AJ Bell first-quarter assets under management, net inflows rise

Investment platform AJ Bell reported a rise in first-quarter assets under administration and net inflows on Thursday as its customer numbers grew.

In the three months to the end of December 2020, total customer numbers increased to 312,309, up 30% over the last 12 months and 6% on the quarter. Meanwhile, total net inflows for the quarter were £1.6bn, double the level reported in the first quarter of 2019.

Total assets under administration rose 11% on the quarter to £62.5bn, which was a 14% increase over the year.

Reporting for the first time, AJ Bell Investments' assets under management came in at £1bn, doubling from the year before. Net inflows of AUM in the quarter were £147m, up 91% from the first quarter of 2019.

Chief executive Andy Bell said: "We have had a strong start to our financial year as customer numbers, net inflows, AUA and AUM all showed significant growth in the quarter. Increased awareness and trust in our brand continued to attract new advisers and customers to our easy - to - use, competitively priced platform.

"In the D2C market we continued to see increased demand for our easy-to-use, low-cost investment platform, enabling our customers to control and manage their investments and long-term savings.

"We are also making good progress with our investment business and are pleased to report that assets under management broke through the £1bn milestone in the quarter."