AJ Bell, one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, has revealed that its total customer numbers increased to 232,066 in the last financial year, a 17% rise.

The investment platform has issued a trading update in respect of its financial year – ending 30 September 2019 – which also revealed that total assets under administration climbed to £52.3bn, a 13% increase. In comparison, the FTSE All-Share index decreased by 2% over the year.

AJ Bell has suggested that its growth during the year was driven by its platform business.

“Our first full year trading update since the IPO demonstrates the resilience of our business model,” commented AJ Bell CEO, Andy Bell.

“During periods of unsettled markets and political uncertainty, customers have a greater need for established, trustworthy businesses offering high quality service – at low cost to meet their evolving investment needs. This has enabled us to continue to add customers and assets to the platform.

“Platform customer numbers continued to grow strongly, up 19% over the year, and platform assets under administration increased 16%, despite a 2% fall in the FTSE All-Share. Underlying platform inflows remained robust at £5.4bn, and transfers from DB pensions added a further £0.9bn.”

“The long-term growth drivers of the platform market remain strong, with customers increasingly looking to take control of their long-term savings with flexible, low-cost, online solutions. This, coupled with our strong customer retention rate, positions us well to achieve our organic growth ambitions.”

AJ Bell has revealed it will be announcing its full results for the year ended 30 September 2019 on 5 December 2019.

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