AJ Bell increases cash and customers in latest financial year

Andy Bell

Manchester investment platform AJ Bell reported increased assets under administration and total customer numbers for the financial year to September 30, today.

The Salford Quays-based firm said total assets under administration (AUA) were up 16% to £46.1bn, and total customer numbers were up 20% to 197,912.

Growth was driven by core platform business, the company said.

Platform AUA was up 25% to £38.6bn and platform customer numbers rose 30% to 183,213.

Net platform inflows amounted to £5.9bn in the year.

Defined benefit (DB) pension transfers continued to contribute to new business in the advised market and remained above their pre-2017 levels, though they have fallen from the peak seen in 2017 and the first half of 2018. DB transfers accounted for £2.3bn in 2017 and £1.8bn in 2018.

Underlying platform inflows continued to grow in line with management expectations, while non-platform business saw net outflows reflecting the firm’s decision to terminate third party administration contracts with two customers.

Chief executive Andy Bell said: “The two key structural drivers of our business, assets under administration and customer numbers, grew strongly during our latest financial year.

“Our core platform business continued to drive our growth, with net inflows of £5.9bn in the period and growth of 25% in AUA.

“Momentum is strong across both the advised and direct-to-consumer (D2C) markets.

“In the advised market we continued to attract new business from financial advisers looking for a stable, cost-effective platform with high quality service to support their business.

“In the D2C market we are seeing demand from ‘DIY’ investors looking for help managing their portfolios, utilising our investment content and easy-to-use investment solutions.”

He added: “Whilst markets have become more volatile since the period end, our business model and market position remain fundamentally strong.”

And he confirmed: “We are progressing well with our plans for a main market listing on the London Stock Exchange at the end of the year or beginning of 2019.”

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