Pensions  

Phoenix to cut Axa Wealth jobs

Phoenix to cut Axa Wealth jobs

Phoenix Group will cut an unknown number of jobs at former Axa Wealth branches in Basingstoke and Bristol.

This decision is due to the integration of Axa Wealth and Sun Life, businesses which were bought by Phoenix last November as Axa quit the British market.

The group paid £375m to acquire the two firms, adding an extra £12.3bn of assets to its book and 910,000 policies.

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A spokesperson at the provider confirmed the company is currently “in consultation with a small proportion of the former Axa Wealth staff,” so could not confirm the exact number of job losses.

“What we can say at this stage is that a large majority of the staff will be moving over to our outsource service partners, which includes Diligenta, to ensure we retain their experience and expertise,” the spokesperson said.

Diligenta is a provider of business process services for the life and pensions industry.

Even before restructuring, Axa Wealth and Sun Life were already contributing to an increase in the provider’s results.

Phoenix generated £486m of cash in 2016. Of this, £117m was from the integration of Axa Wealth and Sun Life.

Axa Wealth was rebranded as Phoenix Wealth from 1 July.

The business includes the Family Suntrust Sipp, a number of individual pensions, such as Retirement Wealth Account, and an investment bond with a minimum lump sum of £15,000.

maria.espadinha@ft.com