- It has been 10 years since the launch of AJ Bell’s Model Portfolio Service (MPS)
- AJ Bell’s MPS has delivered strong performance for advisers and their clients over this period – the Passive MPS has delivered a total return of between 49% and 158%, depending on the chosen risk level
- Significant global macro, political and economic events over the past decade have needed careful navigation to deliver good client outcomes
- AJ Bell’s MPS offering has underpinned strong growth in its Investments business to over £11 billion in assets under management
- That growth has enabled the annual management charge for AJ Bell’s core MPS to be reduced by over 50% to 0.12% per year from 1 October 2026 – from 0.25% at launch
It’s been 10 years since the launch of AJ Bell’s MPS business. Five portfolios were launched in August 2016, offering low-cost, diversified, multi-asset investment solutions to advisers and clients.
The portfolios, run by AJ Bell’s Investments team, make it easy for advisers to offer their clients a comprehensive portfolio service without the need to manage the portfolios themselves.
AJ Bell’s MPS has delivered a strong performance over this period, with the Passive MPS 1, the lowest risk portfolio, delivering a total return of 49% while Passive MPS 5, the highest risk portfolio in the range, has delivered a total return of 158%.
AJ Bell Passive MPS 1, 2, 4 and 5 portfolios fall within the 1st IA sector quartile over the 10 years since launch, and Passive MPS 3 falls in the 2nd quartile.
AJ Bell Passive MPS 10 year performance
Source: Morningstar data, as at 31/07/26.
Initially launched with a range of five risk-targeted passive portfolios, the offering has expanded to include passive, active and pactive portfolios with a range of growth, responsible investment and income objectives.
The MPS range continues to develop, with the Money Market MPS and Gilt MPS ranges launched in 2023 and 2025 respectively to meet advisers’ evolving demands for cash-like investments.
Ryan Hughes, AJ Bell Investments managing director, comments:
“A decade ago, it felt like the MPS market was in its infancy but has now become the default choice for UK financial advisers with thousands of portfolios to choose from.
“Standing out from the crowd can be challenging but I'm proud of how our investment team has navigated a highly complex environment to deliver excellent returns for our customers over such a long period of time.
“As our business has grown, we’ve always looked to share the benefits of this with our customers, the latest of which will see our annual management charge fall to 0.12% from October. This represents a reduction of over 50% from when we first launched back in 2016, putting more money back into the pockets of our customers.
“Our focus for the next decade is clear: keep improving the proposition, maintain a relentless focus on costs and continue helping advisers deliver good outcomes for their clients.”