Profits Up 36% at Royal London

The latest financials from Royal London show a strong surge in profits, which is good news for the customers of this mutual.

Here are the bullet points;

• 140,000 new pension policies taken out by customers to save for their retirement with Royal London during the first half of 2022, increasing the total number of UK pension policies to over 3.1 million.
• Paid out £304m in protection claims, supporting approximately 40,000 customers and their families at a time when they needed it most.
• Our flagship Governed Range saw net inflows of £1.5bn, with AUM stable at £51bn. While absolute fund values have been impacted by market declines in 2022, all of our core pension propositions continue to outperform their benchmarks over three years.
• Enhanced digital capabilities through the launch of a new financial wellbeing tool via Wealth Wizards and the introduction of a new Adviser Dashboard for UK protection advisers, giving them the ability to manage their client applications online.
• Migrated 4.1 million long-standing policies onto new technology since 2020, including c.1 million in the first half of 2022, improving customers’ overall servicing experience.
• Continued focus on responsible investment through active engagement with the largest contributors to the carbon footprint of our investment portfolios, with a particular focus on investees’ climate strategies and plans to lower emissions.
• Investment performance of actively managed funds over three years remains strong in difficult market conditions.

Barry O’Dwyer, Group Chief Executive, commented:

“Recent market turmoil means that investors look to their independent financial advisers for reassurance and these advisers, in turn, look to providers they can rely on. The trust advisers have in Royal London comes from a consistent track record of transparent investment governance, excellent returns, market-leading service and a mutual mindset focused on delivering for customers, not shareholders. As a result, we have seen strong growth in new business sales, helping to deliver a 36% increase in operating profit over the first half of the year.”