AJ Bell’s platform business saw its inflows drop by over 7 per cent annually in the first quarter of this year, despite winning 20,000 customers in the same period.
In a trading update published today (April 20), the investment platform reported net inflows of £1.2bn for the first three months of 2023, based on inflows of £2.5bn.
This was down from the net inflows of £1.6bn seen in the same period last year from a gross of £2.7bn.
At the same time however, the company grew its customer numbers by 5 per cent in the quarter, up 20,643 to 455,008 - an annual increase of 13 per cent.
AJ Bell’s chief executive Michael Summersgill described it as a “slightly subdued start to 2023” but noted that it gained strong momentum in the run up to the tax year end.
In March alone, the group saw £1.2bn of gross inflows and £0.6bn of net inflows. Summersgill attributed this to customers and advisers taking advantage of annual pension and Isa allowances.
Advised customers also grew on the platform in the period, up 3 per cent in the quarter to 153,400, representing a 12 per cent increase from last year.
The group’s DIY direct-to-consumer (D2C) offering also saw an uptick in customer numbers, up 6 per cent on last quarter and 13 per cent on last year to 301,608.
Summersgill said that the platforms attracted an average customer portfolio size of £309,000 and £70,000 in the advised and D2C markets respectively and noted that they had a customer retention rate of more than 95 per cent.
Elsewhere, the group’s investments business reported a strong quarter.
“Our investments business continues to go from strength to strength and delivered £0.5bn of net inflows in the quarter,” Summersgill said.
“Our investment solutions offer advisers and retail investors great choice and clear communication and have delivered strong long-term performance compared to their peer group. Momentum remained strong heading into the new tax year with AUM passing £4bn in early April.”
Looking to the future, Summersgill commented that the group enters the second half of the financial year in a strong position.
“Our diversified revenue streams and profitable business model support our recent step up in brand investment, whilst also enabling us to continually reinvest in pricing, service and functionality to benefit our customers.
‘Recently announced changes in respect of pensions are further positive news for the platform market, which already benefits from significant long-term structural growth drivers. Our focus remains on continuing to capitalise on the long-term growth opportunity ahead of us in both the advised and D2C markets.”
jane.matthews@ft.com
