AJ Bell has reported a 12% rise in customer numbers over the past year, and believes it is now “well placed” to capitalise on the “significant opportunities for growth” it believes exist in the platform space.
In a trading update for the three months ended 30 June, the firm said customer numbers increased by 10,606 in the quarter to close at 465,614.
Total advised customers now stand at 156,368, up 10% in the past year and 2% in the quarter.
Meanwhile, D2C customer numbers total 309,246, up 12% in the past year and 3% in the quarter.
Assets under administration (AUA) closed at £69.8bn, up 10% over the past year and 2% in the quarter.
AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill told Money Marketing the business sees opportunities in two areas in the advised market.
“Firstly, the take up of our investment solutions where we are seeing strong demand for our low-cost managed portfolio service that is fully integrated with our platform offering,” he said.
“Secondly, the development of more mobile-focused platform services to help advisers meet the needs of a wider range of clients, particularly younger generations who expect everything to be mobile enabled.
“Not just being able to see and interact with their account once it is set up but the whole advice and onboarding process.”
In the trading update, he said: “Continued growth in customer numbers and net inflows of over £1bn onto our platform in the quarter once again demonstrate the strength of our dual-channel platform model.
“Assets under administration on our platform now stand at a record high of £69.8bn.
He said that, in the advised market, there has been a “moderation in transfer activity” as advisers and their clients exercise more caution in the face of ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment.
Despite this, AJ Bell attracted £400m of net inflows to its advised platform during the quarter and added almost 3,000 new customers.
“Momentum in the D2C market remained strong after the tax year end as customers took advantage of their new annual ISA and pension allowances,” he added.
“Our open architecture platform ensures that customers have the flexibility to choose from a broad range of investment options depending on market conditions.
“The sharp rise in interest rates has stimulated strong demand for short-dated government bonds and money market funds, with eight of the 20 most popular investment choices by traded value in the quarter falling into these categories.”
More broadly, Summersgill said AJ Bell is “well prepared” for the implementation of the new Consumer Duty coming into force at the end of this month.
“We believe this will be positive for consumers, with an increased focus on value for money and ensuring good customer outcomes set to improve standards within the market,” he said.
“It is important that there is no delay beyond the next year in the new duty applying to legacy pension schemes, particularly given the FCA has recently stated that savers in older schemes may be at greatest risk of poor value for money.”
