AJ Bell inflows surge after record customer growth
One of the UK’s largest investment platforms recorded a surge in net inflows in its latest trading update after attracting an influx of new customers.
AJ Bell reported a 42 per cent rise in net inflows during the second quarter of the financial year, jumping from £1.9bn in 2025 to £2.7bn.
Gross inflows also hiked 40 per cent to £5.6bn from £4bn, with the company crediting the growth to the wave of new customers using the site.
Shares dipped 0.3 per cent in early trading to 552p.
Advised and D2C
Customer numbers jumped seven per cent of the course of the quarter, increasing by 50,000 to close at 723,000.
Total advised customers hit 189,000 while direct to consumer (D2C) customer numbers reached 534,000, a nine per cent jump over the course of the quarter.
Mike Summersgill, chief executive officer at AJ Bell, said the performance “reflects the early benefits” of “increased investment in our brand and propositions”.
Abid Hussain, analyst at Panmure Liberum, also credited the platform’s “continued marketing efforts” and customers leaving opting to leave platforms with higher fees.
The jump in D2C customer numbers saw the FTSE 250 company achieve “record customer growth” in the channel, alongside record net inflows of £2.2bn, after the company shifted its priority to “low-cost propositions” and “ease of use”.
The advised platform delivered net inflows of £0.5bn, but saw outflows of £1.6bn, with the group associating the losses to “ongoing adviser consolidation”.
Iran war impact
Assets under administration (AUA) hit £108.7bn, a 20 per cent annual increase.
But it only reported a one per cent quarterly increase, after wider market volatility, including the impact of the Iran war, reduced growth and soured attitudes towards the stock market.
But Summersgill noted that markets and investor sentiment improved at the end of the quarter, with activity buoyed by investors looking to access investment products in the run up to the end of the tax year on 6 April.
The platform’s investment business also saw assets under management (AUM) increase to £9.8bn, up 31 per cent from the prior year where it reached £7.5bn.
Summersgill said: “Whilst recent market volatility impacted asset values at the end of the quarter, customer appetite to invest remained strong in the run‑up to the tax year-end.
“The UK platform market continues to offer significant structural growth opportunities.”