Pension provider Royal London said AUM climbed £8bn to £181bn in the six months to the end of June, it revealed in newly-published half-year results.

It said pre-tax operating profit climbed by 15% to £166m, compared to £144m in the first half of 2024.

The mutual company said its governed range, where most of its pension customers are invested, saw net inflows of £1.6bn, pushing AUM up to £75bn.

It said 469,000 customers are now registered for its My Royal London web portal.

Barry O’Dwyer, group chief executive, said: “When most of our competitors perform well, they reward their shareholders with higher dividends. Royal London is a mutual with no shareholders so when we perform well, our eligible customers benefit through profit share.

“In April, we demonstrated the value of mutuality by sharing £181m with 2.3m customers through our profit share scheme.”

He said the profit rise was down to the firm benefiting from higher protection new business and sales of its new bulk purchase annuity (BPA) proposition.

The company said it successfully completed eight BPA buy-ins in the first half of the year securing £658m of premiums. It added that further premiums of £142m have been secured to date in the second half of the year, with total premiums since launch hitting £1bn.

Mr O’Dwyer said: “Our new bulk purchase annuity offering, the only mutual option in the market, is resonating well with trustees and advisers.”

Royal London interim results

 Source: Royal London