AJ Bell posts bumper asset growth, sees improved investor sentiment

(This April 18 story has been corrected to specify that net inflows refers to its platform business, and clarifies growth figures in its assets under management, in paragraph 3)

LONDON (Reuters) - AJ Bell reported record assets under administration of 80.3 billion pounds ($100.23 billion) on Thursday, up 5% in the three months to end-March and 17% higher than the same period in 2023, pointing to signs of rebounding sentiment among investors.

The British investment platform business also said customer numbers increased by 19,000 in the quarter, taking total customers to 503,000, up 11% in the last year and 4% in the quarter.

Quarterly net inflows to its platform business rose 33% year on year to 1.6 billion pounds. Meanwhile, Q2 assets under management rose to 5.8 billion pounds, up 49% over the year.

The company said improving retail investor sentiment helped to deliver 1.4 billion pounds of gross inflows in March alone,a new monthly record for the business. "Surpassing half a million platform customers is a significant milestone for the business which reflects the continued success of our dual-channel model," Michael Summersgill, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, said.

The firm listed in 2018 with just under 200,000 platform customers.

"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," Summersgill said.

AJ Bell has attempted a slew of fee reductions to reel in new business, and after the UK financial watchdog stepped up warnings to investment advisers to provide better value for money to customers.

Since April 1, AJ Bell said it had reduced custody fees for advised customers, halved its headline dealing fee for retail clients and increased the interest rates payable on cashbalances held across all products.

($1 = 0.8012 pounds)

(Reporting By Sinead Cruise, editing by Andres Gonzalez)