AJ Bell sees first half slightly ahead of expectations

Investment platform company AJ Bell said it expected interim results to be slightly ahead of expectations as total assets under administration (AUA) rose 8% to £47.7bn in the second quarter.

Total customer numbers increased 5% in the quarter to 214,853 with growth driven by the platform business, the company said in a trading update.

Platform customer numbers increased by 10,424 to a record high of 200,922, up 5% during the quarter.

Platform AUA increased 9% to a new high of £40.6bn. This was was boosted by a combination of underlying net inflows of £800m, defined benefit (DB) pension transfers of £200m and favourable market movements of £2.3bn.

“In line with industry trends and the expectations set out in the company's first quareter trading update in January 2019, DB pension transfers to the advised platform continued to decline but still contributed to inflows during the quarter,” the company said.