LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - AJ Bell said on Wednesday that assets under administration (AuA) in its platform business hit a record in the first quarter as customer numbers grew.
In an update for the three months to the end of December, the company said AuA rose 17% in the last year and 3% in the quarter to a record £89.5bn. Customer numbers were up 16% in the year and 4% in the quarter to 561,000.

Meanwhile, total advised customers grew 8% in the year and 2% in the quarter to 174,000. Total direct-to-consumer customers came in at 387,000, up 20% in the last year and 4% in the quarter.

Net inflows in the quarter were £1.4bn, up from £1.3bn a year earlier.

In the investments business, AuM rose 38% in the last year and 6% in the quarter to £7.2bn, surpassing £7bn for the first time. Net inflows were £0.4bn, in line with the prior year.

Chief executive Michael Summersgill said: "During the quarter we continued to see the benefits of our dual-channel model and the high-quality propositions that we offer to both the advised and D2C market segments.

"Our D2C platform recorded increased net inflows of £1.1 billion, up 57% on the prior year. This strong performance was driven by continued improvements in our brand awareness and our highly competitive pricing, as well as elevated pension contributions in the run up to the October Budget.

"The strength of our advised platform is reflected in strong gross inflows of £1.7 billion, with net inflows of £0.3 billion having been impacted by elevated levels of pre-Budget pension withdrawals, as well as recent adviser consolidation."

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE