TIDMAJB
RNS Number : 0126Z
AJ Bell PLC
20 January 2022
20 January 2022
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 2021.
Performance overview
Total customer numbers increased to 398,066, up 27% over the
last year and 4% in the quarter, with total net inflows in the
quarter of GBP1.3 billion.
Total assets under administration ("AUA") increased to GBP75.6
billion, up 21% over the last year and 4% in the quarter. Over the
same quarter the FTSE All-Share Index rose by 3.7%.
This performance was delivered against a very different market
backdrop to that seen in the comparative quarter last year, when
stricter government restrictions helped to drive AJ Bell's total
customer growth, gross inflows and net inflows to record levels.
The continued growth in Q1 evidences the resilience of the AJ Bell
business model in different market conditions and was again driven
by the Company's platform propositions and investment business.
Platform business
-- Customer numbers increased by 15,309 in the quarter to close at 383,274,
up 29% in the last year and 4% in the quarter
o Advised customers of 131,610, up 17% in the last year and 4% in the
quarter
o D2C customers of 251,664, up 35% in the last year and 4% in the quarter
-- AUA closed at GBP68.1 billion, up 23% in the last year and 4% in the quarter
-- Gross inflows in the quarter of GBP2.7 billion, up 23% on the prior year
(2020: GBP2.2 billion)
-- Net inflows of GBP1.4 billion, down 7% on the prior year (2020: GBP1.5
billion). This was due to an exceptional bulk annuity purchase, previously
signalled in the FY21 year-end trading update in October, which resulted
in a one-off outflow of GBP241 million from both advised platform AUA
and AJ Bell Investments AUM in the quarter
o Advised net inflows of GBP0.6 billion in the quarter. Excluding the
impact of the exceptional outflow, underlying net inflows were GBP0.9
billion, up 13% on the prior year (2020: GBP0.8 billion)
o D2C net inflows of GBP0.8 billion in the quarter, up 14% on the prior
year (2020: GBP0.7 billion)
AJ Bell Investments
-- Assets under management ("AUM") closed at GBP2.1 billion, up 110% over
the last year and down 5% in the quarter due to the GBP241 million exceptional
outflow explained above
-- Excluding the impact of this one-off outflow, underlying net inflows in
the quarter were GBP182 million (2020: GBP147 million)
Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
"We have had a solid start to our new financial year with
customer numbers, gross inflows and assets under administration all
growing steadily. We continue to see strong demand for our easy to
use, low-cost platform across both the advised and
direct-to-consumer markets.
"In the advised market we had our second-best quarter ever for
customer acquisition with 4,690 net new advised customers added in
the quarter, 38% more than in the same period last year. Gross
inflows of GBP1.6 billion to our advised platform were 23% higher
than the comparative period and underlying net inflows were robust
in what is normally a quieter period for asset flows.
"The direct-to-consumer market continues to grow strongly, with
increasing numbers of people being drawn to the benefits of
personal investing. In the quarter we delivered further growth in
D2C customers and AUA and are now entrusted with over GBP20 billion
of assets by a quarter of a million retail investors.
"Our trusted brand and easy to use platform propositions,
supported by our increasingly popular investment solutions, ensure
that we are well positioned to deliver further growth in both the
advised and D2C markets and we approach the traditionally busy tax
year end period with optimism."
Three months ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
31 December 2021 Platform Platform
Opening customers 126,920 241,045 367,965 14,789 382,754
Closing customers 131,610 251,664 383,274 14,792 398,066
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 45.8 19.5 65.3 7.5 72.8
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.6 1.1 2.7 0.1 2.8
Outflows(2) (1.0) (0.3) (1.3) (0.2) (1.5)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 0.6 0.8 1.4 (0.1) 1.3
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) 1.1 0.3 1.4 0.1 1.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 47.5 20.6 68.1 7.5 75.6
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 1.2 0.9 2.1 (4) - 2.1
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
(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, Investor Relations
-- Director +44 (0) 7522 235 898
Charlie Musson, Brand and PR
-- Director +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
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
Customers 112,308 118,509 122,757 126,920 131,610
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Opening AUA 36.3 39.7 41.1 44.2 45.8
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Inflows(1) 1.3 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.6
Outflows(2) (0.5) (0.6) (0.7) (0.7) (1.0)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Net inflows 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.6
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Market and other
movements(3) 2.6 0.5 2.0 0.6 1.1
Closing AUA 39.7 41.1 44.2 45.8 47.5
---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.2
D2C Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 31 30 30 31
December March June September December
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
Customers 185,745 213,767 230,542 241,045 251,664
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Opening AUA 13.4 15.5 16.9 18.9 19.5
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Inflows(1) 0.9 1.3 1.4 1.0 1.1
Outflows(2) (0.2) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3)
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Net inflows 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.8
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Market and other
movements(3) 1.4 0.5 1.0 - 0.3
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUA 15.5 16.9 18.9 19.5 20.6
-------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Non-platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 31 30 30 31
December March June September December
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
Customers 14,256 14,521 14,734 14,789 14,792
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Opening AUA 6.8 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.5
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Inflows(1) 0.1 - 0.1 - 0.1
Outflows(2) - (0.3) (0.4) (0.1) (0.2)
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Net inflows/(outflows) 0.1 (0.3) (0.3) (0.1) (0.1)
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.1
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUA 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.5
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUM(5) - - 0.1 0.1 -
Total closing
AUA 62.5 65.2 70.4 72.8 75.6
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
Total closing
AUM 1.0 1.4 2.0 2.2 2.1
-------------------------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
(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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END
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