AJ Bell’s assets under administration (AUA) increased 29% over the year to the end of September leading chief executive Andy Bell to herald “another year of strong organic growth”, while St James’s Place has reported a 14% jump in assets year to date.
AJ Bell’s AUA hit £72.8bn up from £56.5bn the year before, while its total net inflows were up 52% to £6.4bn.
The firm’s investments arm, AJ Bell Investments, saw its assets increase by 175% to £2.2bn from £800m in 2020 with total net inflows of £1.2bn including a one-off inflow of £253m in Q3.
The one-off inflow relates to a short-term investment management agreement ahead of a bulk annuity purchase. This agreement is expected to conclude in the quarter ending 31 December 2021, which will result in a one-off outflow.
Assets in its platform business climbed 31% to £63.5bn. Platform net inflows were up 43% at £7bn, with advised inflows accounting for £3.8bn and D2C inflows for £3.2bn.
Total platform customers jumped 31% during the year to 367,965, with advised customers increasing by 18,009 and D2C customers by 68,862.
Bell (pictured) said: “Following the gradual easing of Covid restrictions over the course of the summer, we have seen retail trading activity return to more normal levels compared to the peaks seen earlier in the year. However, we are pleased that our key drivers of long-term growth, namely customer numbers and net inflows, have continued strongly.”
SJP closes in on £150bn FUM
SJP saw £2.6bn of net inflows for the three months to the end of September up from £1.4bn for the same period in 2020. This took the total funds under management to £148bn, up from £119bn the same period before.
The group’s DFM Rowan Dartington saw its FUM at £3.4bn at the end of September, up from £2.7bn the previous year. Gross inflows were £150m for the quarter and outflows were £30m.
SJP chief executive Andrew Croft said the firm expects gross inflows for the whole of 2021 to grow by around 25%, exceeding prior expectations.
“Beyond 2021, it is natural that we will see variations in the pattern of new business growth we achieve over time, but our performance this year gives us every confidence in the 2025 ambitions we set out for St James’s Place earlier this year,” he said.
