AJ Bell has reported the assets under management in its investments division grew 15% to £3.9bn in the quarter to the end of March, and topped £4bn in April.
The division, which comprises the firm’s range of funds, also received a record £500m quarterly net inflows, double the figure from Q2 2022.
CEO Michael Summersgill (pictured) said: “Our investment solutions offer advisers and retail investors great choice and clear communication and have delivered strong long-term performance compared to their peer group. Momentum remained strong heading into the new tax year with AUM passing £4bn in early April.”
This was despite what Summergill described as a “slightly subdued” start to 2023 for the firm overall.
Group assets under administration climbed to £73.8bn, a £2.3bn increase on Q1, though slightly below the £74.1bn at the same point last year.
The firm’s platform business assets under advice ended the quarter at £68.6bn, a 3% rise. Its customer base also grew 5% over the three months, and 13% for the financial year so far, to 455,008.
Strong flows in the build up to the end of the tax year saw AJ Bell’s platform channels pull in a gross £1.2bn in the month of March alone, and £2.5bn for the quarter as a whole, as investors took advantage of Isa allowances.
Looking ahead, Summersgill added: “We enter the second half of our financial year in a strong position. Our diversified revenue streams and profitable business model support our recent step up in brand investment, whilst also enabling us to continually reinvest in pricing, service and functionality to benefit our customers.
“Recently announced changes in respect of pensions are further positive news for the platform market, which already benefits from significant long-term structural growth drivers. Our focus remains on continuing to capitalise on the long-term growth opportunity ahead of us in both the advised and D2C markets.”
See also: Inflows boost AJ Bell Investments as group AUA dips
