Wealth manager and Financial Planner St James’s Place (SJP) has upgraded its financial crime defences with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution.

SJP said the tool has enabled it to deal with the recent introduction of sanctions against Russia more effectively.

The wealth manager has partnered with financial crime compliance solutions fintech Napier to update its client and entity screening capabilities.

The AI-enhanced screening solution enables large-scale ongoing customer screening and re-screening.

Using the solution SJP can screen clients and other entities against a global watch list of sanctions, politically exposed persons, adverse media, and internal whitelists and blacklists.

Chris Thomas, group money laundering reporting officer at St. James’s Place, said: “We are very pleased with the performance of the system to date. It enabled us to deal with the introduction of sanctions against Russia very effectively. At SJP we prioritise offering the most secure and compliant financial services solutions, and part of that commitment is investing in the best and most robust technologies available to always stay one step ahead of financial criminals.

“The fact that we are now able to undertake daily screening means that management of the operational workflow is far more efficient. The system offers greater flexibility than the previous one, and there are lots of opportunities for further automation of the review and decisioning process.”

The Napier platform can be delivered via public cloud, private cloud, or on premise.

The addition of the financial crime AI-enhanced solution is the latest in a series of technology updates for SJP.

The wealth manager is currently in the process of launching its first mobile application for clients and advisers. 

The app will be launched to the firm’s 900,000 clients within the next few weeks.

SJP said the app would make it easier for clients and advisers to collaborate, while freeing up time for advisers.