At first sight, the connection between St James’s Place and Rothschild is obvious.

27 St James’s Place in London is the home of J Rothschild Capital Management, an investment management company chaired by Lord Jacob Rothschild. It is best known for providing investment management and administration services to RIT Capital Partners, a London-listed investment company with a net asset value of around £2.30 billion.

But there is also a connection between Lord Rothschild and St James’s Place (SJP), one of the UK’s biggest specialist wealth management firms.

Between 1992 and 1997, when it reversed into St ...