Scottish Friendly sees significant increase in sales from savings and investments

Jim Galbraith

Despite challenging market conditions, the mutual reported strong growth in Scottish Friendly branded Investment ISAs, with sales up 27 per cent to £12.1 million in the year to 31 December 2018, driven largely through direct marketing and e-business channels.

Total sales for the year hit £38.6 million APE (the industry standard measure of annual premium equivalent - regular premiums plus one tenth of single premiums), the second highest level in Scottish Friendly’s 157-year history.

The financial services group also reported an increase in member numbers to a record 594,000, up nearly 6.3% from 559,000 the year before. Assets under management (AUM) grew by 3.7% to £2.8 billion over the same period, boosted by the acquisition of the £320 million Mobius Life book of business in November 2018.

Scottish Friendly’s chief executive, Jim Galbraith, said: “We are delighted with the performance of the business in 2018 and it shows our resilience in difficult market conditions. 2019 is set to be another exciting year for Scottish Friendly, with the transfer of a significant book of life and pensions business from Canada Life set to nearly double our assets under management later this year. We have a very clear vision for the business and remain focused on growing at a healthy pace while delivering excellent long-term benefits to our members.”

Mr Galbraith added: “It is particularly pleasing to see that despite recent stock market volatility and wider economic uncertainty, our Investment ISA products have seen a significant increase in demand, resulting in strong growth with sales up by over a quarter in 2018.

“This year is about continuing to demonstrate our tremendous strength as a mutual business, delivering new and innovative products and ensuring we continue to offer the same gold-standard service our customers have come to expect.”