Royal London has seen a leap in new pensions business for its first quarter of 2016, but has warned that its group pensions division will see a ‘slowing of momentum in coming quarters’.
For the three months ending 31 March 2016, Royal London’s group pensions new business was £959 million, up 86% from the same quarter in 2015.
This was helped by advisers continuing to recommend Royal London’s workplace proposition, it said.
Individual pensions business was up 29% year on year at £611 million.
Income drawdown new business also increased 19% compared to the same period in 2015 (£291 million).
Total new life and pensions business at the insurance giant on a PVNBP basis was £2.1 billion up 52% from the same quarter in 2015.
Royal London Asset Management attracted gross inflows of £1.1 billion, up from £700 million over the same period in 2015.
Royal London’s total funds under management at 31 March 2016 were £87.9 billion, up 4% from the last quarter of 2015.
The Ascentric wrap platform saw gross sales of £500 million, down from £600 million last year. Total assets under administration hit £10.4 billion.
Phil Loney (pictured), group chief executive of Royal London, said the results show how Royal London’s strategy is working.
‘The first quarter of 2016 has repeated the record-breaking pattern established throughout 2015,’ he said. ‘Our strategy of striving to bring the best quality proposition and best customer outcomes to the market is really paying off.
‘While our pension propositions have been leading the way for some time it is good to see that our protection proposition in the intermediary market is now finding strong levels of support from advisers.’
However, Loney warned that the firm’s pension business may begin to slow over the next few quarters.
‘While new business growth remains robust I anticipate that group pensions will see a slowing of momentum in coming quarters,’ he said. ‘While we continue to bring on board large numbers of schemes, we anticipate that the average premium will be lower as more smaller employers enrol their workforces into a pension.’
The results follow the release of Royal London’s 2015 financial figures in March. These showed its pre-tax operating profit reached £244 million in 2015, up 11% from £220 million in 2014.
Source: New Model Adviser