LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Investment platform AJ Bell on Thursday reported a rise in assets under management and customer numbers for the first full year of trading since its IPO.
In an update for the year to 30 September, the company said total customer numbers increased 17% to 232,066, while total asset under administration were up 13% to £52.3bn. This compares to a 2% fall for the FTSE All-Share index over the year.

Growth was driven by the platform business, which saw a 19% jump in customer numbers to 218,169 and a 16% rise in AuA to £44.9bn.

Chief executive officer Andy Bell said: "Our first full year trading update since the IPO demonstrates the resilience of our business model. During periods of unsettled markets and political uncertainty customers have a greater need for established, trustworthy businesses offering high quality service, at low cost to meet their evolving investment needs. This has enabled us to continue to add customers and assets to the platform.

"The long-term growth drivers of the platform market remain strong with customers increasingly looking to take control of their long-term savings with flexible, low-cost, online solutions. This, coupled with our strong customer retention rate, positions us well to achieve our organic growth ambitions."

At 0810 BST, the shares were up 2.8% at 381.21p.

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