Press Releases

AJ Bell has today launched a new mobile app for clients of AJ Bell Investcentre, its adviser platform. The option to add adviser branding will be added later this year.

The AJ Bell Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) and its range of passive funds have now been mapped to the risk ratings provided by EValue and Defaqto.

AJ Bell has launched a stocks and shares Lifetime ISA (LISA) for clients of financial advisers via the AJ Bell Investcentre platform. AJ Bell is only the second adviser platform to offer a LISA.

AJ Bell Investcentre has announced two unique Luminary 2018 seminars for advisers and paraplanners this June.

AJ Bell has reduced the price investors pay for its Passive Balanced fund by 6% as part of a wider commitment to passing economies of scale back to investors as it grows its fund business.

AJ Bell has today become the first investment platform in the UK to launch a Developer Hub through which banks and other financial apps will be able to request to link to the AJ Bell Youinvest platform.

Continued strong growth at AJ Bell boosts profits by 24% ahead of potential IPO

AJ Bell has signed a multi-year deal with British Triathlon to become title partner of the AJ Bell World Triathlon Leeds.

AJ Bell, one of the UK’s leading investment platforms operating in both the direct-to-consumer and advised markets, has appointed Laura Carstensen to its Board as non-executive director as it prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange.

AJ Bell has launched four new portfolios within its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) that are targeted to provide a specific level of income. The income portfolios have been launched in response to the ongoing demand for income solutions from advisers and their clients and will be particularly relevant to income drawdown clients.

AJ Bell has launched an active management version of its Managed Portfolio Service for financial advisers. The new portfolios, which are available exclusively on the AJ Bell Investcentre platform, give advisers greater flexibility to meet differing client needs by mirroring AJ Bell’s existing passive MPS but with the new portfolios implemented via a choice of actively managed funds.

AJ Bell Youinvest has overtaken Hargreaves Lansdown to take the top spot in Platforum’s annual Investor Experience Leaderboard and was voted Best Direct Platform at the awards ceremony held on 13 February.

AJ Bell has reduced the management charge on its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) by 40%. The price cut came into effect on 1 February 2018 and sees the annual management charge reduce from 0.25% + VAT to 0.15% + VAT. The change makes the AJ Bell MPS one of the cheapest in the market for financial advisers and their clients.

AJ Bell’s new head office at 4 Exchange Quay (EQ4) has been independently recognised as a high-performance workplace, ranking it as the highest rated office in Manchester.

The statistician and philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb gave the name “Black Swan” to an unpredictable, even highly improbable event that could have an unforeseen extreme impact, and with global financial markets enjoying a period of remarkable calm investors need to be on the look-out for possible shocks to make sure they are not caught off guard in the year ahead.

The FTSE 100 could launch a concerted attack on the 8,000 mark for the first time in 2018, according to investment platform AJ Bell

AJ Bell has seen profit before tax increase by 29% to £21.7 million for 2017 (Full Year 2016: £16.8m) as the investment platform continues its strong growth of customers and assets under administration (AUA).

“The old saying ‘markets like to climb a wall of worry’ proved spot on in 2017,” comments Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

After a relatively quiet year for pensions in 2017, Andy Bell, chief executive of AJ Bell outlines five areas of the pension system that policymakers need to address in 2018.

“The start of a new year is always a good time to take stock of your finances but this year there are a number of specific changes coming into effect in April 2018 that people should be planning for,” comments Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell.

2017 has been an interesting year for retail investors. With equity markets hovering around record levels many portfolios will be looking very healthy but this also raises the question of whether we are reaching the end of the bull-run and are moving into bubble territory.

A relentless series of new all-time highs for the main US stock market indices will be welcomed by investors in American shares and funds but it also raises questions about the outlook for 2018.

Pensions legend Mike Morrison has been given the prestigious lifetime achievement award at the annual Personal Finance Society awards, which took place last night (Wednesday 22 November) at the Roundhouse in Camden.

As the Work and Pensions Committee today continues its probe into the pension freedoms and how to engage the public with pension planning, new research suggests UK consumers entering income drawdown are three times more likely to seek professional financial advice than they are to use the Government’s free Pension Wise service.

Kevin Doran has been appointed chief investment officer and managing director of AJ Bell Investments with immediate effect.

AJ Bell calls for provider discretion on death benefits to be abolished

Engagement gap could be leading to poor decisions.

AJ Bell believes a cut to the pension Annual Allowance is the most likely outcome in the Budget, rather than more radical reform of the pension tax relief rules.

AJ Bell has further strengthened its investment team with the appointment of Simon Molica as fund manager with immediate effect.

AJ Bell has launched the first Fund and Investment Trust (FIT) awards where the winners are voted for by users of its platform, both customers and financial advisers.

AJ Bell has been selected by Scottish Investment Trust to take over the running of 6,750 ISA and Dealing Accounts from its Savings Scheme on behalf of 6,000 investors.

Leading investment platform provider AJ Bell has announced the date and speaker line up for its Investival 2017 event.

AJ Bell has appointed Peter Hopkins to the role of Technical Director, with responsibility for overseeing the platforms’ technical support for financial advisers and its involvement in industry consultations.

AJ Bell has appointed Gary Dale as Sales Director of its adviser platform, AJ Bell Investcentre.

The vast majority of financial advisers say they disagree with the current Transfer Value Analysis (TVAS) assumptions used to assess Defined Benefit (DB) to Defined Contribution (DC) pension transfers, as the regulator prepares to launch a major review of its rules.

Ambiguity around the level of the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) means HMRC should make the rules regarding refunding pension contributions more flexible, according to AJ Bell.

As voters prepare to head to the polls, Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell looks at the key Conservative and Labour manifesto pledges on personal finance issues, as well as the major policy initiatives that went unmentioned.

New business inflows at AJ Bell grew 68% to £3.6bn during the first six months of its financial year (1 Oct 2016 – 31 March 2017) up from £2.1bn in the prior year.

AJ Bell has launched an online Due Diligence Hub that outlines the key areas advisers should focus on when selecting the right investment platform for their clients’ needs.

Stock markets are bubbling up again, with America’s NASDAQ, the UK’s FTSE 250 and Germany’s DAX all setting new record highs this week. Hopes for some details this week on President Trump’s long-awaited tax cuts are one reason why.

The most startling market reaction to Theresa May’s decision to call a General Election is sterling’s rally to around $1.28 and movements in the currency markets may well shape short-term market movements in the run-up to 8 June.

AJ Bell has launched a new capital gains tax (CGT) tool to help advisers monitor and manage clients’ CGT liabilities.

The Fundsmith Equity fund was the most purchased fund via the AJ Bell Youinvest platform during Q1 2017 but the new Woodford Income Focus fund entered the top ten at number two, despite the offer period only opening on 20 March 2017.

“The FTSE 100 is trading only marginally below its March all-time high of 7,430 and volatility is still very subdued,” comments Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

AJ Bell has launched a 72 strong Favourite Funds list and an online filtering tool to help DIY investors find the right funds for their portfolio.

AJ Bell is calling for the Government to allow adviser charging to be facilitated via Lifetime ISAs as new research suggests this would encourage take up of the product amongst advised clients.

There is only one week to go until the end of the tax year but it is not too late for investors to make use of six variations of pensions and ISAs that could net them almost £10,000 from the Government.

It is two months since Tesco and Booker announced their merger and the combination of a subsequent 9% slide in Tesco shares (taking them back to where they started before the deal became public) and opposition from two key shareholders is raising the question of whether the transaction is a good one for shareholders or not.

With tax year end just around with corner, Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, looks at some tips that people might be less familiar with.

We've analysed the top selling investments via AJ Bell Youinvest (www.youinvest.co.uk)

For all of the noise generated by the FTSE 100’s record-breaking run that began 2017, the UK’s headline index is up by just 1.6% so far this year amid remarkably placid trading and while such a sleepy start to the year has many market-watchers on edge, history suggests it is normally a good rather than bad sign.

With one week to go until the Chancellor’s final spring Budget statement, Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, considers six personal finance issues to keep an eye out for.

View AJ Bell's response to the HM Treasury consultation on reducing the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), which closed on 15 February 2017.

Unsuspecting savers that have taken advantage of the pension freedoms risk being hit by surprise tax bills under reforms set to be introduced by the Government in April

Millions of potential first time buyers will be considering taking out a Lifetime ISA (LISA) to build a deposit for their first home when it launches in less than two months’ time.

Over £20bn of pension money locked in expensive, outdated products could be set free when a 1% cap on early exit penalties comes into force in April, new analysis suggests.

New analysis shows the US Federal Reserve needs to tread very carefully when implementing the next interest rate hike if it wants to avoid unsettling a buoyant stock market.

“It may not be a household name but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (known as the SOX) exerts a strong pull on stock markets around the world,” comments Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Reporting season continues at pace, so below are some of the key points to keep an eye out for in the trading updates from Paddy Power Betfair, Unilever and Sky, from Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Savers are set to flock to the new Lifetime ISA, new research suggests, but a significant number remain blind to the risk of an exit charge slashing the value of their fund by thousands of pounds.

“Yet another profit warning from Pearson is hammering the share price today, down by more than a fifth at the opening, as the education publisher reveals more problems in the USA and admits it will have to cut its dividend in 2017,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Markets need to be careful what they wish for if they see Trump as the new Ronald Reagan, at least in 2017,” explains Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The £36m supplementary levy from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to fund SIPP related claims this year highlights the urgent need for a Permitted Investments list to be re-instated in the SIPP market.

The FTSE 100 ended last week above the 7,300 mark for the first time, having set a record 14 straight daily gains and 12 new all-time highs.

Tomorrow we will see whether the weak pound continued to stoke UK inflation during December and later in the week we get the latest decision on interest rates from the European Central Bank. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, looks at some of the key points to keep an eye out for.

The current regime for comparing pension and investment product charges is not fit for purpose and must be radically simplified, platform provider AJ Bell says.