Investment platform AJ Bell has reported a 47% increase in pre-tax profit £61.4m for its first half of 2024 which ended on 31 March (HY23: £41.9m).

The platform also broke through the half a million customer mark for the first time, with 27,000 new customers added in the first half to push total customer numbers to 503,000.

Platform outflows increased to £3.2bn (HY23: £2.4bn).

Advised platform outflows increased by £0.5bn, driven by the underlying growth of the business and higher levels of withdrawals as customers drew down on their investments amid the continued cost of living pressures caused by inflation and higher interest rates.

The advised platform saw a 4% increase in customer numbers to 165,000 as at 31 March (HY23: 153,000).

Net inflows for the advised platform for the six months rose slightly to £1.2bn (HY23: £1.1bn).

Platform assets under administration rose 13% in the first half to a record £80.3bn, driven by net inflows of £2.9bn (HY23: £2.0bn) and favourable market movements of £6.5bn. AJ Bell said the growth of assets was driven by its ongoing investment in its branding and propositions.

Total advised assets under management via the AJ Bell Investcentre and third-party adviser platforms rose 45% to £3.2bn (HY23: £2.2bn).

The half also saw revenues rise 27% to £131.1m (HY23: £103.6m).

Diluted earnings per share rose 40% to 11.11p (HY23: 7.96p).

The platform’s customer retention rate fell slightly to 94.5% (HY23: 95.5%).

Michael Summersgill, CEO at AJ Bell, said the platform has been investing in several areas including branding and propositions.

He said: “Our significant scale and strong profitability has enabled us to continue investing in several areas to support our long-term growth ambitions. We are in the second year of our multi-channel brand campaign and are now reaping some of the benefits of this investment, with our brand awareness showing a meaningful improvement over the course of the last year.

“This has helped us achieve strong customer and AUA growth and gives us the confidence to continue investing in this area as we look to further strengthen the awareness of AJ Bell amongst new and existing retail investors.”

During the half the platform launched its AJ Bell Money Market MPS for advisers, in response to increased demand for ‘cash-like’ returns.

AJ Bell also launched its new ‘ready-made’ pension proposition during the half, enabling clients to consolidate existing pensions with AJ Bell and invest them automatically in its in-house investment solutions.

The platform said many existing customers had already made the choice to consolidate their old pensions, but the new offering will make the consolidation journey easier.