AJ Bell PLC (LSE:AJB), one of the UK's largest investment platforms, reported record quarterly inflows as assets under administration passed £120 billion for the first time.
The Manchester-based company said net inflows on its platform reached £3 billion in the three months to 30 June, up 43% on the £2.1 billion recorded a year earlier. Gross inflows rose 50% to £6 billion.
Platform assets under administration closed the quarter at £121.5 billion, up 12% over three months and 26% over the year.
Favourable market movements contributed the equivalent of 9% of opening assets during the period.
Growth was driven by the direct-to-consumer side of the business, which serves retail investors buying without an adviser.
That arm added 37,000 customers in the quarter and took in £2.4 billion of net inflows, against £0.6 billion on the advised platform.
Total platform customer numbers rose by 39,000 to 762,000, a 23% increase over 12 months.
Direct customers now number 571,000, up 30% year-on-year, compared with 191,000 advised customers, up 6%.
The separate investment management business also had its strongest quarter, with net inflows of £0.8 billion against £0.4 billion a year earlier.
Assets under management there rose 41% over the year to £11.4 billion.
The company said it would cut the annual charge on its core managed portfolio service range from 0.15% to 0.12% from 1 October.
Chief executive Michael Summersgill said the reduction reflected a commitment to passing on the benefits of scale to customers and keeping pricing competitive.
He said the quarter demonstrated the appeal of the group's low-cost propositions and the returns generated by continued spending on brand and marketing.
Recent changes to how the advised platform distributes its products were continuing to gain traction, he added, helping deliver another record quarter of gross inflows on that side of the business.
Summersgill said AJ Bell had entered its final quarter with strong momentum, pointing to structural growth in the UK platform market as more people take responsibility for their long-term finances.
Including its non-platform business, which has shrunk following the wind-down of a white-label pension administration agreement, total assets stood at £123.1 billion.
