Big jump in numbers for investment platform AJ Bell
AJ Bell, the Manchester investment platform, has reported a strong start to its current financial year in a first quarter trading update this morning.
It revealed customer numbers increased by 19,000 to close at 561,000, up 16% in the last year and four per cent in the quarter.
It boasted total advised customers of 174,000, up eight per cent in last year and two per cent in the quarter, and total D2C (direct to customer) customers of 387,000, up 20% in the last year and four per cent in the quarter.
The group also had record assets under administration (AUA) of £89.5bn, up 17% in the last year and three per cent in the quarter.
It reported a year-on-year increase in gross and net inflows across the platform, including gross inflows in the quarter of £3.6bn (2023 £2.7bn) and net inflows in the quarter of £1.4bn (2023 £1.3bn). There was favourable market movements of two per cent of opening AUA.
AJ Bell Investments reported AUM of £7.2bn, up 38% in the last year and six per cent in the quarter, and net inflows in the quarter of £0.4bn, in line with the prior year.
CEO, 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, resulting in a record 561,000 platform customers and £89.5bn of platform assets under administration.
“AJ Bell Investments continues to perform exceptionally well with quarterly net inflows of £0.4bn resulting in total AUM surpassing £7bn for the first time.
“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.”
He added: “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.
“We believe that pension savers deserve more clarity when it comes to the tax treatment of their long term retirement plans. As such, we continue to call for government to commit to stability through a Pension Tax Lock, providing additional clarity around key features of the pension tax system.
“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.”
