LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - AJ Bell said on Thursday that assets under administration (AUA) breached the £50bn mark by the end of its third quarter as it achieved 5% customer growth.
The company's AUA jumped from £47.7bn to £50.7m over the three-month period ended 30 June as customer numbers on its platform increased by 9,843 to 210,765, driving platform AUA 7% higher to £43.4bn.

Platform assets were boosted by a combination of underlying net inflows of £1.0bn, defined benefit pension transfers of £0.2bn and favourable market movements of £1.6bn.

Meanwhile, total net inflows came in at £1.2bn, down 20% compared to the same period last year, with market movements adding a further £1.8bn.

Chief executive Andy Bell said: "We continue to focus on the needs of advisers and customers, making it as easy as possible for them to invest and this has resulted in assets under administration breaking through the £50bn mark. People need to save more via their pensions and ISAs for the long term and our platform and investment solutions help them do that easily and cost effectively."

Broker Peel Hunt said the quarterly results highlighted the strength of the platform model. It added that the 20% drop in net inflows is "consistent with IntegraFin's performance in the same period, but stands out compared to the asset and wealth managers as having been far more robust".

AJ Bell's shares were up 4.99% at 449.58p at 0933 BST.

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