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AJ Bell adds 19,000 platform customers as AUA nears £90bn

AJ Bell said it will continue to focus on growing its dual-channel platform after adding a further 19,000 customers in the past quarter.

It brought the total number to 561,000, up 16% in the last year and 4% in the past three months.

The number of advised customers has risen by 2% in the quarter to 174,000, while D2C customers rose by 4% to 387,000.

This resulted in record assets under administration (AUA) of £89.5bn, an increase of 17% in the last year and 3% in the quarter.

The investment platform also recorded gross inflows in the quarter of £3.6bn, compared to £2.7bn during the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, net inflows rose by £100m to £1.4bn.

AJ Bell also recorded strong performance on the investment side of its business, reporting assets under management (AUM) of £7.2bn, up 38% in the last year and 6% in the quarter

Net inflows in the quarter were £400m, in line with the prior year.

AJ Bell chief executive officer, Michael Summersgill, said: “I am pleased to report a strong start to the financial year as we continued to attract thousands of new customers and increased levels of assets.

“During the quarter we continued to see the benefits of our dual-channel model and the high-quality propositions that we offer to both the advised and D2C market segments.

“Our D2C platform recorded increased net inflows of £1.1bn, up 57% on the prior year.

“This strong performance was driven by continued improvements in our brand awareness and our highly competitive pricing, as well as elevated pension contributions in the run-up to the October Budget.

“The strength of our advised platform is reflected in strong gross inflows of £1.7bn, with net inflows of £0.3bn having been impacted by elevated levels of pre-Budget pension withdrawals, as well as recent adviser consolidation.

“Ahead of the October Budget, speculation around the tax treatment of pensions caused a short-term behavioural change among retail investors, which normalised quickly once the content of the Budget became known.

“The strong start to the year positions us well as we approach the busy tax year end period. We remain focused on the significant long-term growth opportunity that exists in the platform market.

“Our dual-channel approach and continued investments into our propositions and brand mean we are well-placed to continue our strong growth.”

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