Axa says Elevate sales up 75% in 2011

Platform sales on Axa Wealth’s wrap proposition Elevate rose 75% in 2011 to £1.3bn, bringing total platform assets under administration to £3.5bn.

Axa Wealth saw total assets under management increase marginally from £17.9bn to £18.9bn during the year, with sales totalling £3.8bn. Platform business represented 42% of all individual sales - up from 23% in 2010.

Architas, Axa Wealth's multi-manager offering, saw total assets increase 23%. Mutual Fund premiums were up 49% but sales of offshore bonds were down 22%. Individual off-platform pension products increased from £4.6bn to £4.7bn.

The company also announced it has penned a new contract with current platform provider FNZ - something it said secures the future of Elevate. Next year the platform will undergo a complete "refresh" of user experience, it added.

Elevate currently has some 7,500 individual advisers from over 1,000 firms.

Meanwhile, a seven-year contract inked in November to provide financial advice to Co-operative bank's retail customers helped grow Axa's bancassurance business volumes 22% to £382m.

Elsewhere, Axa Wealth outlined a "tailored" approach to the advisory market which will see it concentrate on select areas, particularly restricted and whole of market advice on investments and pensions.

"AXA Wealth remains committed to the entire advisory market," said CEO Mike Kellard (pictured). "But it can't be all things to all men. We must align our services to those advisers where we believe we can add the most value, with a tailored approach to support different types of adviser."

The company said its full year results are particularly impressive given the turbulent market conditions in 2011 - a year which saw the FTSE close 5.5% down on 2010.

Kellard added the industry is going through a phase of transition.

"In my view there is no company or IFA firm in the market today that will not have to change its business model over the next 12 to 18 months in order to deliver improved customer service, manage costs and to create a more sustainable and profitable business."