AJ Bell Investments has surpassed £5 billion in assets under management (AUM), reaching the milestone at the end of 2023 just seven years on from its launch.
Low charges and strong performance across AJ Bell’s funds and MPS continue to attract new investors, with AUM up 53% in the last year.
The business launched its first MPS under AJ Bell Investments in 2016, offering a passive investment portfolio to advisers and clients.
A range of core multi-asset funds were added in 2017, with funds designed for growth and income investors, as well as those seeking a responsible investment approach. The funds have consistently outperformed their Investment Association sector average, with ongoing charges as low as 0.31%.
An active MPS was introduced in 2018, followed by the 2019 launch of a blended MPS offering exposure to both passive and active funds.
In November last year AJ Bell launched its new Money Market MPS. The service is designed for customers seeking cash-like returns, allowing them to hold assets within their existing tax wrappers without the need to transfer to off-platform cash accounts. It has no management charge, meaning customers pay only platform fees and the cost of underlying funds with an average OCF of 0.10%.
Paul Angell was appointed head of investments last year, joining from Square Mile to work with Ryan Hughes, who joined AJ Bell in 2016, and AJ Bell’s team of analysts and fund managers.
Ryan Hughes, interim Investments managing director at AJ Bell, comments:
“Hitting the £5 billion milestone is a fantastic achievement and reflects the hard work that the team has put in since the launch of the business in 2016. The focus of our investment solutions for both the D2C and advisory market has always been to provide simple, transparent and low-cost investments that meet the needs of investors and that will continue.
“I’m particularly proud we have been able to drive down the cost of our investment solutions as our assets have grown, passing the benefit of that scale back to customers. That is something we are committed to doing as we continue to grow, delivering exceptional value for our customers.”