Our business
- AJ Bell is one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, operating at scale in both advised and direct-to-consumer (D2C) market segments
- At the heart of our business is a clear and simple purpose: "To help people to invest"
- We do this by earning the trust of our customers, making it easy to invest and offering great value.
- We offer a wide range of investment options for retail investors and UK financial advisers via Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Dealing Accounts
- Our platform propositions are supplemented by AJ Bell Funds, Managed Portfolio Service, and guided investment solutions
- We also offer a Cash savings hub to enable customers to manage their cash savings on our platform
Key investment highlights
- Our market
- Our proposition
- Our customers
- Our business model
- Quality of earnings
- Cash generation
- Our people
We operate in a growing market within the UK retail savings and investment industry
Structural factors supporting growth
Society & demographics – an ageing UK population that is working and living for longer, with the need for individuals to take greater personal responsibility for their long-term savings
Government legislation – Shift towards defined contribution pension schemes boosted by automatic enrolment, with increased flexibility as a result of pension freedoms
Technology – ease of accessing investments has made investing accessible to a far broader range of people
High barriers to entry
Scale – required to achieve sustainable profitability
Technology – significant investment required to create scalable and robust systems with high levels of straight-through processing
Brand – recognition and trust required both in advised and D2C market segments
Regulatory capital and compliance requirements – increasing as platforms become more widely adopted
We operate an award-winning platform in both the D2C and advised market segments, with in-house investment solutions
Direct-to-consumer
- One of the UK’s fastest growing and most competitvely priced D2C investment platforms
- Execution-only: 'investment guidance' provided but no 'personal recommendations' (i.e. no regulated investment advice)
- Delivered online via an easy-to-use mobile app and website
- A wide range of account types: SIPPs, Stocks and Shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, Dealing accounts, Junior SIPPs, Junior ISAs and a Cash Savings hub.
- Mainstream retail investments: equities, funds, investment trusts, ETFs and bonds
- Guided investment solutions: AJ Bell Funds, Favourite funds list, Investment trust select list and Ready-made portfolios
- Investment help: Shares magazine articles, videos, daily market updates, weekly insight emails, podcasts and rich investment data
Advised
- One of the UK’s fastest growing and most competitively priced adviser platforms
- Used by UK FCA authorised advisers with either advisory or full discretionary permissions
- A wide range of account types: SIPPs, Retirement Investment Accounts, Stocks and Shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, General Investment Accounts, Junior SIPPs, Junior ISAs, Offshore Bond accounts and a full range of income drawdown options
- Wide investment range: equities, funds, investment trusts, ETFs and bonds. Full SIPP capability offering access to ‘whole-of-market’ investments
- In-house investment solutions: low-cost Managed Portfolio Service and AJ Bell Funds
- A simple, easy to use investment app
- A very low account charge of just 0.15% with commission free dealing
- A broad range of account types: pensions, investment ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and general investment accounts
- A straightforward investment range: AJ Bell funds, themed investments and a selection of UK and US equities
We have a growing base of loyal, high quality customers
Advised platform
£323k average portfolio value
Total Customers177k
AUA£57.1bn
Average customer age56
Customer retention rate93%
D2C platform
£80k average portfolio value
Total Customers416k
AUA£33.3bn
Average customer age44
Customer retention rate95%
We operate a profitable and scalable platform with long-term margin expansion opportunities
Hybrid technology model
Proprietary user interfaces - adaptable and easy to use
Back-office systems outsourced to proven software providers - scalable systems updated for regulatory change
Back-office re-platforming completed in 2014 - system fully embedded in the business
Efficient operating model
High levels of online customer servicing, straight-through processing and automation
Single operating model supports both platform propositions - centralised operation in our Manchester HQ.
Operational gearing driving increase in profit margins
Largely recurring revenue from a diversified mix of revenue streams
- Diversified revenue model - mix of fixed fees and recurring charges provides a balance of inflation protection and resilience in the face of economic and capital market fluctuations
- High recurring revenues - yields predictable and sustainable revenue streams
Our highly cash generative and capital light model supports a progressive dividend
Financial strength
Maintain an appropriate level of regulatory capital and liquidity
Organic investment
Targeted investments to drive long-term business growth, whilst maintaining good cost discipline
Supporting local communities
Commitment to donate 0.5% of profit before tax to the AJ Bell Futures Foundation annually
Ordinary dividend
A regular, progressive ordinary dividend
Inorganic investment opportunities
Consideration of potential bolt-on acquisitions to support our strategy
Additional capital returns
Return of surplus capital not required for other priorities considered annually
An entrepreneurial management team
- Members of our executive management team have an average tenure of over 10 years and have led AJ Bell to deliver sustained organic growth for many years
Highly engaged staff providing an award-winning service
- We employ over 1,400 employees across offices in Manchester, London and Bristol
- We have been consistently recognised as one of the UK's Best 100 Companies to Work For
- We have won many industry awards across both the advised and D2C market segments
- We have a market-leading Trustpilot rating of 4.8* (as at July 2024)
- In 2022, we introduced an annual free share award scheme for all employees
