AJ Bell, the Manchester-based investment platform, ended its financial year with a record £126 billion in platform assets under administration (AUA) after adding more than 150,000 customers in 12 months, driven by strong growth in its direct-to-consumer business.
Total platform customers rose 24% to 796,000 in the year to 30 September 2026, with the direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel leading the charge, adding 140,000 customers to close at 602,000, up 30% year-on-year.
Platform AUA grew 22% from £103.3 billion, supported by record gross inflows of £21.5 billion, up 36% on the prior year, and net inflows of £9.7 billion, up 37%.
Favourable market movements contributed a further £13 billion to the AUA total.
The group's investment business also hit a record, with assets under management (AUM) climbing 36% to £12.1 billion, helped by record net inflows of £1.9 billion.
The advised platform grew more steadily, with customer numbers up 7% to 194,000 and gross inflows of £8.7 billion, described by the company as a record for that channel.
AJ Bell finished the year strongly, with platform net inflows of £2.5 billion in the final quarter, up 47% on the same period a year earlier, and net new customers of 34,000, up 42%.
Chief executive Michael Summersgill said the results reflected the success of a strategy to accelerate growth through increased investment in brand, marketing and platform propositions.
"Record growth during the year provides clear evidence of the success of that approach, as we continued to attract high-quality customers who are long-term investors with significant potential to grow their assets over time," he said.
AJ Bell also confirmed that the wind-down of its remaining third-party self-invested personal pension (SIPP) administration business will complete in the first quarter of its new financial year, with most of the customers and assets expected to transfer onto its D2C platform.
The company said it would announce full-year results on 3 December 2026.
