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AJ Bell top brass cash in

With the shares still riding high, CEO Andy Bell and chairman Les Platts have top-sliced their holdings
August 19, 2020

The chief executive and chairman of AJ Bell (AJB) have trimmed their stakes in the DIY investment platform, pocketing £7.75m and £0.76m, respectively.

IC TIP: Sell at 439p

Andy Bell and Les Platts made the sale on Friday 14 August at 438p-a-pop, then a premium to the shares’ 20-day simple moving average. The disposal also came two days after the Financial Conduct Authority wrote to Mr Bell and other investment platforms suggesting they return inactive client deposits to customer bank accounts if they are unlikely to be reinvested any time soon.

Like its peers, AJ Bell saw a rise in client cash in the first half of this year, as some investors liquidated their portfolios. The group is plans to launch a ‘savings hub’ for investors to manage their cash holdings on the company’s Youinvest platform, through one online account.

AJ Bell declined to comment on the director deals, or whether the FCA missive had factored into their decision to sell down their holdings. Of course, correlation is not causation, and Mr Bell and Mr Platts continue to hold stakes of £425m and £1.9m, respectively.

Indeed, they are not the first insiders to recently bank some profits. A week before, Charles Galbraith made his own disposal of a quarter of a million shares at 435p each, leaving the managing director of Youinvest with a residual stake of 2.5m shares, worth £11m.

Buys      
CompanyDirector/PDMRDateNo. of sharesPrice (p)Aggregate value (£)Comments
CentricaScott Wheway (ch)12 Aug 20100,00048.848,799 
CentricaChristopher O'Shea13 Aug 2060,85048.429,426Average price
CentricaChristopher O'Shea13 Aug 2039,15047.4218,565

Purchased by PCA

HammersonDesmond de Beer13 Aug 203,000,00052.661,579,869

Residual interest 0.923%, converted from ZAR

HammersonDesmond de Beer13 Aug 20300,00052.37157,103 
HammersonDesmond de Beer13 Aug 203,000,00052.661,579,869 
GlanbiaSiobhán Talbot13 Aug 2010,000840.684,060

Converted from €

reach4entertaiment enterprisesMarc Boyan (ceo)13 Aug 2034,013,3350.348118,366 
Just GroupJohn Hastings-Bass (ch)13 Aug 2098,20056.7555,729 
Ninety OneHendrick du Toit/Kim McFarland14 Aug 2035,001210.8373,791

Purchased by PCA

Hill & SmithHannah Nichols (cfo)14 Aug 201,4781,35319,997 
Jupiter Fund ManagementAndrew Formica (ceo)14 Aug 20230,000214.3492,890 
Condor GoldJim Mellon14 Aug 20125,00050.563,125 
Ninety OneHendrick du Toit/Kim McFarland17 Aug 20100,000207.94207,939 
Spirax-SarcoJane Kingston18 Aug 201,32010,742141,794 
PrudentialAmy Yip18 Aug 202,5001,24030,988 
easyJetPeter Bellew (coo)18 Aug 208,500552.846,988 
Sells      
CompanyDirector/PDMRDateNo. of sharesPrice (p)Aggregate value (£)Comments
Legal & GeneralLaura Mason13 Aug 209,820236.9623,269 
AJ BellAndrew Bell (ceo)14 Aug 201,770,751437.777,751,756

Residual interest 23.58%

AJ BellLeslie Platts (ch)14 Aug 20177,075437.77775,174

Residual interest 0.1%

RenishawDaniel Deer14 Aug 205,3504,850259,496 
WhitbreadMark Anderson17 Aug 203,2102,38776,623 
ZotefoamsDavid Stirling (ceo)17 Aug 2055,000404222,200 
William HillCrispin Nieboer18 Aug 2020,000146.529,300