Manchester headquartered investment platform AJ Bell has reported a strong start to its financial year, highlighting record customer growth and platform assets, while urging the government for greater clarity on pension tax ahead of its next fiscal event.
In a trading update for the three months to 31 December 2025, AJ Bell said customer numbers rose by 29,000 to 673,000, marking a 20 per cent increase over the past year and 5 per cent growth in the quarter. Platform assets under administration also hit a record £108 billion, up 21 per cent year-on-year and 5 per cent in the first quarter.
Michael Summersgill, AJ Bell’s chief executive, said: “I am pleased to report a strong start to the financial year, delivering record levels of gross inflows onto both our advised and D2C platform propositions and attracting 29,000 new platform customers. This excellent customer growth reflects the impact of ongoing investment in our brand and platform propositions.”
He added that AJ Bell continues to invest to accelerate growth, including the launch of a new multi-channel brand advertising campaign ahead of the tax year end. The campaign builds on the success of the firm’s ‘Feel good, investing’ campaign, which has driven record levels of brand awareness over the past year.
However, Summersgill noted that record inflows were moderated by temporarily elevated outflows, largely due to market uncertainty ahead of the UK Budget. “Customers nearing retirement responded to speculation around potential pension tax changes, resulting in a £500 million increase in pension withdrawals compared with Q1 FY25,” he said.
He continued: “Persistent uncertainty in the lead-up to the last two Budgets has become an unwelcome feature of the market, prompting higher levels of assets moving out of pensions and risk-based investments. This is directly at odds with the Government’s stated ambition to boost retail investing. We hope to see a more considered approach to the next fiscal event and urge government to provide a clear commitment to pension tax stability going forward.”
Summersgill concluded that AJ Bell has started the year with strong momentum. “The platform market presents significant long-term growth opportunities, and our dual-channel model, supported by continued business investment, ensures we are well-placed to deliver on this opportunity.”
