Aviva is not interested in buying up any more distribution businesses, Andy Curran has said.
The company’s managing director of corporate and business solutions said Aviva felt it had a “pretty strong waterfront” of distribution already.
Meanwhile Jason Windsor, the chief financial officer of Aviva UK Life, said the company has no plans to change its existing holdings in advice companies.
The company currently owns Sesame Bankhall Group and is the largest single shareholder in Tenet.
Mr Windsor said: “They form part of our plans for the future. We have got no plans to make a change in that direction.”
Meanwhile Mr Curran said: “Our strategy is not to buy up retail IFA businesses. We think we have a pretty strong waterfront of distribution already.
“If you are looking for us to be taking ownership in other distribution businesses in the short or medium term, that’s not a direction we are going in.”
Aviva's policy of not moving into the advice market puts it at odds with the strategies of some of its competitors, including Standard Life and Old Mutual Wealth.
Both companies have formed advice arms in recent years and grown them through acquisition.
Last week Aviva announced increased operating profits of £3bn for 2016.
The company’s fund management arm saw the biggest increase in profits, up 30 per cent to £138m but the bulk of the money was made in Aviva’s life business which saw profits of £2.6bn, up 8 per cent.
Aviva said the integration of Friends Life, bought in 2015, was now complete and the company had now delivered £270m of “synergies”.
Dennis Hall, chief executive of London-based Yellowtail Financial Planning, said: "We have seen life companies get into distribution before and get it wrong. They should stick to what they're good at.
"Distribution is a very specialist skill. Life companies and investment companies should all stay away from it, but so many of them won't."
damian.fantato@ft.com
