AJ Bell’s assets under administration hit £57bn during the year ended 30 September, led by a boom in direct-to-consumer (D2C) customers investing during lockdown.
The investment platform’s total number of customers increased by 27% during the year to 295,305, with platform customers alone jumping 29%, taking the total to 281,094.
A further breakdown revealed advised customers increased 11% during the year to 108,911 while D2C customers were up 43% at 172,183.
As a result, platform underlying net inflows increased by 28% year-on-year at £4.1bn, compared with £3.2bn in 2019.
D2C underlying net flows were up 50% compared to 2019, with £2.1bn flowing in. Advised underlying net inflows increased 11% at £2bn.
Platform AUA ended the year at £49.7bn, up 11% compared with the previous year.
See also: UK investment industry enjoys savings boon as demand slump savages the economy
The results come after a record spike in savings in Q2 as UK households saved 29.1% of their income on average, compared to 9.6% in the previous quarter, according to the Office of National Statistics.
The savings ratio has averaged 8.2% over the last 20 years, previously peaking at 12.2% in Q1 2010 and hitting its lowest rate of 4.7% in Q1 2017.
Andy Bell hails ‘another year of strong growth’
AJ Bell chief executive Andy Bell (pictured) said: “We are pleased to report another year of strong growth in customers and assets under administration, delivered against a continuing backdrop of extreme market volatility and significant disruption to people’s lives caused by Covid-19.
“Our focus on the needs of our customers and our easy-to-use platform has fuelled a 29% increase in platform customers, with particularly strong progress made in the direct-to-consumer market. Inflows also rose markedly, resulting in a robust increase in assets under administration despite heavy falls on the UK stock market.”
Last month, a note issued by broker Liberum said investing in wealth managers was a better way to play the increasing savings culture in the UK than overvalued savings platforms. But platforms remain a popular holding in some fund managers’ portfolios, including the Liontrust sustainable investment team and Troy’s Blake Hutchins.
