(Sharecast News) - Investment platform operator AJ Bell said on Thursday that assets under administration hit record highs in the year ended 30 September as both customer numbers and inflows grew.

AJ Bell said assets under administration were up 22% year-on-year to an all-time high of £86.5bn.

The FTSE 250-listed group stated customer numbers increased 14% to close at 542,000, with total advised customers up 8% at 171,000 and direct-to-customer clients increasing 17% to 371,000.

Gross and net inflows were also both "significantly higher" than the prior year, with gross inflows surging 41% to £13.1bn and net inflows improving by 45% to £6.1bn.

Chief executive Michael Summersgill said: "In FY24 we have enhanced our propositions, improved our brand awareness and lowered the cost of investing for our customers whilst maintaining our industry-leading service levels. This has helped to drive our strong performance this year, but more importantly it provides a strong foundation for our future growth prospects.

"Whilst the upcoming budget has introduced unhelpful uncertainty, we remain positive about the outlook for AJ Bell and the platform market more broadly. We look forward to announcing the annual results for what has been another successful year for AJ Bell."

As of 0830 BST, AJ Bell shares were down 2.08% at 471.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com