TIDMAJB
RNS Number : 3736M
AJ Bell PLC
21 January 2021
21 January 2021
AJ Bell plc
Q1 trading update
AJ Bell plc ("AJ Bell" or the "Company"), one of the UK's
largest investment platforms, today issues a trading update in
respect of the three months ended 31 December 2020.
Performance overview
Total customer numbers increased to 312,309, up 30% over the
last 12 months and 6% in the quarter, with total net inflows in the
quarter of GBP1.6 billion, double the level reported in the first
quarter of the prior year (2019: GBP0.8 billion).
Total assets under administration ("AUA") increased to
GBP62.5bn, up 14% over the last 12 months and 11% in the
quarter.
Platform business
AJ Bell's platform business saw continued strong growth in
customer numbers, net inflows and AUA:
-- Platform customer numbers grew organically by 16,959 in the
quarter, an increase of 88% compared to the first quarter
of the prior year (2019: 9,033)
-- Total platform customers closed at 298,053, up 31% over the
last year and 6% in the quarter
o Advised customers of 112,308, up 12% over the last year
and 3% in the quarter
o D2C customers of 185,745, up 46% over the last year and
8% in the quarter
-- Platform net inflows, representing organic growth in the quarter,
increased by 67% over the prior year to GBP1.5 billion (2019:
GBP0.9 billion)
o Advised net inflows of GBP0.8 billion, up 33% on the prior
year (2019: GBP0.6 billion)
o D2C net inflows of GBP0.7 billion, up 133% on the prior
year (2019: GBP0.3 billion)
-- Platform AUA closed at GBP55.2 billion, up 17% over the last
year and 11% in the quarter
AJ Bell Investments
Reporting for the first time, AJ Bell Investments' assets under
management ("AUM") was GBP1.0 billion as at 31 December 2020, an
increase of 100% over the last 12 months (2019: GBP0.5
billion).
Net inflows of AUM in the quarter were GBP147 million, up 91%
compared to the first quarter of the prior year (2019: GBP77
million).
Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
"We have had a strong start to our financial year as customer
numbers, net inflows, AUA and AUM all showed significant growth in
the quarter. Increased awareness and trust in our brand continued
to attract new advisers and customers to our easy - to - use,
competitively priced platform.
"In the advised market the addition of the Retirement Investment
Account to our existing product range ensures we are highly
competitive on service and price across all client scenarios and
portfolio sizes, which has helped drive strong net inflows of
GBP0.8 billion.
"In the D2C market we continued to see increased demand for our
easy-to-use, low-cost investment platform, enabling our customers
to control and manage their investments and long-term savings.
"We are also making good progress with our investment business
and are pleased to report that assets under management broke
through the GBP1 billion milestone in the quarter, doubling the
value of assets managed compared to a year earlier. Our low-cost,
multi-asset funds are proving to be popular in both the advised and
D2C markets and our managed portfolio service is one of the best
value offerings in the advised market, with an annual management
charge of 0.15% following the recent removal of VAT from our
charges. There is an ever-increasing demand for ESG investment
solutions and the recent launch of the AJ Bell Responsible Growth
fund , our first product in this space, was our most successful
fund launch yet . We will be building on this success with the
launch of a Responsible Managed Portfolio Service for advisers in
the coming months.
"Our market leading platform propositions and investment
solutions position us well to benefit from the need for people to
take control of their long-term financial affairs and we approach
the traditionally busy tax year end period with confidence."
Three months ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
31 December 2020 Platform Platform
Opening customers 108,911 172,183 281,094 14,211 295,305
Closing customers 112,308 185,745 298,053 14,256 312,309
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 36.3 13.4 49.7 6.8 56.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.3 0.9 2.2 0.1 2.3
Outflows(2) (0.5) (0.2) (0.7) - (0.7)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows 0.8 0.7 1.5 0.1 1.6
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) 2.6 1.4 4.0 0.4 4.4
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 39.7 15.5 55.2 7.3 62.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 0.6 0.4 1.0 (4) - 1.0
Three months ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
31 December 2019 Platform Platform
Opening customers 98,056 120,113 218,169 13,897 232,066
Closing customers 100,170 127,032 227,202 13,950 241,152
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 33.8 11.1 44.9 7.4 52.3
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.0 0.5 1.5 - 1.5
Outflows(2) (0.4) (0.2) (0.6) (0.1) (0.7)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 0.6 0.3 0.9 (0.1) 0.8
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) 0.8 0.6 1.4 0.2 1.6
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 35.2 12.0 47.2 7.5 54.7
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 0.2 0.3 0.5 (4) - 0.5
(1) Transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax
relief
(2) T (ransfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax
payments)
(3) Total i (nvestment returns and revaluations, net of charges
and taxes)
(4) Platform AUA which is held in AJ Bell's Funds or Managed
Portfolio Service
Contacts:
AJ Bell
-- Shaun Yates, Head of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7522 235 898
-- Charlie Musson, Head of PR +44 (0) 7834 499 554
Historical customer numbers, AUA and AUM by quarter
Advised Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 31 30 30 31
December March June September December
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
Customers 100,170 103,974 106,335 108,911 112,308
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Opening AUA 33.8 35.2 31.4 35.2 36.3
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Inflows(1) 1.0 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.3
Outflows(2) (0.4) (0.5) (0.3) (0.4) (0.5)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Net inflows 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.8
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.8 (4.7) 3.1 0.5 2.6
Closing AUA 35.2 31.4 35.2 36.3 39.7
---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6
D2C Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 31 30 30 31
December March June September December
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
Customers 127,032 144,100 162,109 172,183 185,745
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Opening AUA 11.1 12.0 10.6 12.5 13.4
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Inflows(1) 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.9
Outflows(2) (0.2) (0.2) (0.2) (0.3) (0.2)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Net inflows 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.3 0.7
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.6 (2.1) 1.1 0.6 1.4
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUA 12.0 10.6 12.5 13.4 15.5
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4
Non-platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 31 30 30 31
December March June September December
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
Customers 13,950 14,105 14,175 14,211 14,256
AUA (GBPbillion)
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Opening AUA 7.4 7.5 6.3 6.6 6.8
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Inflows(1) - - - 0.1 0.1
Outflows(2) (0.1) (0.3) (0.3) (0.1) -
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Net (outflows)/inflows (0.1) (0.3) (0.3) - 0.1
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.2 (0.9) 0.6 0.2 0.4
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUA 7.5 6.3 6.6 6.8 7.3
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Total closing
AUA 54.7 48.3 54.3 56.5 62.5
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
Total closing
AUM 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.8 1.0
------------------------ ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------
(1) Transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax
relief
(2) T (ransfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax
payments)
(3) Total i (nvestment returns and revaluations, net of charges
and taxes)
(4) Platform AUA which is held in AJ Bell's Funds or Managed
Portfolio Service
About AJ Bell:
Established in 1995, AJ Bell is one of the largest investment
platforms in the UK.
We operate in both the advised and direct-to-consumer segments
of the platform market and our flagship platform propositions are
AJ Bell Investcentre (adviser) and AJ Bell Youinvest
(direct-to-consumer).
We offer SIPPs, ISAs and General Investment / Dealing Accounts
which provide access to a broad investment range including shares
and other instruments traded on the major stock exchanges around
the world, as well as all mainstream collective investments
available in the UK and our own range of AJ Bell funds. We also
offer a Cash savings hub which provides access to a range of
competitive savings accounts to help people manage their cash
savings.
We aim to make it easy for our customers to save and invest by
providing them with online tools and information to help them build
and manage their portfolios.
AJ Bell is headquartered in Manchester, UK.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results and
developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these statements. These forward-looking statements are
statements regarding AJ Bell's intentions, beliefs or current
expectations concerning, among other things, its results of
operations, financial condition, prospects, growth, strategies and
the industry in which it operates. By their nature, forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to
events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the
future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
of this announcement and AJ Bell does not undertake any obligation
to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
this announcement.
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