Platform for growth

AJ Bell is one of the largest and fastest-growing investment platforms in the UK. It serves both the adviser market and the DIY investor. Having transitioned to updated technology in 2014, it is well placed to ride the growth in the market and pick up disaffected clients from competitor platforms that are only now upgrading. We anticipate strong profit growth on the back of higher revenues and positive operational gearing. The new asset management business should add further momentum, and higher UK savings rates could be the icing on the cake.

• Strategy: AJ Bell intends to be the easiest platform for investors and advisers to use, and to offer exceptional value – but not at the expense of service levels. It charges noticeably less than many of its competitors, putting it in a strong position as charges take a higher profile.
• Plenty of scope for platform expansion: Investment platforms are an obviously good way to concentrate the administration and custody of investments in one place, while offering a huge variety of investment choice, and freeing investors and advisers to focus on what they do best. There are still plenty of assets not yet corralled, as well as significant underlying growth.
• Valuation: We value the business on a DCF basis. At the current price, it is effectively assuming a discount rate of 8%, putting it at the top end of our wide range. Our central valuation of £912m would put it on a FY19E PER of 32x, which compares with Transact on 28x and Hargreaves Lansdown on 33x.
• Risks: There are inevitably market risks – revenue is linked to the value of assets and, to a lesser extent, the amount of trading on the platform. The business is also sensitive to tax and savings policies, which can have major impacts on investors’ behaviour. The robustness of the technology is critical too.
• Investment summary: AJ Bell is a very attractive business, in our view. It is well positioned to benefit from the expected continuing growth in savings and the ever- higher proportion of those savings held on platforms. The business is highly cash-generative and holds significant net cash. These positive characteristics would seem to be well reflected in the current price.