AJ Bell customers pass half a million as investors flock to low-cost platform

The number of AJ Bell customers has surpassed 500,000, up from under 200,000 when the company listed in 2018.

In the first three months of the year, the company’s platform saw £1.6bn flow into it, mainly coming from consumers investing their money directly. Customer numbers increased 19,000.

Despite representing only a third of its platform business, the direct-to-consumer arm saw much more rapid growth over the quarter, with consumers adding £1bn in new money, compared to £600m for its financial adviser section.

However, the advised platform section experienced higher investment performance over the quarter, adding £1.8bn from market movement compared to £700m for the direct-to-consumer arm.

The group now has £53.4bn in its advised platform and £26.9bn in its direct-to-consumer platform. Total assets under administration at the end of March stood at £80.3bn.

In recent days, the do-it-yourself investment platform has been criticized for making the purchase of some investment trusts difficult.

AJ Bell said it had not blocked the trading of trusts, despite claims online that customers had been unable to purchase trusts such as Chrysalis Investments.

“The assets in question can still be bought and sold, although purchases currently need to be made through our telephone dealing service (with the standard £5 dealing charge) rather than online,” an AJ Bell spokesperson said.

AJ Bell’s investments arm saw assets under management increase to £5.8bn, up 49 per cent over the last year and 12 per cent since the start of 2024. This came from net inflows of £400m into the investments business.

At the start of this month, the group reduced its custody fees for advised customers. It also halved its headline dealing fee for direct-to-consumer customers to £5 while increasing the interest rates it pays on cash held on its platforms.

Michael Summersgill, AJ Bell’s CEO, said surpassing half a million customers was “a significant milestone for the business which reflects the continued success of our dual-channel model”.

“We are excited about the forthcoming launch of our ready-made pension service, which will help customers to easily consolidate their existing pensions with AJ Bell and invest them automatically via our low-cost, in-house investment solutions,” added Summersgill.

“Looking further ahead, the growth opportunity for the platform market remains significant and our ongoing brand investment will continue to drive increased awareness of AJ Bell, supporting our long-term growth ambitions.”