Platforms · Software · Providers · Markets
AJ Bell expands its platform
AJ Bell added 152,000 platform customers during the 12 months ending September 30, bringing its total to 796,000, the company reported. Direct-to-consumer accounts supplied most of the increase: that segment grew 30% to 602,000.
Net platform inflows advanced 37% to £9.7 billion, while assets on the service reached £126.0 billion, a 22% rise. The fourth quarter contributed 34,000 net additions and £2.5 billion in net inflows, increases of 42% and 47% respectively. The advised operation grew by 12,000 customers, or 7%, to 194,000, and held £71.6 billion in assets, compared with £54.4 billion for D2C. That self-directed arm recorded £7.8 billion in net inflows. Across the platform, gross inflows were £21.5 billion and withdrawals totalled £11.8 billion; market movements contributed £13.0 billion. AJ Bell's own funds and portfolios rose 36% to £12.1 billion.
Brokers pursue ISA customers
Interactive investor reached 533,000 customers after adding about 41,000 over the same 12-month period. Its owner, Aberdeen, also reported a 22% fall in ii's daily trade count from the high recorded in the second quarter. The wider pool of ISA savers is expanding: HM Revenue and Customs said subscriptions to stocks and shares ISAs increased by 802,000 accounts in the 2024-25 tax year, when Britons invested £135.7 billion in adult ISAs, £32.7 billion more than a year earlier.
The third-quarter average for monthly active customers across the UK and Ireland was 564,000 at IG Group, 3% higher. The figure includes Freetrade, acquired by IG for £160 million last year.
Freetrade's customer base fell 1% to 454,700, while IG's own UK and Ireland customers rose 24% to 109,300. Assets on IG's UK investing platform increased 34% to more than £9.3 billion.
XTB had more than 10,700 ISA and cash ISA accounts by June after introducing a zero-fee stocks and shares ISA in December 2024. CMC Markets added fractional shares from £1 to ISA and pension accounts in July.
Trading 212 does not report a UK customer figure, but said funded accounts grew 69% in 2025 as UK revenue rose 72% to £277.6 million. EToro has offered a stocks and shares ISA via Moneyfarm since 2023.
Trading and visits soften
Trading activity is cooling. IG linked some weakness in stock trading to investor caution over possible capital gains tax changes in the next UK budget. Organic UK visits to the 98 retail FX and CFD broker sites monitored by FM Intelligence fell 39.5% to 13.4 million in the third quarter, according to its heat map. The UK remained the largest European source of that traffic. The customer and market figures were reported by Finance Magnates.
Chief Executive Officer Michael Summersgill said AJ Bell would continue investing to strengthen its position in the platform market. The company is due to publish full-year results on December 3. Summersgill has also called on the government to reconsider ISA reforms: from April 2027, the cash ISA allowance for under-65s is set to fall to £12,000, and interest on cash held within stocks and shares ISAs will face a 22% charge.
What to watch next
For platform teams, customer additions and inflows point to operational questions around account opening, funding workflows, customer support and the reconciliation of cash and assets. The figures do not specify how much additional processing or service capacity the growth requires. Operators will need to assess those demands against their own volumes and service targets.
Next, watch AJ Bell's December 3 results for further detail on flows and assets, and whether ISA policy changes alter the mix of cash and investment accounts. For broker platforms, the question is how retail investing activity develops alongside the softer trading and website traffic reported across the market.
