TIDMAJB
RNS Number : 8147I
AJ Bell PLC
21 April 2022
21 April 2022
AJ Bell plc
Q2 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 March 2022.
Performance overview
Total customer numbers increased to 418,309, up 21% over the
last year and 5% in the quarter, with total net inflows in the
quarter of GBP1.5 billion.
Total assets under administration ("AUA") closed at GBP74.1
billion, up 14% over the last year but down 2% in the quarter due
to adverse market and other movements of 4%. During the quarter the
FTSE All-Share Index fell by 0.5% whilst the MSCI World Index fell
by 5.5%.
The customer growth and net inflows delivered in Q2 once again
evidence the resilience of the AJ Bell business model across
different market conditions. The comparative quarter last year was
exceptionally strong as consumers invested excess cash savings
built up during Covid lockdowns, whereas this year they have been
faced with increased market uncertainty caused by factors including
inflationary pressure on the cost of living and the war in
Ukraine.
Despite the challenging market backdrop, the AJ Bell platform
has continued to attract and retain high quality customers, with
over three-quarters of new accounts being tax-advantaged pensions
or ISAs and platform customer retention remaining high at 95%.
Platform business
-- Customer numbers increased by 20,109 in the quarter to close
at 403,383, up 21% in the last year and 5% in the quarter
o Advised customers of 137,201, up 16% in the last year and
4% in the quarter
o D2C customers of 266,182, up 25% in the last year and 6%
in the quarter
-- AUA closed at GBP66.9 billion, up 15% in the last year and
down 2% in the quarter
-- Gross inflows in the quarter of GBP2.7 billion (2021: GBP2.8
billion)
-- Net inflows in the quarter of GBP1.6 billion (2021: GBP1.8
billion)
AJ Bell Investments
-- Assets under management ("AUM") closed at GBP2.3 billion,
up 64% over the last year and up 10% in the quarter
-- Net inflows in the quarter were GBP223 million (2021: GBP311
million)
Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
"Our dual-channel platform, serving the growing advised and D2C
platform markets, attracted over 20,000 new customers and
significant net inflows during Q2 despite weakened investor
sentiment. In the last year we have grown platform customer numbers
by 21% and platform AUA by 15%, demonstrating the strength of our
business model across different market conditions.
"Although our D2C customers invested slightly less via our
platform than in the comparative period as they assess the impact
of the rising cost of living, net inflows to our advised platform
remained on par with last year, which was a strong comparative. Net
platform inflows of GBP1.6 billion is an encouraging result given
the uncertain market backdrop.
"Our in-house investment solutions remain popular across our
platform propositions and continued to perform strongly, delivering
net inflows of GBP223 million during the quarter. Our first five
multi-asset funds recently passed their fifth anniversary, an
important performance milestone particularly for advisers.
Performance of all five funds was in the top 30% when compared
against their peer groups, with four being in the top quintile.
Since launching these funds in 2017 we have shared the benefits of
our increasing scale with customers, reducing the Ongoing Charges
Figure from 50bps to 31bps during that time.
"This week we launched a new investing app called Dodl by AJ
Bell which expands our offering to DIY investors. It offers all the
main tax wrappers and a simplified investment range to help people
select funds and shares for their portfolio. With an annual charge
of just 0.15% and no commission for buying or selling investments,
Dodl is a low-cost proposition perfectly suited to individuals who
want an easy way to invest for their future. We believe it will be
particularly attractive to the 8.6m adults in the UK who hold more
than GBP10,000 of investible assets in cash, especially in the
current climate of rising inflation where cash savings are being
eroded in real terms due to the low interest rates available.
"The launch of Dodl in the consumer market will be complemented
by the launch of Touch by AJ Bell, our simplified platform
currently being developed for the advised market. These
developments will broaden our reach in both the advised and D2C
segments, keeping us at the forefront of the platform market and
positioning us well to continue gaining market share."
Notice of interim results
AJ Bell expects to announce its full results for the six months
ended 31 March 2022 on Thursday 26 May 2022.
Three months ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
31 March 2022 Platform Platform
Opening customers 131,610 251,664 383,274 14,792 398,066
Closing customers 137,201 266,182 403,383 14,926 418,309
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 47.5 20.6 68.1 7.5 75.6
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.6 1.1 2.7 - 2.7
Outflows(2) (0.7) (0.4) (1.1) (0.1) (1.2)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 0.9 0.7 1.6 (0.1) 1.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) (1.9) (0.9) (2.8) (0.2) (3.0)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 46.5 20.4 66.9 7.2 74.1
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 1.4 0.9 2.3 (4) - 2.3
Three months ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform Total
31 March 2021 Platform Platform
Opening customers 112,308 185,745 298,053 14,256 312,309
Closing customers 118,509 213,767 332,276 14,521 346,797
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 39.7 15.5 55.2 7.3 62.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.5 1.3 2.8 - 2.8
Outflows(2) (0.6) (0.4) (1.0) (0.3) (1.3)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 0.9 0.9 1.8 (0.3) 1.5
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) 0.5 0.5 1.0 0.2 1.2
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 41.1 16.9 58.0 7.2 65.2
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 0.8 0.6 1.4 (4) - 1.4
(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 30 30 31 31
March June September December March
2021 2021 2021 2021 2022
Customers 118,509 122,757 126,920 131,610 137,201
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Opening AUA 39.7 41.1 44.2 45.8 47.5
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6
Outflows(2) (0.6) (0.7) (0.7) (1.0) (0.7)
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Net inflows 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.6 0.9
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.5 2.0 0.6 1.1 (1.9)
Closing AUA 41.1 44.2 45.8 47.5 46.5
-------- -------- ----------- ----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.4
D2C Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 30 30 31 31
March June September December March
2021 2021 2021 2021 2022
Customers 213,767 230,542 241,045 251,664 266,182
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Opening AUA 15.5 16.9 18.9 19.5 20.6
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Inflows(1) 1.3 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.1
Outflows(2) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3) (0.4)
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Net inflows 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.8 0.7
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.5 1.0 - 0.3 (0.9)
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Closing AUA 16.9 18.9 19.5 20.6 20.4
-------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------
Closing AUM(4) 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9
Non-platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
31 30 30 31 31
March June September December March
2021 2021 2021 2021 2022
Customers 14,521 14,734 14,789 14,792 14,926
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Opening AUA 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.5
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Inflows(1) - 0.1 - 0.1 -
Outflows(2) (0.3) (0.4) (0.1) (0.2) (0.1)
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) (0.3) (0.3) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1)
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.1 (0.2)
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Closing AUA 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.5 7.2
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Closing AUM(5) - 0.1 0.1 - -
Total closing
AUA 65.2 70.4 72.8 75.6 74.1
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
Total closing
AUM 1.4 2.0 2.2 2.1 2.3
-------------------------- ------- ------- ----------- ---------- --------
(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, operating at scale in both the advised and
direct-to-consumer markets.
Our purpose is to help people invest by providing them with
easy-to-use online services and information to help them build and
manage their portfolios.
We do that via our three platform propositions - AJ Bell
Investcentre in the advised market and AJ Bell Youinvest and Dodl
by AJ Bell in the direct-to-consumer market, which all give
investors access to Pensions, ISAs and General Investment / Dealing
Accounts.
AJ Bell Investcentre and AJ Bell Youinvest 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.
Dodl by AJ Bell offers a simplified investment range to make it
easier for customers to choose investments and buy and sell them
without paying any commission.
We also offer a Cash savings hub via AJ Bell Youinvest which
provides access to a range of competitive savings accounts to help
people manage their cash savings.
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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