AJ Bell assets grow 20% to almost £84bn as it attracts more customers

AJ Bell has praised “strong momentum” so far in 2024 after the group reported record assets and a growing customer base.

The DIY investment firm said assets under management at its platform business rose to £83.7bn in the three months to June.

This was an increase of 4 percent compared to the previous quarter and 20 percent more than the same period last year.

The customer base grew by 25,000 to 528,000 in the second quarter, with the vast majority of new customers coming from the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment.

According to the FTSE 250 Group, which sponsors the Great North Run, part of this growth has come from the migration of around 7,000 people from an external platform.

According to CEO Michael Summersgill, recent price reductions are also responsible for the number of organic D2C customers more than doubling compared to last year.

He said clients traded more, especially in overseas markets, due to the excellent performance of stock markets.

The FTSE 100, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices have all hit record highs in 2024 as falling inflation, expected interest rate cuts and improving economic outlooks have made stocks more attractive to investors.

Summersgill said: ‘The third quarter of our fiscal year saw a continuation of the strong momentum we reported in our previous update.

“Our strategy of serving both the advised and D2C markets has helped us attract a significant number of new customers and assets from both sub-sectors of the growing platform market.”

AJ Bell’s trading update comes three days after Summersgill joined other major private investment firms in calling on the new government to reform the savings market to boost the flow of money into domestic equities.

The Manchester-based group has recommended significantly reducing the number of types of individual savings accounts (ISAs).

Summersgill also wants to abolish stamp duty on UK shares and create a single ISA wrapper for cash and investments.

He said the “radical Isa simplification”, combined with other reforms, would “lay the foundations for an investment revolution, benefiting both individuals and the economy as a whole.”

London’s reputation as a financial centre has declined in recent years due to high interest rates, a lack of major technology companies and increased competition from cities such as Dubai and New York.

Figures released by the Investment Association last week showed a record £1.8bn was withdrawn from UK equities in May, while European and North American funds saw strong inflows.

AJ Bell shares rose 4.5 percent to 415p on Thursday morning, taking their gains since the start of the year to around 41 percent.

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