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RNS Number : 8182C
AJ Bell PLC
22 October 2020
22 October 2020
AJ Bell plc
Year-end 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 its financial year ended 30 September 2020.
Performance overview
Total customer numbers increased by 27% in the year to 295,305,
with total assets under administration up 8% to GBP56.5bn. In
comparison, the FTSE All-Share Index fell by 19% in the year.
AJ Bell's growth in the year was driven by the platform
business:
-- Platform customer numbers increased organically by 62,925 to
281,094, up 29% in the year
o Advised customers increased by 10,855 to 108,911, up 11%
in the year
o D2C customers increased by 52,070 to 172,183, up 43% in the
year
-- Platform underlying net inflows, representing organic growth
in the year, increased by 28% versus the prior year to GBP4.1
billion (FY19: GBP3.2 billion)
o Advised underlying net inflows of GBP2.0 billion, up 11%
on the prior year
o D2C underlying net inflows of GBP2.1 billion, up 50% on the
prior year
-- Platform AUA closed at GBP49.7 billion, up 11% in the last
year
Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
"We are pleased to report another year of strong growth in
customers and assets under administration, delivered against a
continuing backdrop of extreme market volatility and significant
disruption to people's lives caused by COVID-19. Our focus on the
needs of our customers and our easy-to-use platform has fuelled a
29% increase in platform customers, with particularly strong
progress made in the direct-to-consumer market. Inflows also rose
markedly, resulting in a robust increase in assets under
administration despite heavy falls on the UK stock market.
"Our operational resilience has shone through since the
coronavirus pandemic hit the UK and we were able to adapt quickly
to ensure we continued to meet the needs of customers and advisers.
Our staff continue to do a fantastic job during this very difficult
time and the growth of the business that we are reporting today
could not have been delivered without their resilience and
outstanding work.
"We continued to enhance our platform propositions this year as
part of our growth strategy. Our Retirement Investment Account is a
new streamlined pension product which has been very popular with
financial advisers. More recently we launched our Cash savings hub
to help retail investors generate better returns on their cash
savings at a time when NS&I and major retail banks have cut
their interest rates. We have experienced a number of economic
cycles during our 25-year history and have a track record of
increasing AUA year after year in all market conditions. Our
platform propositions remain well positioned to continue delivering
strong growth in both the advised and D2C markets."
Notice of annual results
AJ Bell expects to announce its full results for the year ended
30 September 2020 on 3 December 2020.
Year ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
30 September 2020 Platform GBPbillion Platform GBPbillion GBPbillion
GBPbillion GBPbillion
Opening AUA 33.8 11.1 44.9 7.4 52.3
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Underlying inflows(1) 3.6 3.0 6.6 0.1 6.7
Outflows(2) (1.6) (0.9) (2.5) (0.8) (3.3)
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Underlying net inflows/(outflows) 2.0 2.1 4.1 (0.7) 3.4
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
DB inflows(3) 0.8 - 0.8 - 0.8
Total net inflows/(outflows) 2.8 2.1 4.9 (0.7) 4.2
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Market and other movements(4) (0.3) 0.2 (0.1) 0.1 -
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Closing AUA 36.3 13.4 49.7 6.8 56.5
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Opening customers 98,056 120,113 218,169 13,897 232,066
Closing customers 108,911 172,183 281,094 14,211 295,305
Year ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
30 September 2019 Platform GBPbillion Platform GBPbillion GBPbillion
GBPbillion GBPbillion
Opening AUA 29.9 8.7 38.6 7.5 46.1
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Underlying inflows(1) 3.4 2.0 5.4 0.1 5.5
Outflows(2) (1.6) (0.6) (2.2) (0.5) (2.7)
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Underlying net inflows 1.8 1.4 3.2 (0.4) 2.8
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
DB inflows(3) 0.9 - 0.9 - 0.9
Migration inflows(5) - 0.2 0.2 - 0.2
Total net inflows/(outflows) 2.7 1.6 4.3 (0.4) 3.9
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Market and other movements(4) 1.2 0.8 2.0 0.3 2.3
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Closing AUA 33.8 11.1 44.9 7.4 52.3
----------------------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- -------------
Opening customers 88,658 94,555 183,213 14,699 197,912
Closing customers 98,056 120,113 218,169 13,897 232,066
(1) Includes transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax
relief, excluding inflows from DB pension transfers and bulk
migrations
(2) Includes (transfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax
payments)
(3) Inflows to the advised platform from defined benefit pension
transfers. It is anticipated that this figure will not be shown
separately in future updates
(4) Includes (charges, taxes deducted, investment returns and
revaluations)
(5) AJ Bell plc shares held by employees and former employees of
the Company, which were migrated onto the D2C Platform ahead of
IPO
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 AUA and customer numbers by quarter
Advised Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
AUA (GBPbillion) September December March June September
2019 2019 2020 2020 2020
Opening AUA 32.8 33.8 35.2 31.4 35.2
----------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Underlying inflows(1) 0.9 0.8 1.2 0.8 0.8
Outflows(2) (0.4) (0.4) (0.5) (0.3) (0.4)
----------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Underlying net
inflows 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4
----------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
DB inflows(3) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Total net inflows 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.6
----------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(4) 0.3 0.8 (4.7) 3.1 0.5
Closing AUA 33.8 35.2 31.4 35.2 36.3
----------- ---------- -------- --------
Customers 98,056 100,170 103,974 106,335 108,911
D2C Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
AUA (GBPbillion) September December March June September
2019 2019 2020 2020 2020
Opening AUA 10.6 11.1 12.0 10.6 12.5
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Inflows(1) 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.6
Outflows(2) (0.2) (0.2) (0.2) (0.2) (0.3)
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Net inflows 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.3
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(4) 0.2 0.6 (2.1) 1.1 0.6
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUA 11.1 12.0 10.6 12.5 13.4
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Customers 120,113 127,032 144,100 162,109 172,183
Non-platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
AUA (GBPbillion) September December March June September
2019 2019 2020 2020 2020
Opening AUA 7.3 7.4 7.5 6.3 6.6
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------- -----------
Inflows(1) - - - - 0.1
Outflows(2) (0.1) (0.1) (0.3) (0.3) (0.1)
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------- -----------
Net outflows (0.1) (0.1) (0.3) (0.3) -
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------- -----------
Market and other
movements(4) 0.2 0.2 (0.9) 0.6 0.2
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------- -----------
Closing AUA 7.4 7.5 6.3 6.6 6.8
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------- -----------
Customers 13,897 13,950 14,105 14,175 14,211
Total closing
AUA 52.3 54.7 48.3 54.3 56.5
------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------- -----------
(1) Includes transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax
relief, excluding inflows from DB pension transfers
(2) Includes (transfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax
payments)
(3) Inflows to the advised platform from defined benefit pension
transfers. It is anticipated that this figure will not be shown
separately in future updates
(4) Includes (charges, taxes deducted, investment returns and
revaluations)
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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END
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