AXA Life sale to fund growth in emerging markets

AXA’s wealth management arm will not be the main beneficiary of the sale of its UK Life business to Resolution, with the proceeds instead being used to fund growth in emerging markets.

Resolution acquired AXA Life’s protection, corporate pensions and direct-to-consumer business as well as its £43 billion investment bond business in the £2.75 billion deal. AXA Life will be merged with Friends Provident, which Resolution acquired in August for £1.86 billion, to create Friends Life.

AXA will now focus on its wealth management arm in the UK, headed up by Mike Kellard, but a spokeswoman at the life company’s Paris headquarters said the money would be redeployed in high growth areas, not just the UK.

‘We are going to redeploy capital in lines of business which we feel are going to be profitable as well as emerging markets. A portion of it will be invested in wealth management in the UK,’ she said.

Nick Cann (pictured), chief executive of the Institute of Financial Planning, whose wife Jo Cann is marketing director of traditional business at AXA, said there were still opportunities in the UK space.

‘It’s a very sensible corporate decision, they are looking to their future and where they see business opportunities. They see that in financial planning and wealth management and they want to raise capital and develop markets in Asia,’ he said.