AJ Bell

Inspired by Greatness✨ The Great North Run has always been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It started back in 1981, when 12,264 pioneers forged the path from Newcastle to South Shields. 🏃     43 years on, the event has generated hundreds of millions of pounds in charity fundraising, witnessed some of the greatest road running performances of all time and this year was awarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque for its contribution to the worldwide history and development of mass participation road running.    The award is so much more than the Great North Run; it’s about every runner, volunteer, charity, supporter, across every single year. It’s about the unwavering support of the people of the North East who get behind this event like no other and inspire the next generation.    🎓 This year, the class of 2024 will follow in the footsteps of 1.3 million before them, running the same infamous 13.1 mile route. Each runner inspired by someone, some cause, some moment. Each runner on their own road to greatness. 🏅 In preparation for their journey in September, we are very excited to announce this year’s AJ Bell Great North Run medal – which has been inspired by greatness. As runners cross this year’s finish line, they will be able to share the celebrations by placing two medals together to create the full image of the iconic Tyne Bridge. 📸 We can’t wait to see everyone on Sunday 8th September and discover how you have been #InspiredByGreatness. ✨ #GreatNorthRun #HalfMarathon #Running #Fundraising #Community #Medal #Announcement #MassParticipation #Events

  The period either side of the tax year end is always busy at AJ Bell.    I love being immersed in the business at times like this, but that immersion can mean things like LinkedIn get neglected! As I haven’t posted for a couple of months, here’s a bit of a catch-all post:   Q3 trading update – showed the continued strong growth of the business. 25,000 new customers starting to use our platform, helping to drive net inflows in the period of £1.7bn, over 50% higher than last year. Our continued growth has taken the business to a record £83.7bn in AUA, a 20% increase vs a year ago. Not only did our people provide a great service to the customers and advisers using our platform, but they also delivered new products and features. A great effort from the team as we continue to invest and grow. Link to full trading update here: https://bit.ly/4cIXQhj   ISA simplification – Brits love cash and property, but we massively underinvest in equities. The problem with that is whilst we are ‘saving for a rainy day’ and ‘getting on the property ladder’, we are not engaging with the asset class that can reward us with the best returns over the long-term. When we campaign for change in our industry, simplification is often the focus; it is critical if we are to help more people to start investing. Our campaign for ISA simplification has received some good media coverage recently and I’m hopeful that Rt Hon Rachel Reeves and her team will engage with it as positively as they engaged with the issue of the pensions lifetime allowance ahead of the election. Link to FT story here: https://on.ft.com/4d1TZf4 US investors – I expected our recent trip to see US investors to be tough. The UK economy has been stuttering along and UK equities have been unloved for some time. The meetings we have with US and Canadian investors are always high quality, but the thing that surprised me was the growing enthusiasm for the UK. Don’t get me wrong, they still have concerns (mainly UK fund outflows and what they see as an anti-business regulator!), but compelling valuations good governance hope of political stability are making growth industries attractive again. Separately, I had the opportunity to visit the NYSE. I met Patrick King who has worked on the trading floor of the NYSE since the 1980’s… Black Monday; dot-com bubble; 9/11; the GFC; COVID-19 pandemic… what a period of history in our industry to have experienced from that vantage point! Not that I’m a finance geek or anything…

📣 Back in May, we launched our returner programme, and I'm happy to announce that this week, all four members have joined AJ Bell as permanent software engineers! A huge thank you to our partner, Tech Returners, for their excellent support in upskilling and reviving tech careers!! Congratulations and good luck to the newest members of #TeamAJBell. I'm excited to see the great contributions you will make 😀 #careerbreak #techreturner #returntowork #LifeatAJBell

This morning we announced another set of excellent first-half results for AJ Bell. Customers, assets on the platform, revenue and profit all hit record highs. There were so many successes in H1, but the one that stands out for me is the quality of service we provided to our customers. As an investment platform, the vast majority of interactions with our customers are digital. However, there are times when customers or their advisers seek a human touchpoint and it is crucial that support is readily available. This is where the knowledge, experience and dedication of our customer service teams shines through. March was one of our busiest months ever and 94% of all the calls we received were answered within 20 seconds. On some of the busiest days we were connecting customers with members of our team in an average of 2 seconds... first-class service! We have plenty in the pipeline for H2, now including planning for a General Election. We will continue to work closely with policymakers on developments which could help more people to invest, including ISA simplification and the provision of guidance to those customers unable to access regulated financial advice. You can read more about the results here: https://lnkd.in/eez6Tkes