Advised platform customers rose 8% for AJ Bell to pass 171,000 for the year ended 30 September (30 September 2023: 159,000).

Total customer numbers rose 66,000 for the platform and SIPP provider to 557,000, with a 17% rise in direct customers to 371,000.

AJ Bell ended the year with £92.2bn (2023: £76.1 billion) in assets under administration.

Favourable market movements contributed £10.0bn (2023: £2.8bn) as global equity values recovered from the challenges experienced in previous years.

Advised platform assets rose to £561.bn as at 30 September 2024. A total of £2.2bn of this was attributable to net inflows (2023: £1.9bn), with the remaining £5.7bn coming from market and other movements.

Outflows rose for the advised platform to £4.3bn (2023: £3.1bn) driven by client withdrawals due to cost of living pressures.

The direct to consumer platform ended the year with £30.4bn in assets under administration, with £3.9bn of net inflows for the year (2023: £2.3bn).

Combined platform net inflows were £6.1bn (2023: £4.2bn), a rise of 45% year-on-year, with the combined business seeing a 22% rise (year-on-year) total assets under administration which ended the year at £86.5bn.

The platform and SIPP provider said it saw increased demand for its investment solutions from advisers via AJ Bell Investcentre and third-party adviser platforms. Its investments business recorded net inflows of £1.5bn, and total AUM closing at £6.8bn (2023: £4.7bn).   

Revenue increased by 23% to £269.4m (2023: £218.2m) for AJ Bell for the year ended 30 September. Profit before tax rose 29% year-on-year to £113.3m.

Recurring fixed fees increased by 5% to £32.1m (FY23: £30.7m), driven by increased pension administration revenue following growth in the firm’s advised platform customers.

The platform and SIPP provider also announced a share buyback programme of up to £30m as the firm looks to return surplus capital to shareholders.

Michael Summersgill, CEO at AJ Bell said he was confident on the outlook for both AJ Bell and the broader platform market.

He said: "The long-term structural growth drivers of the market remain strong, as more individuals recognise the importance of taking control of their financial future. Platforms offer an excellent solution for managing long-term finances, and we remain very well-positioned to capitalise on this growing demand. We will continue to reinvest the benefits of scale in our platform propositions, ensuring that we are well equipped to serve both existing and new customers, delivering great value to them alongside strong profitability and shareholder returns."

AJ Bell also provided an update on the development of its simplified advised proposition, AJ Bell Touch. The platform and SIPP provider has now completed beta testing, receiving some “excellent feedback” from advisers.

AJ Bell claims that through its streamlined, intuitive user interfaces, AJ Bell Touch is able to deliver greater efficiencies for advisers, enabling them to engage with a wider range of clients.