AJ Bell plc (LON:AJB), one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, has issued a trading update in respect of the three months ended 30 June 2025.
Performance overview
Platform business
| · | Investment in our brand and propositions has driven excellent growth in customers and net inflows |
| · | Customer numbers increased by 27,000 in the quarter to close at 620,000, up 17% in the last year and 5% in the quarter |
| o Total advised customers of 180,000, up 7% in the last year and 2% in the quartero Total D2C customers of 440,000, up 22% in the last year and 6% in the quarter | |
| · | Assets under administration (“AUA”) closed at £96.1 billion, up 15% over the last year and 6% in the quarter |
| · | Underlying gross and net inflows across the platform higher than prior year, reflecting a continuation of the strong momentum reported in the previous quarter |
| o Underlying gross inflows in the quarter of £4.0 billion (2024: £3.7 billion)o Underlying net inflows in the quarter of £2.1 billion (2024: £1.7 billion) | |
| · | In addition, the D2C platform benefited from the migration of 2,000 customers and £0.4 billion of AUA from the non-platform book as part of our exit from a third-party SIPP administration arrangement, with those customers choosing AJ Bell for their full platform service |
| · | Favourable market movements of 4% of opening AUA in the quarter |
| · | Trustpilot rating increased to 4.9-stars, emphasising our market-leading customer service |
AJ Bell Investments
| · | Assets under management (“AUM”) increased to £8.1 billion, up 29% over the last year and 8% in the quarter |
| · | Net inflows in the quarter of £0.4 billion, in line with the prior year (2024: £0.4 billion) |
Non-platform business
| · | The sale of our Platinum SIPP and SSAS business remains on track |
Michael Summersgill, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:
“I am pleased to report a quarter of record-breaking growth for the business, with our dual-channel platform delivering our strongest ever quarterly net inflows of £2.5 billion and attracting over 25,000 new customers. These results underscore the strength of our low-cost, easy-to-use propositions across both the Advised and D2C platform markets and the benefits of our continued business investments. AJ Bell Investments also delivered another strong quarter, with net inflows pushing assets under management beyond £8 billion – highlighting the appeal of our simple, low-cost investment solutions.
“The quarter began with significant volatility across global equity markets, during which we saw elevated levels of dealing activity, as many customers took the opportunity to invest. Markets have since rebounded positively from late April through June, and dealing activity has normalised towards the long-term average levels seen earlier in the year. Throughout this period, we remained focused on delivering exceptional customer service – reflected in our Trustpilot rating reaching 4.9-stars, further reinforcing our market-leading position.
“We were pleased to launch AJ Bell Touch, our simplified advised platform, at the end of June. AJ Bell Touch will sit alongside our existing advised platform offering, allowing advisers to service clients efficiently within a streamlined, app-only customer proposition. This supports firms in broadening their target market and addressing the significant advice gap in the UK.
“The business is a leading campaigner for reforms that help people to access straightforward, low-cost investment products. Encouraging progress continues to be made on the regulatory framework for Targeted Support, which promises to provide customers who do not have access to financial advice with additional help making investment decisions. Alongside simplification of the ISA system, this could offer a powerful combination of measures, making it easier for people to invest and reducing friction between saving and long-term investment. We are encouraged that government continues to explore ISA reform and have committed to a public awareness campaign on investing, presenting an opportunity to help foster a stronger retail investing culture in the UK.
“We enter the final quarter with strong momentum which underpins our confidence in the full year performance. Our dual-channel strategy, supported by continued investment in our brand and propositions, positions us well to capture further share in the fast-growing UK platform market.”
| Three months ended 30 June 2025 | Advised Platform | D2C Platform | Total Platform | Non-platform | Total |
| Opening customers (k) | 177 | 416 | 593 | 15 | 608 |
| Closing customers (k) | 180 | 440 | 620 | 13 | 633 |
| AUA and AUM (£billion) | |||||
| Opening AUA | 57.1 | 33.3 | 90.4 | 5.8 | 96.2 |
| Underlying inflows(1) | 1.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 4.1 |
| Underlying outflows(2) | (1.1) | (0.8) | (1.9) | (0.2) | (2.1) |
| Underlying net inflows | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | (0.1) | 2.0 |
| Migration(3) | – | 0.4 | 0.4 | (0.4) | – |
| Total net inflows | 0.6 | 1.9 | 2.5 | (0.5) | 2.0 |
| Market and other movements(4) | 1.3 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 0.1 | 3.3 |
| Closing AUA | 59.0 | 37.1 | 96.1 | 5.4 | 101.5 |
| Closing AUM | 4.1 | 2.3 | 6.4(5) | 1.7(6) | 8.1 |
| Three months ended 30 June 2024 | Advised Platform | D2C Platform | Total Platform | Non-platform | Total |
| Opening customers (k) | 165 | 338 | 503 | 15 | 518 |
| Closing customers (k) | 168 | 360 | 528 | 15 | 543 |
| AUA and AUM (£billion) | |||||
| Opening AUA | 53.4 | 26.9 | 80.3 | 5.5 | 85.8 |
| Inflows(1) | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 0.1 | 3.8 |
| Outflows(2) | (1.2) | (0.8) | (2.0) | (0.1) | (2.1) |
| Net inflows | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.7 | – | 1.7 |
| Market and other movements(4) | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Closing AUA | 54.9 | 28.8 | 83.7 | 5.6 | 89.3 |
| Closing AUM | 3.4 | 1.7 | 5.1(5) | 1.2(6) | 6.3 |
(1) Transfers-in, subscriptions, contributions and tax relief
(2) Transfers-out, cash withdrawals, benefits and tax payments
(3) Migration relates to the wind down of a White-label SIPP administration agreement
(4) Total investment returns and revaluations, net of charges and taxes
(5) Platform AUA which is held in AJ Bell’s Funds or Managed Portfolio Service
(6) Assets which are held in AJ Bell’s Funds or Managed Portfolio Service via third-party platforms
