AJ Bell shares fell on Thursday even after the investment platform reported record customer growth and net inflows for its third quarter.
Shares in the Manchester-based platform dropped after AJ Bell published a trading update showing record inflows and customer growth, as markets weighed the numbers against a stock that has already run up sharply this year.
AJ Bell shares were trading at around 602p by mid-morning on Thursday, down 2.1% on the session, having fallen as much as 3.7% to an intraday low of 592.5p. The shares closed at 615p on Wednesday. Even after the fall, the stock remains close to the 662.5p 52-week high it touched earlier this month, and well above its 419.4p 52-week low, set in February.
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In the update, covering the three months to 30 June 2026, AJ Bell said customer numbers rose by 39,000 to 762,000, up 23% year-on-year, while assets under administration on its platform climbed to £121.5bn, a 26% annual increase. The company reported record quarterly gross inflows of £6.0bn, up 50% year-on-year, and record net inflows of £3.0bn, up 43%. Direct-to-consumer customers rose 30% to 571,000 and advised customers rose 6% to 191,000. Its investment business also had its strongest quarter yet, with assets under management up 41% to £11.4bn on record net inflows of £800m.
Chief executive Michael Summersgill said the group had delivered “a quarter of record growth,” adding that its direct-to-consumer platform “maintained its strong growth momentum” while changes to its adviser distribution approach helped drive “another record quarter of gross inflows.” The update also confirmed a cut to the charge on AJ Bell’s core model portfolio service range, to 0.12% from 0.15%, effective from 1 October.
Thursday’s figures mark the third consecutive quarter of record customer and inflow growth at AJ Bell, following similarly record-breaking updates in January and April. The shares jumped 24% in the week after May’s half-year results, which included upgraded profit guidance for the year, and that rally carried the stock to its 662.5p high in early July. Against that backdrop, another strong but not unexpected quarterly update left less room for the shares to extend their gains.
Analysts have been broadly positive on AJ Bell through its growth run. Following May’s half-year results, analysts tracked by Simply Wall St raised their consensus price target by 6% to £5.90, with individual forecasts ranging from £5.20 to £7.20. With the shares having since traded well above that consensus level, Thursday’s dip looked more like profit-taking than a reaction to any weakness in the underlying business.
AJ Bell said it had entered its fourth quarter “with strong momentum,” pointing to structural growth in the UK platform market as more people take responsibility for their long-term savings. The MPS fee cut takes effect on 1 October, at the start of its new financial year, with full-year results due in December. For now, the share price reaction suggests markets see the growth story as intact but fully priced in, leaving little margin for anything short of another record quarter.