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REG - AJ Bell PLC - Q3 Trading Update

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RNS Number : 1930T  AJ Bell PLC  21 July 2022

21 July 2022

AJ Bell plc

Q3 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
30 June 2022.

 

Performance overview

Platform business

 ·             Customer numbers increased by 14,120 in the quarter to close at 417,503, up
               18% in the last year and 4% in the quarter, which represents strong ongoing
               organic growth in what is an uncertain economic environment
               o  Total advised customers of 141,856, up 16% in the last year and 3% in the
               quarter

               o  Total D2C customers of 275,647, up 20% in the last year and 4% in the
               quarter
 ·             AUA closed at £63.5 billion, marginally up over the last year and down 5% in
               the quarter, primarily due to adverse market movements. During the quarter the
               FTSE All-Share Index fell by 6% whilst the MSCI World Index (GBP) fell by 9%
 ·             Net inflows were in line with those for Q2 across both the advised and D2C
               channels, although weaker investor sentiment in Q3 relative to the comparative
               quarter in 2021 led to a year-on-year decline
               o  Gross inflows in the quarter of £2.6 billion (2021: £3.2 billion)

               o  Net inflows in the quarter of £1.6 billion (2021: £2.1 billion)
 ·             Dodl by AJ Bell ("Dodl") was launched successfully in April. Customer and AUA
               numbers relating to Dodl are included within the D2C platform totals

 

AJ Bell Investments

 ·             Assets under management ("AUM") closed at £2.5 billion, up 25% over the last
               year and up 9% in the quarter
 ·             Net inflows in the quarter were £271 million, in line with the underlying net
               inflows reported in the comparative quarter last year

 

Non-platform business

 ·             Customer numbers remained broadly flat, closing at 14,947
 ·             Net outflows in the quarter were £1.7 billion (2021: £0.3 billion), which
               reflected what was the final outflow of £1.7 billion in relation to the
               previously announced closure of AJ Bell's institutional stockbroking business
 ·             As set out in previous guidance, the closure of the low margin institutional
               stockbroking business will not have a material impact on AJ Bell's financial
               performance

 

Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:

"Our trusted, dual-channel investment platform has continued to attract
thousands of new customers looking to invest for their future, despite a
weakening in investor sentiment over the last six months. During our third
quarter, platform customer numbers continued on an upward trajectory and
closed 18% higher than in the previous year, whilst platform net inflows of
£1.6 billion were in line with Q2, a traditionally strong quarter which
benefits from the increase in customer activity in the run up to tax year end.

"The advised market has remained resilient in the face of current market
headwinds and the strength of our proposition helped to deliver net inflows of
£0.9 billion. We have recently reduced several charges on our advised
platform, AJ Bell Investcentre, utilising our scale to further increase the
value that advisers can offer to their clients. The phased launch of Touch by
AJ Bell starting later in 2022 will further expand our offering for advisers,
helping them to cater for clients looking for a digital service model.

"Our D2C platform delivered net inflows of £0.7 billion during the quarter,
predominantly via our fast-growing AJ Bell Youinvest proposition. We have
continued to enhance the value of that proposition for our customers, by
making it easier to use and reducing our charges. During the quarter we also
launched Dodl by AJ Bell, our new low-cost, commission-free investing app
aimed at less experienced investors. We continue to develop this new
proposition, with the ability to transfer-in from other providers soon to be
launched and the addition of US shares to follow.

"Our investments business is delivering on its commitment to offer a wide
choice of investment solutions at low cost and with clear communications. Our
investment solutions have outperformed against most competing products over
the last 5 years, which is why they are valued by financial advisers, their
clients and our retail customers. Net inflows of £271 million in the quarter
equated to a healthy 12% of opening AUM, with total AUM hitting £2.5 billion.

"Overall, our business continues to perform well and our long-term growth
prospects remain strong. The continued development of our customer
propositions, together with our highly competitive pricing and strong customer
service, means we are well positioned to continue growing the business and
increasing our market share."

 

                                  Advised Platform  D2C Platform  Total Platform  Non-platform

 Three months ended                                                                             Total

 30 June 2022

 Opening customers                137,201           266,182       403,383         14,926        418,309
 Closing customers                141,856           275,647       417,503         14,947        432,450

 AUA and AUM (£billion)
 Opening AUA                      46.5              20.4          66.9            7.2           74.1

 Inflows((1))                     1.5               1.1           2.6             0.1           2.7
 Outflows((2))                    (0.6)             (0.4)         (1.0)           (1.8)         (2.8)
 Net inflows/(outflows)           0.9               0.7           1.6             (1.7)         (0.1)

 Market and other movements((3))  (3.1)             (1.9)         (5.0)           (0.3)         (5.3)
 Closing AUA                      44.3              19.2          63.5            5.2           68.7

 Closing AUM                      1.4               1.0           2.4((4))        0.1((5))      2.5

 Three months ended               Advised Platform  D2C Platform  Total Platform  Non-platform

 30 June 2021                                                                                   Total

 Opening customers                118,509           213,767       332,276         14,521        346,797
 Closing customers                122,757           230,542       353,299         14,734        368,033

 AUA and AUM (£billion)
 Opening AUA                      41.1              16.9          58.0            7.2           65.2

 Inflows((1))                     1.8               1.4           3.2             0.1           3.3
 Outflows((2))                    (0.7)             (0.4)         (1.1)           (0.4)         (1.5)
 Net inflows/(outflows)           1.1               1.0           2.1             (0.3)         1.8

 Market and other movements((3))  2.0               1.0           3.0             0.4           3.4
 Closing AUA                      44.2              18.9          63.1            7.3           70.4

 Closing AUM                      1.2               0.7           1.9((4))        0.1((5))      2.0

( )

((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)

((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 30  Qtr to 30   Qtr to 31  Qtr to 31  Qtr to 30

                                  June       September   December   March      June

                                  2021       2021        2021       2022       2022

 Customers                        122,757    126,920     131,610    137,201    141,856

 AUA and AUM (£billion)
 Opening AUA                      41.1       44.2        45.8       47.5       46.5

 Inflows((1))                     1.8        1.7         1.6        1.6        1.5
 Outflows((2))                    (0.7)      (0.7)       (1.0)      (0.7)      (0.6)
 Net inflows                      1.1        1.0         0.6        0.9        0.9

 Market and other movements((3))

                                  2.0        0.6         1.1        (1.9)      (3.1)
 Closing AUA                      44.2       45.8        47.5       46.5       44.3

 Closing AUM((4))                 1.2        1.3         1.2        1.4        1.4

 

 D2C Platform                     Qtr to 30  Qtr to 30   Qtr to 31  Qtr to 31  Qtr to 30

                                  June       September   December   March      June

                                  2021       2021        2021       2022       2022

 Customers                        230,542    241,045     251,664    266,182    275,647

 AUA and AUM (£billion)
 Opening AUA                      16.9       18.9        19.5       20.6       20.4

 Inflows((1))                     1.4        1.0         1.1        1.1        1.1
 Outflows((2))                    (0.4)      (0.4)       (0.3)      (0.4)      (0.4)
 Net inflows                      1.0        0.6         0.8        0.7        0.7

 Market and other movements((3))

                                  1.0        -           0.3        (0.9)      (1.9)
 Closing AUA                      18.9       19.5        20.6       20.4       19.2

 Closing AUM((4))                 0.7        0.8         0.9        0.9        1.0

 

 Non-platform                     Qtr to 30  Qtr to 30   Qtr to 31  Qtr to 31  Qtr to 30

                                  June       September   December   March      June

                                  2021       2021        2021       2022       2022

 Customers                        14,734     14,789      14,792     14,926     14,947

 AUA and AUM (£billion)
 Opening AUA                      7.2        7.3         7.5        7.5        7.2

 Inflows((1))                     0.1        -           0.1        -          0.1
 Outflows((2))                    (0.4)      (0.1)       (0.2)      (0.1)      (1.8)
 Net outflows                     (0.3)      (0.1)       (0.1)      (0.1)      (1.7)

 Market and other movements((3))

                                  0.4        0.3         0.1        (0.2)      (0.3)
 Closing AUA                      7.3        7.5         7.5        7.2        5.2

 Closing AUM((5))                 0.1        0.1         -          -          0.1

 Total closing AUA                70.4       72.8        75.6       74.1       68.7

 Total closing AUM                2.0        2.2         2.1        2.3        2.5

( )

((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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