AJ Bell's assets under administration surpass £90bn amid surge in new customers
AJ Bell shares surged on Friday after the firm reported record levels of assets under administration and customer numbers.
The financial services group revealed its investment platform arm's assets totalled £90.4billion at the end of March, up 5 per cent from £86.5billion in September.
It is the first time the figure has exceeded £90billion.
AJ Bell said the surge in assets was primarily driven by net inflows increasing by £3.3billion and 'favourable market movements' of £0.6million despite stock market volatility ahead of President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff remarks.
AJ Bell, which sponsors the Great North Run, also managed to increase the division's total retail clients over the period by 9 per cent, or 51,000, to 593,000.
The combined boost in assets and consumers helped boost the Manchester-based company's turnover by 17 per cent year-on-year to £153.2million.
Greater customer dealing activity both before and after the US presidential election led to revenue from transactional fees soaring by 45 per cent to £25.2million.
And while profit margins declined by 1.9 percentage points to 44.9 per cent owing to investment aimed at growing its business, AJ Bell's pre-tax profits still expanded by 12 per cent to £68.8million.
Following the result, the firm has announced a hike to its half-year dividend of 4.5 pence per share and a share buyback programme of up to £25million.
Shares in AJ Bell were the FTSE 250 Index's second-biggest riser by late afternoon, up 5.95 per cent to 484.4p, just behind precious metal company Hochschild Mining.
Michael Summersgill, chief executive at AJ Bell, said: 'The structural drivers of growth in the platform market remain strong, and the investments we are making in our brand and propositions put us in a great position to capitalise on this significant opportunity.
He added: 'We are well positioned to continue to succeed and invest for long-term growth across a range of different market conditions.
'We have started the second half of the year well, with March's strong momentum continuing into April.'
Trump's tariff measures have incited considerable market uncertainty and elevated activity volumes among AJ Bell's DIY investors.
As well as a 10 per cent baseline tariff on US goods imports, steel and aluminium products entering the US are subject to a 25 per cent import tax, while a 30 per cent levy applies to Chinese-made goods.
Reciprocal tariffs on dozens of nations and a 145 per cent tax on imports from China are currently suspended.
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