AJ Bell assets up 20% to almost £84bn as it tempts more investors
- AJ Bell's assets under administration have climbed to a record £83.7bn
- The group has also expanded its customer base by 25,000 to 528,000
AJ Bell has hailed 'strong momentum' so far in 2024 after the group reported record assets and growing customer numbers.
The DIY investment platform revealed assets under administration at its platform business climbed to £83.7billion in the three months ending June.
This was a 4 per cent increase from the previous quarter and 20 per cent higher than at the same time last year.
Stronger team: AJ Bell revealed assets under administration at its platform business climbed to a record £83.7billion in the three months ending June
Its customer base rose by 25,000 to 528,000 during the second quarter, with the overwhelming majority of new consumers belonging to its direct-to-consumer (D2C) space.
The FTSE 250 group, which sponsors the Great North Run, said this growth partly reflected the migration of about 7,000 people from a third-party platform.
However, its chief executive, Michael Summersgill, also credited recent price cuts for helping organic D2C customer volumes expand by more than double their levels last year.
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He said customers were engaging in greater dealing activity, especially in overseas markets, thanks to the bumper performance of stock markets.
The FTSE 100, S&P 500, and Nasdaq indices have all hit record highs during 2024, as falling inflation, expectations of interest rate reductions, and an improving economic outlook have made stocks more attractive for investors.
Summersgill said: 'The third quarter of our financial year saw a continuation of the strong momentum reported in our previous update.
'Our strategy of serving both the advised and D2C markets helped us to attract a significant number of new customers and assets from both sub-sectors of the growing platform market.'
AJ Bell's trading update comes three days after Summersgill joined other major retail investment companies in calling on the new government to overhaul the savings market to help boost money flowing into domestic equities.
The Manchester-based group has recommended significantly reducing the number of types of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs).
Summersgill additionally wants to scrap stamp duty on UK shares and create a single ISA wrapper for cash and investments.
He said the 'radical Isa simplification,' combined with other reforms, would create 'the foundations for an investing revolution, benefiting individuals and the wider economy.'
Among the reasons London's reputation as a financial centre has taken a knock in recent years are high interest rates, a lack of large technology businesses, and heightened competition from cities like Dubai and New York.
Data released last week by the Investment Association showed a record £1.8billion was pulled from UK equities in May, while European and North American funds saw strong inflows.
AJ Bell shares were 4.5 per cent up at 415p on Thursday morning, taking their gains to around 41 per cent since the year started.
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