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: "We help people to invest"
- We do this by providing easy-to-use investment platform propositions at a highly competitive price
- 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 an attractive retail market within the UK savings and investment industry
Structural factors supporting growth
Demographics – an ageing population that is both living and working for longer
Government and regulatory – drive for greater personal responsibility and self-provision of long-term savings, supported by pension freedoms and auto enrolment
Technology – digital age driving tech-savvy customers and asset flows from non-platform to platform
Financial – growing awareness of the UK savings gap and a shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes
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 advised and D2C market segments, with in-house investment solutions
- One of the UK’s fastest growing and most competitvely 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
- 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
- Highly competitive pricing
We have a growing base of loyal high quality customers
Advised platform
£303k average portfolio value
Total Customers165k
AUA£53.4bn
1.23accounts per customer
Average customer age56
Customer retention rate95%
Average annual fees received per £100,000 invested£218
D2C platform
£72k average portfolio value
Total Customers338k
AUA£26.9bn
1.28accounts per customer
Average customer age43
Customer retention rate96%
Average annual fees received per £100,000 invested£461
Customers and AUA data correct as at 31 December 2023. All other data correct as at 31 March 2023.
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 Exchange Quay HQ in Manchester
Operational gearing driving increase in profit margins
High quality, largely recurring revenue from a diversified mix of revenue types
- 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.
- Increasing recurring revenues - yields predictable and sustainable revenue streams
Our highly cash generative and capital light model supports a progressive dividend
Quick conversion of profits to cash
A high proportion of our profit is converted into cash in the year it is earned
Capital light and materially debt free business
Growth has been funded from retained earnings; it has not required primary fundraising or debt finance
Strong regulatory capital position
We maintain a healthy surplus over our regulatory capital requirement.
Dividend policy
The Board has adopted a dividend policy based on an expected 65% payout ratio
Surplus capital accrued (over and above regulatory requirements or other specific needs) will be returned to shareholders at an appropriate time
An entrepreneurial management team
- Members of our executive management team have an average tenure of over 10 years
- Our Board governance structure has been in place for over a decade
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
- In 2022, we introduced an annual free share award scheme for all employees.