REG - AJ Bell PLC - Q2 Trading Update
18/04/2024 07:00
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RNS Number : 0379L AJ Bell PLC 18 April 2024
18 April 2024
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 2024.
Performance overview
Platform business
· Customer numbers increased by 19,000 in the quarter, taking total customers
through the half a million milestone to close at 503,000, up 11% in the last
year and 4% in the quarter
o Total advised customers of 165,000, up 8% in the last year and 2% in the
quarter
o Total D2C customers of 338,000, up 12% in the last year and 5% in the
quarter
· Record assets under administration ("AUA") of £80.3 billion, up 17% over the
last year and 5% in the quarter
· Gross and net inflows across the platform in the run up to the tax-year-end
were significantly higher than in the comparative quarter last year
o Gross inflows in the quarter of £3.4 billion, up 36% versus prior year
(2023: £2.5 billion)
o Net inflows in the quarter of £1.6 billion, up 33% versus prior year
(2023: £1.2 billion)
· Favourable market movements contributed 3% to AUA growth in the quarter
AJ Bell Investments
· Assets under management ("AUM") increased to £5.8 billion, up 49% over the
last year and 12% in the quarter
· Net inflows in the quarter of £0.4 billion (2023: £0.5 billion)
Michael Summersgill, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
"Surpassing half a million platform customers is a significant milestone for
the business which reflects the continued success of our dual-channel model.
Having listed in 2018 with just under 200,000 platform customers, this
landmark demonstrates the strong execution of our organic growth strategy set
out at IPO. We remain committed to providing low-cost, easy-to-use products
that can be trusted by customers and advisers, and our continued investment
into our customer propositions puts us in an excellent position to deliver
further strong organic growth in the future.
"We saw strong momentum in the run up to the tax year end as improving retail
investor sentiment, together with continued investment in our brand and
propositions, helped to deliver £1.4 billion of gross inflows in March alone,
a new monthly record for the business. Over the course of the quarter our
platform achieved significantly higher net inflows compared to the prior year,
up 33% to £1.6 billion.
"AJ Bell Investments continues to prove popular, particularly with financial
advisers, which is driving strong flows via both AJ Bell Investcentre and
third-party adviser platforms. Total AUM was up 12% in the quarter and 49% in
the last year to £5.8 billion, reflecting the continued excellent growth of
this part of the business.
"AJ Bell has always had a strong focus on offering exceptional value to
customers and our philosophy of sharing the benefits of scale with our
customers as we grow remains key to our strategy. On 1 April we reduced our
custody fees for advised customers and halved our headline dealing fee for D2C
customers to £5. We also increased the interest rates payable on cash
balances held across all our products, further strengthening our overall
customer value proposition.
"We are excited about the forthcoming launch of our Ready-made pension
service, which will help customers to easily consolidate their existing
pensions with AJ Bell and invest them automatically via our low-cost, in-house
investment solutions. Looking further ahead, the growth opportunity for the
platform market remains significant and our ongoing brand investment will
continue to drive increased awareness of AJ Bell, supporting our long-term
growth ambitions."
Notice of interim results
AJ Bell expects to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31
March 2024 on Thursday 23 May 2024.
Three months ended Advised Platform D2C Platform Total Platform Non-platform
31 March 2024 Total
Opening customers (k) 161 323 484 15 499
Closing customers (k) 165 338 503 15 518
AUA and AUM (£billion)
Opening AUA 51.0 25.2 76.2 5.4 81.6
Inflows((1)) 1.7 1.7 3.4 0.1 3.5
Outflows((2)) (1.1) (0.7) (1.8) (0.1) (1.9)
Net inflows 0.6 1.0 1.6 - 1.6
Market and other movements((3)) 1.8 0.7 2.5 0.1 2.6
Closing AUA 53.4 26.9 80.3 5.5 85.8
Closing AUM 3.2 1.5 4.7((4)) 1.1((5)) 5.8
Three months ended Advised Platform D2C Platform Total Platform Non-platform
31 March 2023 Total
Opening customers (k) 149 285 434 15 449
Closing customers (k) 153 302 455 15 470
AUA and AUM (£billion)
Opening AUA 46.0 20.3 66.3 5.2 71.5
Inflows((1)) 1.4 1.1 2.5 0.1 2.6
Outflows((2)) (0.8) (0.5) (1.3) - (1.3)
Net inflows 0.6 0.6 1.2 0.1 1.3
Market and other movements((3)) 0.7 0.4 1.1 (0.1) 1.0
Closing AUA 47.3 21.3 68.6 5.2 73.8
Closing AUM 2.1 1.2 3.3((4)) 0.6((5)) 3.9
( )
((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
· Mike Glenister, Head of PR +44 (0) 7719 554 575
Historical customer numbers, AUA and AUM by quarter
Advised Platform Qtr to 31 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 31
March June September December March
2023 2023 2023 2023 2024
Customers (k) 153 157 159 161 165
AUA and AUM (£billion)
Opening AUA 46.0 47.3 47.8 48.2 51.0
Inflows((1)) 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.7
Outflows((2)) (0.8) (0.8) (0.8) (0.9) (1.1)
Net inflows 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6
Market and other movements((3))
0.7 0.1 - 2.2 1.8
Closing AUA 47.3 47.8 48.2 51.0 53.4
Closing AUM((4)) 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.8 3.2
D2C Platform Qtr to 31 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 31
March June September December March
2023 2023 2023 2023 2024
Customers (k) 302 309 317 323 338
AUA and AUM (£billion)
Opening AUA 20.3 21.3 22.0 22.7 25.2
Inflows((1)) 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.7
Outflows((2)) (0.5) (0.5) (0.6) (0.5) (0.7)
Net inflows 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.0
Market and other movements((3))
0.4 - - 1.8 0.7
Closing AUA 21.3 22.0 22.7 25.2 26.9
Closing AUM((4)) 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5
Non-platform Qtr to 31 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 31
March June September December March
2023 2023 2023 2023 2024
Customers (k) 15 15 15 15 15
AUA and AUM (£billion)
Opening AUA 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.4
Inflows((1)) 0.1 - 0.1 - 0.1
Outflows((2)) - - (0.2) - (0.1)
Net inflows/(outflows) 0.1 - (0.1) - -
Market and other movements((3)) (0.1) 0.1 - 0.2 0.1
Closing AUA 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.5
Closing AUM((5)) 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.0 1.1
Total closing AUA 73.8 75.1 76.1 81.6 85.8
Total closing AUM 3.9 4.3 4.7 5.2 5.8
((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 access to
Pensions, ISAs and General investment accounts, great customer service and
competitive charges.
Our two core platform propositions are AJ Bell in the D2C market and AJ Bell
Investcentre in the advised market, which both 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.
In the D2C market we also offer AJ Bell Dodl, a low-cost investment app with a
simplified investment range that makes it easier for customers to choose
investments and buy and sell them without paying any commission.
For D2C cash savers we offer a Cash savings hub which provides access to a
range of competitive savings accounts to help people manage their long-term
cash deposits.
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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