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Meera Khanna
Senior PR Manager

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19% increase in new business sales driven by the strength of investment offering

Published  05 August 2022
   5 min read

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.

“As the increased cost of living continues to create uncertainty, building customers’ financial resilience remains at the forefront of our priorities. In partnership with Wealth Wizards, we have delivered a free online tool which helps Workplace pension members to assess and build their financial wellbeing. We are committed to supporting our members and customers to make the right, informed choices to protect their standard of living now and over the long term.”

 

Highlights

 

  • 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 funds3 over three years remains strong in difficult market conditions.

 

Financials

 

Six months ended

30 June 2022

Six months ended

30 June 2021
UK GAAP Operating profit before tax4 £109m £80m
(Loss)/profit before tax5 £(228)m £228m
New business Life and pensions new business sales6 £5,494m £4,620m
Inflows Gross inflows7 £18,180m £11,987m
Net inflows7 £2,578m £405m
  30 June 2022 31 December 2021
Funds Assets under management8 £150bn £164bn

Capital

(Solvency II)



 Regulatory View solvency surplus9 £3.0bn £2.8bn
Regulatory View capital cover ratio9 202% 173%
Investor View solvency surplus9 £3.0bn £2.8bn
Investor View capital cover ratio9 227% 216%
  • Operating profit before tax4 increased to £109m (H1 2021: £80m) driven by a higher contribution from new business sales and lower corporate costs.   
  • Loss before tax5 was £228m (H1 2021: £228m profit) as falls in equity and bond markets led to negative economic variances compared to our longer term expected return assumptions for assets supporting the life funds.
  • Life and pensions new business sales6 were up 19% at £5,494m (H1 2021: £4,620m), driven by a 24% rise in Individual and Workplace pensions sales. UK Protection sales slowed as the market has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Net inflows7 increased to £2,578m (H1 2021: £405m) reflecting increased pensions market activity and the attraction of our long-term savings and investment offerings.
  • Assets under management8 decreased to £150bn (31 December 2021: £164bn) with net inflows offset by negative market movements.
  • Capital position remains robust with the Investor View capital cover ratio9 increasing to 227% (31 December 2021: 216%) and the Regulatory View capital cover ratio9 increasing to 202% (31 December 2021: 173%) following the significant increases in yields and credit spreads.

 

A copy of the full release can be found here.

A copy of the investor presentation can be found here.

 

For further information please contact:

Royal London Press Office

Notes to Editors

  1. The information in this announcement relates to The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited (‘RLMIS’ or ‘the Company’), and its subsidiary undertakings, together referred to as ‘Royal London’ or ‘the Group’.
  2. The Group assesses its financial performance based on a number of measures, some of which are not defined or specified in accordance with relevant financial reporting frameworks such as UK GAAP or Solvency II. These measures are known as alternative performance measures (APMs) and include Operating profit before tax. APMs are disclosed to provide further information on the performance of the Group and should be viewed as complementary to, rather than a substitute for, the measures determined according to UK GAAP and Solvency II requirements. Accordingly, these APMs may not be comparable with similarly titled measures and disclosures by other companies.
  3. Investment performance has been calculated using a weighted average of active assets under management for funds with a defined external benchmark. Benchmarks differ by fund and reflect their mix of assets to ensure direct comparison. Passive funds are excluded from this calculation as, while they have a place as part of a balanced portfolio, Royal London believes in the long-term value added by active management.
  4. Operating profit before tax represents (loss)/profit (transfer (from)/to fund for future appropriations before other comprehensive income) excluding: short-term investment return variances and economic assumption changes; amortisation and impairment of goodwill and other intangibles arising from mergers and acquisitions; ProfitShare; tax; and one-off items of an unusual nature that are not related to the underlying trading of the Group. Profits/losses arising within the closed funds are held within the respective closed fund surplus; therefore operating profit represents the result of the Royal London Main Fund (RL Main Fund).
  5. (Loss)/profit before tax represents the statutory ‘(Loss)/profit before tax and before transfer (from)/to the fund for future appropriations’ in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.
  6. Life and pensions new business sales represent life and pensions business only and excludes Asset Management and other lines of business. Sales are presented as the Present Value of New Business Premiums (PVNBP), which is the total of new single premium sales received in the period plus the discounted value, at the point of sale, of the regular premiums the Group expects to receive over the term of the new contracts sold in the period. The rate used to discount the cash flows in the reported results has been derived from the swap curve at 31 December 2021 for all new business except annuities, where instead the swap rate at the end of each prior month is used to discount the next month’s new business cashflows.
  7. Gross and net inflows incorporate flows into RLAM from external clients (external flows) and those generated from RLMIS (internal flows). External client net inflows represent external inflows less external outflows, including cash mandates. Internal net inflows from RLMIS represent the combined premiums and deposits received (net of reinsurance) less claims and redemptions paid (net of reinsurance). Given its nature, non-linked Protection business is not included.
  8. Assets under management (AUM) represent the total of assets managed by the Group, including funds managed on behalf of third parties.
  9. The capital cover ratio is calculated as the Group’s Own Funds, being the regulatory capital under Solvency II, divided by the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR). The ‘Regulatory View’ solvency surplus and capital cover ratio restricts each closed funds’ surplus to the value of the SCR of that fund. The ‘Investor View’ equals the RL Main Fund capital position (excluding ring-fenced funds, which are run on a standalone basis). All capital figures are stated on a Group Partial Internal Model basis.
  10. Figures presented throughout are rounded. The capital cover ratios and new business margins are calculated based on exact figures.

About Royal London

Royal London is the largest mutual life, pensions and investment company in the UK, with assets under management of £147 billion, 8.7 million policies in force and 4,232 employees. Figures quoted are as at 31 December 2022. 

Learn more at royallondon.com