REG - AJ Bell PLC - Year-end Trading Update
20/10/2022 07:00
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20221020:nRST4778Da&default-theme=true
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 £64.1 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 £10.1 billion (FY21: £10.9 billion; FY20:
£7.4 billion)
o Net inflows in the year of £5.8 billion (FY21: £7.0 billion; FY20: £4.9
billion)
AJ Bell Investments
· Assets under management ("AUM") increased by 27% in the year to close at £2.8
billion (FY21: £2.2 billion)
· Underlying net inflows in the year were £1.05 billion, an increase of 14%
versus the prior year (FY21: £922 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 £2.0 billion (FY21: £0.6 billion) following
the previously reported closure of AJ Bell's institutional stockbroking
business
(1) Relevant benchmark indices considered for comparison purposes
Benchmark FTSE All-Share FTSE 100 FTSE 250 MSCI World (GBP)
Performance (7%) (3%) (25%) (2%)
(Year to 30 September 2022)
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 £5.8 billion over the
year, with £1.2 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 £0.9 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
£2.5 billion and remained resilient during the traditionally quieter summer
months, with £0.3 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 £1 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 Platform D2C Platform Total Platform Non-platform
30 September 2022 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 (£billion)
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 Platform D2C Platform Total Platform Non-platform
30 September 2021 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 (£billion)
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 30 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 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 (£billion)
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 30 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 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 (£billion)
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 30 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 31 Qtr to 30 Qtr to 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 (£billion)
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 (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
or visit
www.rns.com (http://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 (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
. END TSTFLFEDIRLALIFRecent news on AJ Bell
See all newsREG - AJ Bell PLC - Director/PDMR Shareholding
AnnouncementREG - AJ Bell PLC - Total Voting Rights
AnnouncementREG - AJ Bell PLC - Directorate Change
AnnouncementREG - AJ Bell PLC - Q2 Trading Update
AnnouncementREG - AJ Bell PLC - Director/PDMR Shareholding
Announcement