(Alliance News) - AJ Bell PLC on Thursday touted the efficacy of its dual-channel model, after publishing a strong trading update ahead of its annual results in December.
For the year ended September 30, the FTSE 250-listed firm, which provides online investment platforms and stockbroker services, reported net inflows of GBP1.65 billion, up 57% from GBP1.05 billion a year prior.
Total assets under management were GBP4.7 billion, up 68% from GBP2.8 billion.
Total platform assets under management were GBP3.8 billion, from GBP2.7 billion the previous year. Non-platform assets under management were GBP900 million, from GBP100 million.
During the year, customer numbers increased by 12% to 476,532, up as AJ Bell's dual-channel platform continued to deliver "strong organic growth" in both advised and direct-to-consumer customers.
Total advised customers rose 10% to 159,256, while total direct-to-consumer customers were up 13% to 317,276.
"At an industry level, we continue to engage with Government on potential ISA reforms, with our focus being on simplifying the existing ISA landscape to make it easier for retail investors to navigate. We believe this will encourage a greater number of people to invest via ISAs which would benefit UK listed firms given the natural home bias exhibited by retail investors," said Chief Executive Officer Michael Summersgill.
"The long-term growth drivers of the investment platform market remain strong, and we look forward to announcing the annual results for what has been another successful year for AJ Bell in December."
AJ Bell will announce its full-year results on December 7.
AJ Bell shares were trading 1.9% higher at 259.14 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.