AJ Bell shares rose on Thursday after the trading platform reported record assets under administration.
The group had £80.3billion worth of AUA as of 31 March, as net inflows jumped 33 per cent year-on-year to £1.6billion.
Customer numbers increased by 19,000 in the quarter, taking the total through the half-a-million milestone to close at 503,000, up 11 per cent in the last year.
Upbeat: AJ Bell shares rose on Thursday after the group reported record assets under administration
AJ Bell said ‘favourable market movements’ had contributed a further 3 per cent to assets under administration (AUA) growth in the quarter.
AJ Bell shares rose 6.27 per cent or 18.50p to 313.50p on Wednesday, having slipped around 4 per cent in the last year.
Gross inflows in March came in at £1.4billion, representing a new monthly record for the business.
The number of total advised customers reached 165,000 by the end of the period, up 8 per cent in the last year and 2 per cent in the quarter.
Across AJ Bell Investments, assets under management increased to £5.8billion, up 49 per cent over the last year and 12 per cent in the quarter.
On 1 April, the FTSE 250-listed group reduced its custody fees for advised customers and halved its headline dealing fee for direct-to-consumer customers to £5.
Michael Summersgill, chief executive of AJ Bell, said: ‘Surpassing half a million platform customers is a significant milestone for the business which reflects the continued success of our dual-channel model.
‘Having listed in 2018 with just under 200,000 platform customers, this landmark demonstrates the strong execution of our organic growth strategy set out at IPO.
‘We remain committed to providing low-cost, easy-to-use products that can be trusted by customers and advisers, and our continued investment into our customer propositions puts us in an excellent position to deliver further strong organic growth in the future.’
He added: ‘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.
‘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.’
The group will publish its interim results for the six months to 31 March on 23 May.
Compare the best DIY investing platforms and stocks & shares Isas
Investing online is simple, cheap and can be done from your computer, tablet or phone at a time and place that suits you.
When it comes to choosing a DIY investing platform, stocks & shares Isa or a general investing account, the range of options might seem overwhelming.
Every provider has a slightly different offering, charging more or less for trading or holding shares and giving access to a different range of stocks, funds and investment trusts.
When weighing up the right one for you, it’s important to to look at the service that it offers, along with administration charges and dealing fees, plus any other extra costs.
To help you compare the best investment accounts, we’ve crunched the facts and pulled together a comprehensive guide to choosing the best and cheapest investing account for you.
We highlight the main players in the table below but would advise doing your own research and considering the points in our full guide linked here.
>> This is Money’s full guide to the best investing platforms and Isas
Platforms featured below are independently selected by This is Money’s specialist journalists. If you open an account using links which have an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence.
| Admin charge | Charges notes | Fund dealing | Standard share, trust, ETF dealing | Regular investing | Dividend reinvestment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell* | 0.25% | Max £3.50 per month for shares, trusts, ETFs. | £1.50 | £5 | £1.50 | £1.50 per deal | More details |
| Bestinvest* | 0.40% (0.2% for ready made portfolios) | Account fee cut to 0.2% for ready made investments | Free | £4.95 | Free for funds | Free for income funds | More details |
| Charles Stanley Direct* | 0.35% | No platform fee on shares if a trade in that month and annual max of £240 | Free | £11.50 | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Fidelity* | 0.35% on funds | £7.50 per month up to £25,000 or 0.35% with regular savings plan. | Free | £7.50 | Free funds £1.50 shares, trusts ETFs | £1.50 | More details |
| Hargreaves Lansdown* | 0.45% | Capped at £45 for shares, trusts, ETFs | Free | £11.95 | £1.50 | 1% (£1 min, £10 max) | More details |
| Interactive Investor* | £4.99 per month under £50k, £11.99 above, £10 extra for Sipp | Free trade worth £3.99 per month (does not apply to £4.99 plan) | £3.99 | £3.99 | Free | £0.99 | More details |
| iWeb | £100 one-off fee (waived until July 2024) | £5 | £5 | n/a | 2%, max £5 | More details | |
| Accounts that have some limits but attractive offers | |||||||
| Etoro* No investment funds or Sipp | Free | Investment account offers stocks and ETFs. Beware high risk CFDs. | Not available | Free | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Trading 212 | Free | Investment account offers stocks and ETFs. Beware high risk CFDs. | Not available | Free | n/a | Free | More details |
| Freetrade* No investment funds | Basic account free, Standard with Isa £4.99, Plus £9.99 | Freetrade Plus with more investments and Sipp is £9.99/month inc. Isa fee | No funds | Free | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Vanguard Only Vanguard’s own products | 0.15% | Only Vanguard funds | Free | Free only Vanguard ETFs | Free | n/a | More details |
| (Source: ThisisMoney.co.uk Mar 2024. Admin % charge may be levied monthly or quarterly | |||||||
