AJ Bell (LON:AJB) reported record first-half customer growth and net inflows in its 2026 interim results, with management saying the investment platform performed strongly despite political uncertainty in the U.K. and heightened market volatility linked to the tariff war.
The company said platform customers increased by 79,000 during the first half to 723,000, a 12% rise. Platform assets under administration ended the period at GBP 108.7 billion, up 5%, while platform net inflows rose 27% from the prior year to a record GBP 4.2 billion.
Revenue increased 19% to GBP 183 million, supported by recurring ad valorem revenue and transactional revenue. Underlying profit before tax rose 15% to GBP 79 million, with an underlying profit before tax margin of 43.2%.
Management Highlights Growth in a Volatile Market
Chief Executive Michael Summersgill said AJ Bell delivered a “fantastic” performance in what he described as a “chaotic environment,” citing another U.K. budget in the autumn and market volatility from the tariff war by the end of the six-month period.
Summersgill said the U.K. platform market remains attractive, noting that the market has grown about 11% annually since AJ Bell listed. He said the company is gaining market share because its inflows each year are “far higher” than its existing market share, supported by service levels, product development and brand investment.
The company said its board declared an interim dividend of GBP 0.05 per share, an 11% increase from the prior year. AJ Bell also approved a further share buyback program of up to GBP 15 million, in addition to a previously announced GBP 50 million program.
AI, Automation and Product Development Remain Priorities
Summersgill said AJ Bell is “big fans” of artificial intelligence and is already deploying the technology at scale in operations. He said AI is becoming increasingly important in attracting customers in the direct market and is being explored for product development in both the direct and advised channels.
However, he cautioned that AI is “not always the right tool for the job” and must work alongside human relationships in financial services, particularly where trust, customer service and complex financial advice are involved.
Chief Financial Officer Peter Birch said AJ Bell has built its own GenAI-as-a-Service platform to deploy AI across areas including proposition development and operations. He cited customer service tools that help staff deal more efficiently with calls and emails, with the company handling about 150,000 such interactions per month.
Birch said the use of AI also provides customer sentiment analysis, helping the company identify customer issues and feed insights into engagement and future product development.
AJ Bell is also changing its approach to AJ Bell Touch. Summersgill said advisers responded positively to the customer journeys and capabilities built for the Touch platform, but wanted those capabilities across a broader client base. As a result, the company is redeploying the Touch development team to incorporate those capabilities into the AJ Bell Investcentre platform and retiring the AJ Bell Touch sub-brand.
Costs Rise as Company Invests in Growth
Birch said AJ Bell’s business model is “highly scalable,” supported by a dual-channel, single operating model serving both advised and direct-to-consumer markets through one technology stack.
Costs excluding exceptional items increased 21% to GBP 106.2 million. Birch said business-as-usual costs remain under control and are rising at a lower rate than customer numbers, while most of the cost increase came from investment in distribution, brand and marketing. He said those investments produced “significant rewards” in new customer acquisition and net inflows.
Transactional revenue rose 37%, driven by high customer dealing activity, particularly overseas dealing activity that affected foreign exchange revenue. Recurring ad valorem revenue benefited from higher market levels, which lifted custody fees, and higher cash balances, which supported net interest margin.
AJ Bell recorded net exceptional items of GBP 13.8 million. Birch said this included profit from the disposal of the Platinum SIPP and SSAS business in November, along with a GBP 7.6 million charge related to the write-down of the Touch intangible asset following the decision to redeploy that capability to Investcentre.
Birch said the platform continued to scale while maintaining service levels. Despite higher activity, 94% of calls were answered within 20 seconds, and in March the average time to answer a call was eight seconds. He said AJ Bell retained its 4.9 Trustpilot score and became a Which? recommended provider for the eighth consecutive year.
Guidance Upgraded for FY26
Birch said AJ Bell is upgrading its fiscal 2026 guidance because it expects revenue margin to be higher than previously indicated, reflecting stronger transaction income and ad valorem income in the first half.
He said the company plans to invest more than originally planned in brand and marketing during the second half, given the returns from that spending. Even with the additional investment, Birch said AJ Bell expects profit before tax and profit before tax margin to be ahead of its original guidance, with the profit before tax margin above 40%.
Looking beyond fiscal 2026, Birch said revenue margin is expected to moderate over time as the company continues to reinvest in pricing and as cash balances and overseas dealing activity normalize. He said AJ Bell will keep business-as-usual costs under control while retaining flexibility to reinvest in growth drivers such as brand, marketing and proposition development.
Policy Uncertainty Remains a Concern
Summersgill criticized current policy formation in the U.K. investment market, saying efforts to increase retail investing should focus on reducing complexity and helping first-time investors overcome confidence barriers. He said AJ Bell wanted ISAs simplified but now expects more complexity.
He said stocks and shares ISAs are among the best products for first-time investors and warned that their attractiveness could be reduced if key features, including tax-free status and the ability to invest in lower-risk assets such as money market funds, are affected. He called for a public consultation and an evidence-based approach.
Summersgill also pointed to uncertainty around pensions tax policy, saying the build-up to recent U.K. budgets has affected customer behavior. He said AJ Bell has seen more than GBP 1 billion of excess pension withdrawals over the past two years as customers reacted to concerns about possible tax changes.
Despite those concerns, Summersgill said the outlook for AJ Bell is “hugely positive,” supported by customer demand to invest and take control of personal finances. He said the company will continue investing in brand, technology and products while relying on its service levels, team and culture.
About AJ Bell (LON:AJB)
Established in 1995, AJ Bell is one of the largest investment platforms in the UK, operating at scale in both the advised and direct-to-consumer markets. Our purpose is to help people invest by providing them with easy access to Pensions, ISAs and General investment accounts, great customer service and competitive charges. Our two core platform propositions are AJ Bell in the D2C market and AJ Bell Investcentre in the advised market, which both provide access to a broad investment range including shares and other instruments traded on the major stock exchanges around the world, as well as all mainstream collective investments available in the UK and our own range of AJ Bell funds.
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