AJ Bell Dumps Legacy Systems—Amundi’s Tech Stack Wins the Beauty Contest

Another wealth manager bites the dust—this time it’s AJ Bell jumping ship to Amundi’s tech infrastructure. Because nothing says ’innovation’ like outsourcing your backbone to a third party.

Why this matters: The move signals yet another traditional finance player scrambling to keep up with digital-first competitors. Amundi’s platform promises scalability, but let’s see if it delivers more than just PowerPoint promises.

The cynical take: If past performance is anything to go by, this ’strategic partnership’ will either (a) cost 3x the initial estimate or (b) get replaced by another vendor in 18 months when the CTO changes. Place your bets.

Amundi, the leading European Asset Manager and AJ Bell, one of the largest investment platforms in the UK, widen their partnership as AJ Bell has chosen the ALTO Investment platform from Amundi Technology to streamline its portfolio management processes and support its ambitious growth plans.

AJ Bell Investments, known for its wealth management solutions catering to the needs of retail investors as well as high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients, recognised the need for a robust and scalable system to support its growth plans as assets under management reached £7.5 billion as at its last trading update.

Amundi Technology is set to address these challenges by offering a portfolio management system that integrates seamlessly with AJ Bell’s existing operations. The key benefits of this partnership include:

• Enhanced Efficiency: By transitioning from manual processes to an automated system, AJ Bell will significantly improve operational efficiency.
• Scalability: The new solution will provide AJ Bell with the flexibility to scale its operations as it grows, ensuring it can meet the increasing demands of its clients.
• Integrated Services: AJ Bell will benefit from a unified operating model that combines technology, data management and dealing services, allowing for a more streamlined and cost-effective approach to portfolio management.

Ryan Hughes, Managing Director at AJ Bell Investments stated, “We are delighted to partner with Amundi Technology as we continue to grow our business. The technology platform provided by Amundi will significantly improve our operational efficiency and facilitate our future growth as we look to capitalise on the continued demand for our simple, transparent and low cost investment solutions.”

Benjamin Lucas, CEO of Amundi Technology, stated, “We are thrilled to welcome AJ Bell, a longstanding client of Amundi, on our technology platform. Our technology solutions are designed to empower asset managers to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively. This new development of our partnership showcases our commitment to providing solutions across the entire value chain and reinforces our position as a leading provider of asset management technology services.”

Source: Amundi