LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Investment platform operator AJ Bell said on Thursday that its platform business had ended H1 with record assets under administration as it delivered "strong growth" in customer numbers.
AJ Bell said its platform business reported a 13% increase in assets under administration at £90.4m, while customer numbers increased by 18% year-on-year in Q2 to close at 593,000, with total advised customers up 7% at 177,000 and total D2C customers increasing by 23% to 416,000. Gross inflows grew 18% to £4.0bn and net inflows improved 19% to £1.9bn.

As far as AJ Bell investments was concerned, assets under administration increased by 29% to £7.5bn, while net inflows were flat at £400.0m.

Chief executive Michael Summersgill said: "These results highlight the strength of our dual-channel platform, as our market-leading customer service and low-cost, easy-to-use platform propositions continue to be highly valued by customers and advisers. Our D2C platform enjoyed its strongest quarter ever, delivering record-breaking customer growth and net inflows, reflecting the benefits of our continued investment in brand and propositions."

"We have started the second half of our financial year in a strong position. Since the quarter end, global trade tariffs and broader macroeconomic uncertainty have created significant market volatility. This has led to increased D2C trading activity as customers use the flexibility of our platform to respond to changing market dynamics. The long-term investment outlook among customers is illustrated by the fact more than three-quarters of these trades were buys with the net investment totalling more than £300.0m. Whilst recent volatility has impacted market levels, we have a proven track record of growing across different market conditions."

As of 0900 BST, AJ Bell shares were up 1.14% at 427.60p.



Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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