AJ Bell sees profits rise by almost a third despite COVID-19
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Andy Bell
AJ Bell, one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, has seen its profits rise by almost a third despite the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm’s profit before tax increased by 29% to £48.6 million from £37.7m the year before. Its revenue increased by 31% to £126.7m from £104.9m in 2019.
For the year ended 30 September 2020, AJ Bell attracted a record 63,239 customers, taking its total to 295,305. They brought with them £4.2 billion of net inflows, which pushed the company’s total assets up by 8% to reach £56.5bn, despite a 19% drop in Britain’s FTSE All-Share index over the period.
Andy Bell, the group’s chief executive and co-founder, said that COVID has been a ‘wake up call’ to savers across the country, encouraging them to alter their finances.
He said: “People are engaging with their investments and finances more than they’ve ever done.”
He added: “The long-term growth drivers of the platform market remain strong, with customers increasingly looking for good value, online solutions and we are well-positioned to benefit from those trends.”
In light of the strong performance, the AJ Bell’s board has recommended a final ordinary dividend of 4.66p per share, taking the total ordinary dividend for the year to 6.16p per share.
This is an increase of 28% on the previous year.
Shares in AJ Bell rose 28½p, or 6.7 per cent, to 453p.
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