Investment platform AJ Bell PLC (LSE:AJB)’s share price lifted by more than 5% on Thursday morning after it said assets under administration across the platform had reached a record high, following a boost to customer numbers.
The investment platform manager said in a trading update today that it had grown its platform customer base by 12% during the year to 476,532 by the end of September.
Clients it advised grew by a tenth to 159,256, it said, while new business in its direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment rose by 13% to 317,276.
Total assets under administration across its platform reached a record £70.9 billion, up 11% across the year, which it said was driven by net inflows and “favourable market movements”.
AJ Bell said its dual-channel platform “continued to deliver organic growth in both advised and D2C customers”.
Net inflows for AJ Bell investments during the year were £1.65 billion, up 57% compared to last year.
It said that “against a challenging backdrop”, net inflows across its platform during the year totalled £4.2 billion, down from £5.8 billion last year.
Michael Summersgill, chief executive, said: "Our investments business enjoyed another year of significant growth, fuelled by strong demand from advisers and customers for our straightforward and low-cost investment range. This drove net inflows of £1.65 billion, up 57% compared to the prior year.”
He added that the firm continues to engage with the government on potential ISA reforms, with a focus on “simplifying the existing ISA landscape to make it easier for retail investors to navigate”.
AJ Bell's share price reached 268.2p by 11:00 on Thursday, up 5.42% from a closing price of about 254.4p yesterday, peaking at around 274p in early trades.