TIDMAJB
RNS Number : 4778D
AJ Bell PLC
20 October 2022
20 October 2022
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 2022.
Performance overview
Platform business
-- Customer numbers increased by 57,687 to close at 425,652, up
16% in the year, as the Company's dual-channel model continued
to deliver strong organic growth in both advised and D2C customers
o Total advised customers increased by 18,451 to close at 145,371,
up 15% in the year
o Total D2C customers increased by 39,236 to close at 280,281,
up 16% in the year
-- AUA closed the year down 2% at GBP64.1 billion, with strong
net inflows in the year offset by adverse market movements
of 11%. During the year the FTSE All-Share Index fell by 7%,
whilst the FTSE 250 Index fell by 25% (1)
-- Gross and net inflows were resilient against a volatile market
backdrop. Whilst being lower than the very strong prior year
comparatives, gross inflows were 36% higher and net inflows
were 18% higher than those achieved two years ago in FY20
o Gross inflows in the year of GBP10.1 billion (FY21: GBP10.9
billion; FY20: GBP7.4 billion)
o Net inflows in the year of GBP5.8 billion (FY21: GBP7.0 billion;
FY20: GBP4.9 billion)
AJ Bell Investments
-- Assets under management ("AUM") increased by 27% in the
year to close at GBP2.8 billion (FY21: GBP2.2 billion)
-- Underlying net inflows in the year were GBP1.05 billion,
an increase of 14% versus the prior year (FY21: GBP922
million)
-- All of AJ Bell's multi-asset funds have outperformed
their Investment Association sector benchmark over one,
three and five years to 30 September 2022
Non-platform business
-- Customer numbers increased by 1%, closing at 14,937
-- Net outflows in the year were GBP2.0 billion (FY21: GBP0.6
billion) following the previously reported closure of AJ Bell's
institutional stockbroking business
(1) Relevant benchmark indices considered for comparison
purposes
MSCI World
Benchmark FTSE All-Share FTSE 100 FTSE 250 (GBP)
Performance
(Year to 30 September
2022) (7%) (3%) (25%) (2%)
--------------- --------- --------- -----------
Michael Summersgill, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell,
commented:
"I am incredibly proud to have succeeded Andy as AJ Bell's CEO
and am pleased to update on another very successful year for the
Company.
"Organic customer growth of 16% and net inflows of GBP5.8
billion over the year, with GBP1.2 billion of net inflows in the
last quarter alone, once again demonstrates the strength of our
dual-channel platform, with both advised and D2C channels
performing very well.
"Advised platform inflows were strong throughout the year and
customer numbers grew 15% as advisers helped their clients to
navigate significant market volatility. Net inflows for the final
quarter of GBP0.9 billion were in line with the previous two
quarters, with advisers continuing to utilise the breadth of our
product offering and growing suite of investment solutions to meet
a wide range of client needs.
"In the D2C market our customer base grew by 16% as our
easy-to-use platform continued to attract retail investors looking
for a trusted provider to help them on their investment journey.
Net inflows for the year were strong at GBP2.5 billion and remained
resilient during the traditionally quieter summer months, with
GBP0.3 billion of net inflows in Q4 despite a slowdown in new
contributions from customers impacted by the rising cost of living.
Dodl, our new investing app, has been well received by customers
looking for a simpler way to invest and we have recently launched
some new features with the addition of US equities to the
investment range and the enabling of account transfers from other
providers.
"Our investments business delivered significant growth in assets
under management, driven by underlying net inflows of over GBP1
billion across our multi-asset funds and managed portfolio service.
Our asset allocation approach has delivered for our customers with
all our multi-asset funds outperforming their benchmarks over the
last 12 months and all but one delivering top quartile returns.
"Despite the challenging economic backdrop, our business model
continues to perform exceptionally well. We have a talented and
experienced management team in place that is focused on achieving
our growth ambitions in the investment platform market. Together we
are extremely excited about the long-term prospects for AJ
Bell."
Investor Site Visit
AJ Bell is hosting a site visit for institutional investors and
analysts at the Company's head office in Manchester this afternoon.
No new material information will be provided. A copy of the slides
and Q&A transcript will be made available at
ajbell.co.uk/investor-relations after the event.
Year ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform
30 September 2022 Platform Platform Total
Opening customers 126,920 241,045 367,965 14,789 382,754
Closing customers 145,371 280,281 425,652 14,937 440,589
AUA and AUM (GBPbillion)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Opening AUA 45.8 19.5 65.3 7.5 72.8
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Inflows(1) 6.2 3.9 10.1 0.2 10.3
Outflows(2) (2.9) (1.4) (4.3) (2.2) (6.5)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Net inflows/(outflows) 3.3 2.5 5.8 (2.0) 3.8
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Market and other movements(3) (4.3) (2.7) (7.0) (0.4) (7.4)
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUA 44.8 19.3 64.1 5.1 69.2
------------------------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------------- --------
Closing AUM 1.7 1.0 2.7 (4) 0.1 (5) 2.8
Year ended Advised D2C Platform Total Non-platform
30 September 2021 Platform Platform Total
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
(1) Transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax
relief
(2) Transfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax
payments
(3) Total investment 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, 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
30 31 31 30 30
September December March June September
2021 2021 2022 2022 2022
Customers 126,920 131,610 137,201 141,856 145,371
AUA and AUM
(GBPbillion)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Opening AUA 44.2 45.8 47.5 46.5 44.3
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Inflows(1) 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5
Outflows(2) (0.7) (1.0) (0.7) (0.6) (0.6)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Net inflows 1.0 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.9
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.6 1.1 (1.9) (3.1) (0.4)
Closing AUA 45.8 47.5 46.5 44.3 44.8
----------- ---------- -------- --------
Closing AUM(4) 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.7
D2C Platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
September December March June September
2021 2021 2022 2022 2022
Customers 241,045 251,664 266,182 275,647 280,281
AUA and AUM
(GBPbillion)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Opening AUA 18.9 19.5 20.6 20.4 19.2
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Inflows(1) 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.6
Outflows(2) (0.4) (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Net inflows 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.3
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(3) - 0.3 (0.9) (1.9) (0.2)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUA 19.5 20.6 20.4 19.2 19.3
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUM(4) 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0
Non-platform Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to Qtr to
30 31 31 30 30
September December March June September
2021 2021 2022 2022 2022
Customers 14,789 14,792 14,926 14,947 14,937
AUA and AUM
(GBPbillion)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Opening AUA 7.3 7.5 7.5 7.2 5.2
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Inflows(1) - 0.1 - 0.1 -
Outflows(2) (0.1) (0.2) (0.1) (1.8) (0.1)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Net outflows (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (1.7) (0.1)
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Market and other
movements(3) 0.3 0.1 (0.2) (0.3) -
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUA 7.5 7.5 7.2 5.2 5.1
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Closing AUM(5) 0.1 - - 0.1 0.1
Total closing
AUA 72.8 75.6 74.1 68.7 69.2
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
Total closing
AUM 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.8
------------------ ----------- ---------- -------- -------- -----------
(1) Transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax
relief
(2) Transfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax
payments
(3) Total investment 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.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
TSTFLFEDIRLALIF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2022 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Aj Bell (LSE:AJB)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Aj Bell (LSE:AJB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024
