How did AJ Bell perform in the latest quarter?

[Lillian McKenna]

[Simon Mugo]

AJ Bell Plc (LON:AJB) today announced that it grew its assets under administration (AUA) by 6% to £50.7bn in Q3 2019, driven by net inflows from existing clients of £1.0bn, £0.2bn in transfers from defined pension schemes as well as £1.6bn generated from market changes.

The investment platform provider also grew its client base to 224,644 in the quarter ended 30th June, a 5% increase compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2018. The funds managed through its platforms recorded a 13% gain in the past 12 months as compared to the 3.5% drop registered by the FTSE all-share index.

Andy Bell, the company’s CEO, said that trading activity on its platforms remained quite strong for both the direct to consumer and advised platforms. Analysts at broker Peel Hunt echoed Bell’s sentiment saying that the platform model was more robust as compared to the traditional asset and wealth management models.

The analysts further attributed the slower growth in assets under administration to the higher regulatory oversight on pension schemes, which reduced inflows from this market segment.