Update: AJ Bell profits up 29% as Youinvest reports 'most successful year in its history'

Covid-19 brings new customers

AJ Bell has reported a 29% increase in profit before tax over 12 months to 30 September, while the Youinvest platform enjoyed its most successful year of business yet, as Covid-19 drove an increasing number of customers towards savings solutions.

In its year-end trading update, the investment platform revealed its platform customer numbers increased 29% during the year to 281,094, with particularly strong growth in D2C customer numbers for the Youinvest part of the business of 43%. Platform underlying net inflows were up 28% compared to the previous year, with D2C leading the way again with a rise of 50% to £2.1bn. According to CEO Andy Bell, this marks "the most successful year of new business in [AJ Bell Youinvest's] history". "We continue to attract an increasingly diversified customer base and have experienced an increa...