TransactJan 19 2021

Vaccine hopes send Transact assets skyward

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Vaccine hopes send Transact assets skyward
Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Positive market movements off the back of the development of Covid-19 vaccines coupled with the outcome of the US election boosted Transact’s assets at the end of 2020.

A trading update from parent company IntegraFin Holdings, published to the stock exchange today (January 19), showed its funds under direction stood at nearly £45bn as at December 31 — a 9 per cent increase on the £41bn recorded at the start of the quarter and 14 per cent up year-on-year.

The assets were primarily driven skyward by nearly £3bn of positive market movements, the results said.

Over the same time period, the FTSE All Share index rose by 12 per cent while the MSCI World Index saw a 7.5 per cent jump.

Chief executive Alex Scott said: “Equity markets reacted positively to encouraging news on the development of Covid-19 vaccines as well as the outcome of the US election result, and this contributed to the 14 per cent increase in funds over the same point last year.

“Whilst the operating environment undoubtedly remains unpredictable, these are positive indicators for the year ahead."

Transact also benefited from some £840m of net inflows — the platform’s highest level of inflows since the pandemic began, but less than the nearly £1bn seen for the same period in 2019.

Mr Scott said the three months to December were a “strong start to [Transact’s] financial year”.

The adviser platform recently acquired financial planning software provider Time4Advice, in a deal it says will help improve its adviser back office processes.

Transact also said the acquisition would allow the platform to guide advisers as they continued with their digital transformation, though Time4Advice will remain a separate legal entity and keep its own brand. 

The company also hit the headlines recently after ditching potential plans to buy rival platform Nucleus, announcing earlier this month it had “no intention to make an offer” after entering talks with the rival platform in December.

imogen.tew@ft.com

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