Ann: St James's Place Mandate, page-190

Specifically in regards to staff defections and resignations, at this point the team is due for a clear-out and a change in direction. I don't think Hamish is a muppet and ultimately can return to some kind of form, but perhaps for both management and in terms of the underlings fresh blood is what the company requires. I personally don't buy into the idea that the majority of those working for the company are worth anything more than a generic, not particularly prestigious super fund. Hamish is critical because quite frankly he IS the company, however its very much likely the rest of the team could be churned out and flipped without a visible change to performance.

I also very much believe its important for changes to the board such that there is some push back and forth in terms of overall strategy and macro interpretations of the market. From my perspective Hamish was living in a bubble in the past 18 months and perhaps no one at the company was willing to offer that devils advocate when it was most needed.

Outside of this, good overall analysis in my opinion and pinpointing a broad range of risks and potential issues that may arise going forward. I also appreciate your emphasis on brand and confidence as being the single most critical issue, because that is ultimately what drives the value of the company and that is always going to be defined by outperformance and actions during crisis situations like 2020.