Specialist
Former divisional leader at Quilter plc
Agenda
- Gross flows and FUM (funds under management) evolution
- Quilter’s (LON: QLT) competitive positioning against St James’s Place (LON: STJ) and True Potential, and fee developments
- Consolidation and acquisition possibilities M&A synergies
Questions
1.
What do you think is driving Quilter’s gross flows?
2.
Is there a possibility of advisors moving to different platforms, maybe away from Quilter to SJP [St James’s Place] or True Potential?
3.
Could you give a breakdown of what’s driving outflows? What is 25% vs 50% of the cause? What would those figures and catalysts be?
4.
Do you think that 50% of what’s driving outflows, advisors maybe moving platforms, is quite high if they’re potentially going to competitors who are then generating revenue from the portfolios?
5.
Do you think Quilter is worried about True Potential’s rate of growth?
6.
Do you see Quilter starting to take some market share back from SJP and driving its flows higher? You mentioned SJP being, obviously, a larger competitor of Quilter’s.
7.
Quilter’s AUMA [assets under management and administration] was down 12% YoY. What percentage of that do you think is related to mark-to-market performance and losing clients and funds?
8.
Quilter has a large amount of third-party solutions listed on its platform, but what percentage of that is platform funds?
9.
Is it more costly for Quilter to be using a majority of third-party funds?
10.
According to Quilter’s Q2 2022 report, WealthSelect funds were an area of focus. What benefits does the company expect to reap from focusing on that area?
11.
What do you think Quilter’s standard asset mix is at the moment? Are there big differences between the Cirilium and WealthSelect funds?
12.
How do you think Quilter’s organic and inorganic growth is split?
13.
Do you think Quilter’s academy is strong or as strong as SJP’s offering?
14.
You mentioned Quilter focusing on trying to grow its organic flows. How easy is it to get clients to deposit more?
15.
What do you think the stickiness of contributions will be like in today’s inflationary environment? Households are having to spend more and more on energy bills. Do you think pensions and wealth management contributions will start decreasing?
16.
How do you see Quilter’s margins and fees evolving?
17.
Does Quilter have a different fee structure on different products such as WealthSelect and Cirilium?
18.
How is Quilter driving revenue margins in a compressionary fee environment?
19.
Do you think Quilter is positioned well to execute a strong future strategy in general for its business?
20.
What percentage of Quilter’s client base do you think are high net worth vs mass affluent?
21.
Quilter siphoned off its Life Assurance brand in January 2020. Do you think that was the right move?
22.
What do you make of Quilter’s OPEX management in today’s environment? Obviously, the company has more tech costs, but do you think it is positioned to look after that well?
23.
A high risk noted in Quilter’s Q2 2022 report is the way millennials approach their finances and not using wealth managers or advisors. Do you think this represents a structural challenge to the company’s business model
24.
Quilter is in the process of delivering a mobile app and moving to more hybrid advice plans. Do you think that’s enough to try to capture a bit of that respective market share?
25.
What’s your take on the recent news flow about Quilter’s buyer interest from parties such as NatWest and a few PE houses? What’s the plausibility of that happening?
26.
Do you think there’s room for a lot of consolidation in today’s market?
27.
Why do you think Quilter is getting buyer attention over True Potential or other wealth managers?
28.
What synergies might there be if a bank such as NatWest acquired Quilter?
29.
Do you think there’s any downside to a potential merger?
30.
Is there anything we haven’t touched on that you’d like to draw attention to about Quilter or wealth management?
31.
If Quilter focused more on academy advisors and bringing people up through its ranks, do you think it could give a competitive edge in the near future?
32.
How much does putting one advisor through Quilter’s academy typically cost the company?
33.
What do you think are Quilter’s key headwinds and tailwinds?
