Our business
- Co-founded by Andy Bell in 1995, AJ Bell is one of the largest investment platforms in the UK
- At the heart of our business is a clear and simple purpose: "We help people to invest"
- We do this by making our platform easy to use and great value, with one of the lowest-cost pricing structures in the market
- We operate at scale in both the advised and direct-to-consumer (D2C) segments of the investment platform market, through our flagship platform propositions: AJ Bell Investcentre and AJ Bell Youinvest
- Our platform gives customers access to a wide range of AJ Bell and third-party investment options via Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Dealing Accounts
- AJ Bell listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market in December 2018
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 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 mainstream
We operate an award-winning platform in both the advised and D2C market segments
- One of the UK’s fastest growing adviser platforms
- Used by UK FCA authorised advisers with either advisory or full discretionary permissions
- Account types: SIPPs, Stocks and Shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, General Investment Accounts (GIAs), 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 including individual property
- Investment solutions: low-cost Managed Portfolio Service and passive fund range
- Highly competitive pricing
- One of the UK’s fastest growing D2C investment platforms
- Execution-only: 'investment guidance' provided but no 'personal recommendations' (i.e. no regulated investment advice)
- Account types: SIPPs, Stocks and Shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, Dealing accounts, Junior SIPPs and Junior ISAs.
- Mainstream retail investments: equities, funds, investment trusts, ETFs and bonds
- Investment solutions: AJ Bell Passive funds, Favourite funds 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 loyal base of high quality customers.
Advised platform
£345k average portfolio value
Total Customers98k
AUA£33.8bn
1.17accounts per customer
Average customer age56
Customer retention rate95%
Average annual fees received per £100,000 invested£192
D2C platform
£92k average portfolio value
Total Customers120k
AUA£11.1bn
1.25accounts per customer
Average customer age45
Customer retention rate96%
Average annual fees received per £100,000 invested£332
We operate a profitable and scalable platform with embedded growth and margin expansion opportunities
Hybrid technology model
Proprietary user interfaces - adapatable 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 policy
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
Our strong regulatory capital position is supported by a high Pillar I coverage.
Progressive 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
(1) As at 30 September 2019.
An entrepreneurial, founder-led management team
- Our CEO, Andy Bell, co-founded AJ Bell in 1995. We are now one of the largest investment platforms in the UK
- Members of our executive management team have an average tenure of over 11 years
- Our Board governance structure has been in place for over a decade
Andy Bell
Highly engaged staff providing an award-winning service
- We employ over 850 employees across two offices in Manchester and London
- We have been recognised as one of the Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to Work For
- We have won many industry awards across both the advised and D2C market segments
- All of our employees were awarded free shares as part of our IPO in December 2018
