new high.

Will the index’s march continue again today with the latest release of GDP data?

We’ll be bringing you the top news and analysis of the morning.

Here’s a few of our top stories from yesterday:

• Lib Dems would scrap Treasury for ‘Department for Growth’
• Activist investor Elliott builds up stake in LSEG
• Are century bonds back in vogue? A brief history
• Mandelson’s Global Counsel loses more clients as Epstein scandal deepens
• Heathrow warns on losing European crown without expansion
• UK AI plans fall short without backing home firms, warns UKAI
• Luxury watch theft hits record high of £1.7bn