AJ Bell attracts over £1bn to bring assets under administration to ‘record high’
Retail investment platform AJ Bell saw an influx of funds which helped bring assets under administration to a record high, but inflows remained below the same period last year.
In the three months to June, AJ Bell saw net inflows of £1.1bn into its platform model – which includes its direct-to-consumer platform and its advised – with the firm noting momentum was “particularly strong” for its direct-to-consumer platform post tax year end.
However net inflows were around £500m less than the same period last year, suggesting investors remain cautious.
The direct-to-consumer segment recorded £700m in inflows, unchanged from last year, while the advised saw a steep fall to £400m, down half a billion on last year.
The inflows helped assets under administration climb two per cent to £69.8bn, which boss Michael Summersgill said was a “record high”.
“Momentum in the D2C market remained strong after the tax year end as customers took advantage of their new annual ISA and pension allowances,” he said.
Performance in the advised market was less strong however due to “ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment”.
AJ Bell also saw a two per cent increase in customer numbers, bringing the total to 465,614.
Assets under management in the firm’s investment management division increased 10 per cent in the quarter, bringing the figure to £4.3bn.
“In a market where many asset managers are suffering persistent net outflows, the strong performance and low-cost nature of our multi-asset investment solutions continues to attract new assets in both the advised and D2C markets,” Summersgill said.
Summersgill said that AJ Bell could continue to grow in both of segments of its business.
“We continue to see significant opportunities for growth in the platform market and believe we are well positioned to capitalise on these in both the advised and D2C segments.”