AJ Bell has reported its profits before tax jumped 50% to £87.7m in the year to 30 September, from £58.4m in 2022.
The firm’s assets under administration (AUA) climbed 11% to £70.9bn, driven by a combination of net inflows and favourable market movements worth £2.6bn.
Much of the rise in AUA was driven by new customers, with the company adding 50,880 people to its books, bringing the total to 476,532. Platform net inflows were not quite as healthy as last year though, down to £4.2bn from £5.8bn.
The AJ Bell Investments division booked record net inflows in the year of £1.65bn, up 57% versus the 2022 financial year. This brought assets under management up 68% to £4.7bn.
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Chief executive Michael Summersgill said: “I am pleased to report another year of strong financial performance for the business which has demonstrated our ability to continue to grow in different market conditions.
“In the advised market we continue to invest in new functionality to help advisers manage their client portfolios. A focus this year has been supporting advisers with the implementation of the Consumer Duty and next year we will roll out a new client onboarding process which will streamline the new business process for advisers.
“We have recently added a money market portfolio to our MPS range to provide another investment option for advisers and their clients in the current interest environment.”
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Neil Shah, director of research at Edison Group commented: “Investment services platform and provider AJ Bell have posted a very strong set of results today.
“[The company] has ridden the wave of inflation, which drives investment activity, as well as the general growth in retail investment seen since the pandemic,” he continued. “The decision to add bond and gilt purchases to the platform has, in addition, allowed AJ Bell to reap some of the rewards of rising interest rates.
“The growth of the platform, combined with the addition of new tools for institutional investors, shows a company with big ambitions to place itself at the heart of British financial services.”
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