AJ BellJul 25 2019

AJ Bell sees decline in DB transfers

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AJ Bell sees decline in DB transfers

AJ Bell has seen the value of defined benefit (DB) inflows halve year-on-year but customer numbers increased 17 per cent.

In a trading statement covering the three months to the end of June 2019, out this morning (July 25), the company reported DB transfer inflows of £200m for the period, compared with £400m for the same period in 2018, a decline of 50 per cent.

At the same time platform customer numbers increased by 9,843 to 210,765, up 5 per cent during the quarter, while total customer numbers reached 224,644, compared with 191,874 at the end of June 2018.

Assets under administration passed the £50bn mark to stand at £50.7bn, an increase of 6 per cent over the quarter and 13 per cent over the past year. 

Assets on the company's platform increased by 7 per cent in the quarter to £43.4bn, due to a combination of net inflows as well as the DB pension transfers.

But inflows on the advised platform were down at £700m, compared with £1bn in the same quarter last year, while inflows to the direct-to-consumer platform were flat at £500m.

Andy Bell, chief executive officer at AJ Bell, said: “Trading in the third quarter of our financial year remained strong across our advised and direct to consumer platform.  

“We continue to focus on the needs of advisers and customers, making it as easy as possible for them to invest and this has resulted in assets under administration breaking through the £50bn mark.  

“People need to save more via their pensions and Isas for the long term and our platform and investment solutions help them do that easily and cost effectively.”

amy.austin@ft.com

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