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
31 March
2024
|
Advised
Platform
|
D2C
Platform
|
Total Platform
|
Non-platform
|
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
31 March
2023
|
Advised
Platform
|
D2C
Platform
|
Total Platform
|
Non-platform
|
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
March
2023
|
Qtr to
30
June
2023
|
Qtr to
30
September
2023
|
Qtr to
31
December
2023
|
Qtr to
31
March
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
March
2023
|
Qtr to
30
June
2023
|
Qtr to
30
September
2023
|
Qtr to
31
December
2023
|
Qtr to
31
March
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
March
2023
|
Qtr to
30
June
2023
|
Qtr to
30
September
2023
|
Qtr to
31
December
2023
|
Qtr to
31
March
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.