Transact has seen its highest ever gross and net inflows in the six months to 31 March as the vaccine roll-out boosts investor confidence.
The platform’s funds under direction (FUD) rose 34% to £46.9bn from £35bn in H1 2020 thanks to inflows of £2.3bn, up from £2.1bn in H1 2020.
It was the primary driver of parent firm Integrafin’s “record” revenue which hit £59.4bn, while group profit before tax was up 12% to £31.2m.
Annual commission income increased by £4.4m as a result of the higher than average FUD.
Alex Scott, Integrafin’s chief executive, said: “Our Transact platform has again seen its highest ever gross and net inflows over the period. Coupled with increased confidence in world equity markets, driven by the positive outcomes from Covid-19 vaccination programmes, these flows have helped drive growth in FUD, generating record revenue in the period.
“This helps support our approach of delivering continuous improvement in price to clients, as our fees have once again been reduced to make our service even better value for money.”
Transact customer numbers climb
Transact saw an uptick in the number of clients on the platform which increased 7% from 187 thousand to 201 thousand year on year, while the number of advisers using the platform rose 5%.
After dropping out of the race to acquire Nucleus in January, Integrafin acquired Time for Advice Limited (T4A), a specialist software provider for financial planning and wealth management.
The acquisition cost included an up-front cash payment of £8.6m, plus £8.6m of deferred consideration to be paid over the next four years, with a further £8.6m payable in January 2025 subject to T4A meeting performance targets.
Scott said that the T4A offering, CURO, is complementary to Transact and is “already highly capable”, adding that “with IHP providing the necessary investment and support, we believe T4A will be a great long term fit that will deliver positive outcomes for all”.
Since the acquisition on 11 January, T4A has contributed £732k of revenue to 31 March, and losses after tax of £271k. It is expected to generate a loss in the financial years 2021 and 2022 as it requires “enhanced investment”.
