One facet of Standard Life 's (SL.) evolution to asset gatherer rather than plain life insurer is that its assets under management are more exposed to fluctuations in investor sentiment. Standard Life Investments suffered £6.9bn in redemptions in retail investor money during the first half, contributing to net outflows of £0.4bn from this channel.
The good news was institutional business - larger and typically longer-term mandates - generated net inflows of £2bn. In fact, the business generated its highest quarterly flows during the first three months of the year since the second quarter of 2013. Overall assets under management in its growth channels were up 6 per cent to £138bn.
Ten years since its launch, Standard Life's adviser platform continued to work wonders for the pensions and savings business, growing its assets under management 10 per cent to £28bn. Auto-enrolment continued to increase regular workplace premiums, and now accounts for around three-quarters of inflows. Overall, workplace assets under management grew slightly to £34bn, as a result of increased contributions rather than larger scheme transfers, which have declined. The group continued to make inroads into the life assurance markets in India, China and Hong Kong, growing assets under management by almost half to £4.1bn.
Analysts at Shore Capital expect adjusted EPS of 29.5p for the 12 months to December 2016, rising to 32p the following year.
STANDARD LIFE (SL.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 332.1p | MARKET VALUE: | £6.56bn | |
| TOUCH: | 332-332.3p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 447p | LOW: 248p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.7% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 216p | ASSETS UNDER ADMINISTRATION | £328bn | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5.67 | 210 | 3.2 | 6.02 |
| 2016 | 7.70 | 437 | 11.5 | 6.47 |
| % change | +36 | +108 | +259 | +7 |
Ex-div: 8 Sep Payment: 19 Oct | ||||
