Offshore funds under management rose by 4.4% from £9bn to £9.4bn, full year results revealed.
The Isle of Man-based firm said the overhaul of regulations and the changes to distribution as well as a slower-than-expected recovery in the global financial markets, have therefore led to a tough economic environment.
“In the two years since RDR, the UK financial services market has changed in a number of ways,” said Mike Foy, managing director of Axa Wealth International. “The most obvious have been the change in the advice landscape – most commonly described as the advice gap – and the difference in providers.
“This has been a particularly challenging environment for product providers in their efforts to support an increasingly fluid distribution landscape,” he said.
Axa Wealth’s Elevate platform saw funds under management increase by 24%, jumping to £9.2bn from £7.5bn. Its specialist investment business, Architas, has also seen a 7% boost in assets, which now sit at £13.6bn.
Foy is confident that the offshore proposition in the UK market is “as strong and as relevant as ever”.
“Moved into profitability”
Meanwhile, Axa’s overall funds under management increased by 11% to £28.2bn at the end of last year, from £25.5bn in 2013. Retail sales also increased by £3.3bn.
This means the business has now moved into profitability, which chief executive Mike Kellard said is a “reflection of the investment we have been making to our infrastructure, our distribution model and to making investing as easy as we can”.
Its pension sales – which exclude onshore bonds – were up 18%, increasing to £477m from £406m. The firm said it expects the pension reforms to open up new opportunities for products.
Kellard said: “2015 will be a landmark year for the industry, as the new pension freedoms bring real flexibility to the retirement market like never before.
“Leveraging the strength of the global AXA group, we are in a strong position to offer the flexibility that customers will be looking for across our entire proposition with the service they expect to support their financial decisions.”
