TIDMAJB
RNS Number : 7268P
AJ Bell PLC
21 October 2021
21 October 2021
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 2021.
Performance overview
Total customer numbers increased by 30% in the year to 382,754,
with total net inflows in the year up 52% to GBP6.4 billion (FY20:
GBP4.2 billion).
Total assets under administration ("AUA") increased by 29% in
the year to close at GBP72.8 billion (FY20: GBP56.5 billion). In
comparison, the FTSE All-Share Index rose by 24% and the MSCI World
Index rose by 27% in the year.
Platform business
AJ Bell's platform business once again delivered strong organic
growth in customers, net inflows and AUA during the year:
-- Total platform customers increased by 86,871 to close at 367,965,
up 31% in the year
o Advised customers increased by 18,009 to close at 126,920, up
17% in the year
o D2C customers increased by 68,862 to close at 241,045, up 40%
in the year
-- Platform net inflows increased by 43% on the prior year to GBP7.0
billion (FY20: GBP4.9 billion)
o Advised net inflows of GBP3.8 billion, up 36% on the prior year
(FY20: GBP2.8 billion)
o D2C net inflows of GBP3.2 billion, up 52% on the prior year (FY20:
GBP2.1 billion)
-- Platform AUA closed at GBP65.3 billion, up 31% in the year (FY20:
GBP49.7 billion)
AJ Bell Investments
-- Assets under management ("AUM") increased by 175% to GBP2.2 billion
(FY20: GBP0.8 billion)
-- Total net inflows in the year were GBP1,175 million, including the
one-off inflow of GBP253 million reported in Q3, up 185% on the
prior year (FY20: GBP412 million)
-- The one-off inflow noted above relates to a short-term investment
management agreement ahead of a bulk annuity purchase. This agreement
is expected to conclude in the quarter ending 31 December 2021,
which will result in a one-off outflow
Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
"We have delivered another year of strong organic growth with
total net inflows up 52%, AUA up 29% and customer numbers up 30%,
compared to the previous year.
"Our award-winning platform propositions, serving both the
advised and D2C markets, enable us to capitalise on strong customer
demand for long-term investment products, whether that be advised
or self-managed.
"GBP3.8 billion of platform net inflows were in the advised
market where the breadth and value of our proposition enables
financial advisers to deliver solutions that meet the differing
needs of their clients at a highly competitive price. This
represents growth of 36% in net inflows compared to the prior year,
with customer numbers up 17%.
"GBP3.2 billion of platform net inflows were in the
direct-to-consumer market where we have seen very strong demand
from retail investors throughout the pandemic. Customer growth of
40% in the year helped to drive a 52% increase in net inflows
compared to the previous year, with the majority of this being in
ISAs and pensions as customers focus on building long-term, tax
efficient investment portfolios.
"Following the gradual easing of COVID restrictions over the
course of the summer, we have seen retail trading activity return
to more normal levels compared to the peaks seen earlier in the
year. However, we are pleased that our key drivers of long-term
growth, namely customer numbers and net inflows, have continued
strongly. In the final quarter of our financial year, net new
platform customers increased by 16% and platform net inflows
increased by 78% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2020.
"Demand for our investment solutions has also continued to build
across both the advised and direct-to-consumer markets. Our managed
portfolio service is growing in popularity with advisers as they
recognise our focus on charges, choice and communication and we
have recently added the service to four external platforms to
further increase its availability. In the D2C market, our
multi-asset funds continue to prove popular as customers seek
low-cost investment solutions that are managed for them in line
with their risk profile."
Notice of annual results
AJ Bell expects to announce its full results for the year ended
30 September 2021 on 2 December 2021.
Year ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
30 September 2021 Platform Platform
Opening customers 108,911 172,183 281,094 14,211 295,305
Closing customers 126,920 241,045 367,965 14,789 382,754
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 36.3 13.4 49.7 6.8 56.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 6.3 4.6 10.9 0.2 11.1
Outflows(2) (2.5) (1.4) (3.9) (0.8) (4.7)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 3.8 3.2 7.0 (0.6) 6.4
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) 5.7 2.9 8.6 1.3 9.9
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 45.8 19.5 65.3 7.5 72.8
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 1.3 0.8 2.1 (4) 0.1(5) 2.2
Year ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
30 September 2020 Platform Platform
Opening customers 98,056 120,113 218,169 13,897 232,066
Closing customers 108,911 172,183 281,094 14,211 295,305
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 33.8 11.1 44.9 7.4 52.3
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 4.4 3.0 7.4 0.1 7.5
Outflows(2) (1.6) (0.9) (2.5) (0.8) (3.3)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 2.8 2.1 4.9 (0.7) 4.2
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) (0.3) 0.2 (0.1) 0.1 -
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 36.3 13.4 49.7 6.8 56.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 0.4 0.4 0.8 (4) - 0.8
(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
(5) Assets which are held in AJ Bell's Funds or Managed
Portfolio Service via third-party platforms
Contacts:
AJ Bell
-- Shaun Yates, Investor Relations Director +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
30 31 31 30 30
September December March June September
2020 2020 2021 2021 2021
Customers 108,911 112,308 118,509 122,757 126,920
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Opening AUA 35.2 36.3 39.7 41.1 44.2
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Inflows(1) 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.8 1.7
Outflows(2) (0.4) (0.5) (0.6) (0.7) (0.7)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Net inflows 0.6 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.0
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.5 2.6 0.5 2.0 0.6
Closing AUA 36.3 39.7 41.1 44.2 45.8
----------- ---------- -------- --------
Closing AUM(4) 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.3
D2C Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
September December March June September
2020 2020 2021 2021 2021
Customers 172,183 185,745 213,767 230,542 241,045
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Opening AUA 12.5 13.4 15.5 16.9 18.9
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Inflows(1) 0.6 0.9 1.3 1.4 1.0
Outflows(2) (0.3) (0.2) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Net inflows 0.3 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.6
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.6 1.4 0.5 1.0 -
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUA 13.4 15.5 16.9 18.9 19.5
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8
Non-platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
September December March June September
2020 2020 2021 2021 2021
Customers 14,211 14,256 14,521 14,734 14,789
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Opening AUA 6.6 6.8 7.3 7.2 7.3
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Inflows(1) 0.1 0.1 - 0.1 -
Outflows(2) (0.1) - (0.3) (0.4) (0.1)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Net inflows/(outflows) - 0.1 (0.3) (0.3) (0.1)
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.3
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Closing AUA 6.8 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.5
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Closing AUM(5) - - - 0.1 0.1
Total closing
AUA 56.5 62.5 65.2 70.4 72.8
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
Total closing
AUM 0.8 1.0 1.4 2.0 2.2
-------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- -----------
(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
(5) Assets which are held in AJ Bell's Funds or Managed
Portfolio Service via third-party platforms
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, with offices in
London and Bristol.
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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