AJ Bell says total assets under control up by 35%

Customers who use AJ Bell platform increased by a record 34,223 in Q2

AJ Bell (LON:AJB) announced on Thursday in a trading update that it had seen a record number of customers joining its trading platform.

The FTSE 250 company’s total number of customers rose by 32% over the last year, and 11% in the quarter, to 346,797. Total net inflows of £1.5bn were generated from the quarter, up from £1.3bn the year before.

AJ Bell’s total assets under administration rose by 35% to £65.2bn.

Customers who receive advice grew by 14% over the past year while customers who use the platform increased by a record 34,223 in Q2.

AJ Bell’s inflows were up by 13% over the past year to £1.8bn, while its assets finished up by 38% at £58bn.

Andy Bell, chief executive at AJ Bell, commented on one of the company’s busiest ever years:

“The run up to the recent tax year-end was our busiest ever, driving strong growth in customer numbers and assets under administration during our second quarter. Our easy-to-use, low-cost platform continues to perform well in both the financial adviser and direct-to-consumer markets,” Bell said.

“Our adviser platform saw its largest ever quarterly increase in new customers. This is testimony to our award-winning proposition and the price advantage our customers enjoy compared to other major adviser platforms.”

“Our direct-to-consumer platform saw record growth in customer numbers and inflows in the quarter. We continue to see growing numbers of younger people joining the platform as they look to take control of their long-term financial future via pensions and ISAs. Our new and existing customers continue to consolidate existing investments onto our platform, meaning we are growing quickly whilst maintaining a high average customer portfolio of £79,000.”

“”Our investment business also had another strong quarter, with both advisers and customers recognising the value and performance our low-cost investment solutions are delivering. Our managed portfolio service is growing increasingly popular with financial advisers and our range of multi-asset funds is seeing strong inflows, with our Responsible Growth fund proving particularly popular.”