Platform assets administration at investment platform AJ Bell rose 17% to £55.2bn in 2020, according to its annual results released today.

Total customer numbers increased 30% to 312,309. Of these 112,308 were advised, a rise of 12% over the year (and 3% over the final quarter).

Direct to consumer was the main area of customer growth for the platform with a rise of 46% to 185,745 clients.

Platform net inflows increased by 67% to £1.5bn (2019: £0.9bn) and the fourth quarter saw strong net inflows of £1.6bn.

Advised net inflows for the year were £0.8bn, a rise of 33% from 2019. Direct to consumer net inflows were £0.7bn, a rise of 133%.

AJ Bell’s investment management arm reported assets under management of £1bn, an increase of 100%.

The firm also revealed plans to further capitalise on the increasing demand for ESG investment solutions with the launch of a Responsible Managed Portfolio Service for advisers in the next few months.

Andy Bell, CEO at AJ Bell, said: “We have had a strong start to our financial year as customer numbers, net inflows, AUA and AUM all showed significant growth in the quarter. Increased awareness and trust in our brand continued to attract new advisers and customers."

In the advised market the addition of the new AJ Bell Retirement Investment Account helped drive net inflows of £0.8 billion.

Mr Bell said low-cost, multi-asset funds were proving popular in the advised and D2C markets and the Managed Portfolio Service now has an annual management charge of 0.15% following the recent removal of VAT. 

He said there was "an ever-increasing demand for ESG investment solutions" and the recent launch of the AJ Bell Responsible Growth fund was successful. The firm plans a Responsible Managed Portfolio Service for advisers in the coming months.