Investment platform AJ Bell has announced robust growth in its first quarter ending 31 December 2024, with record assets under administration and continued expansion of its customer base.
The company’s platform business saw total customer numbers rise to 561,000, marking a significant 16% increase over the past year and a 4% growth in the quarter.
Within this, the direct-to-consumer segment demonstrated particularly strong momentum, growing by 20% year-on-year to reach 387,000 customers, while advised customers increased by 8% to 174,000.
AJ Bell is still a long way behind Hargreaves Lansdown’s nearly 2 million active users, but it is catching up.
Assets under administration reached a record £89.5 billion, representing a 17% increase compared to the previous year and a 3% rise in the quarter. This growth was supported by strong inflow performance, with gross inflows reaching £3.6 billion in the quarter, up from £2.7 billion in the same period of 2023. Net inflows also showed improvement, rising to £1.4 billion from £1.3 billion in the previous year.
The company’s investment management division, AJ Bell Investments, demonstrated exceptional growth with assets under management climbing to £7.2 billion, marking a substantial 38% increase over the year and a 6% rise in the quarter. Net inflows for this division remained stable at £0.4 billion, matching the performance of the previous year.
“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 £89.5 billion of platform assets under administration,” said Michael Summersgill, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell
“AJ Bell Investments continues to perform exceptionally well with quarterly net inflows of £0.4 billion resulting in total AUM surpassing £7 billion for the first time.”