Investment platform and stock brokerage AJ Bell has published its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2025, showing strong performance.
The group reported that revenue was up 17% to £153.2 million (HY24: £131.3 million) and profit before tax (PBT) was up 12% to £68.8 million (HY24: £61.4 million). Diluted earnings per share were up 11% to 12.36 pence (HY24: 11.11 pence)
AJ Bell also boasted strong growth in customer numbers over the period, with 51,000 added in the period to close at 593,000, up 9%.
As a result of these strong results, AJ Bell said it is confident in its outlook and has decided to accelerate business investment in the second half of the year to drive long-term growth. This has resulted in higher cost guidance, which is more than offset by increases to full-year revenue margin guidance.
Concern over regulatory changes
Despite the strong results, AJ Bell raised red flags over potential changes to pensions and taxes, which could hit consumers going forward.
“The government’s proposal to bring unused pensions into inheritance tax from April 2027 risks causing significant delays when paying funds to nominated beneficiaries and adding huge complexity to the already cumbersome probate process,” it said.
“We, along with a number of our industry peers, continue to push back on this issue, arguing for a simpler approach in which income tax is charged at the marginal rate of the beneficiary inheriting a pension. We will continue to press the government to rethink its approach and consider our pragmatic alternative.”
It further warned that the tax treatment of pensions risks becoming an area of ‘significant uncertainty’ for retail investors going forward.
“The speculation about the future of tax-free cash was a significant issue surrounding the Budget in October 2024, and the current state of the public finances risks a re-run in the Autumn.
“We have raised this issue repeatedly with the Chancellor, calling for a ‘Pensions Tax Lock’ commitment to give retirement savers certainty that neither the tax deferral allowed on pension contributions nor the tax-free allowance on funds drawn for retirement income will be altered, at least for the rest of this Parliament. We will continue to press this important issue,” it said.
A proposed ISA change
Despite these concerns, AJ Bell noted that the FCA and the government have placed promoting retail investing front and centre of their respective agendas, with various proposed reforms having the potential to meaningfully impact its customers.
“We continue to engage positively with officials on behalf of investors, campaigning for a range of measures which would help to foster a supportive environment for long-term retail investors in the UK.
“We have campaigned for ISA reform for over a decade, consistently arguing for simplification of the landscape. Combining cash ISAs and stocks & shares ISAs into a single main product would significantly simplify the journey for people looking to hold cash and invest, removing a current barrier which requires people to choose one or the other at the outset.”
This agenda appears to be aligned with the intentions of the government, which, in the Spring Statement, confirmed it is looking to ‘boost the culture of retail investment’, the group said.
“However, there are many conflicting views and vested interests in the industry, so how the pending consultation will progress is uncertain. We will continue to push for a customer-focused version of simplification, avoiding the implementation of additional rules and restrictions.
“The version of ISA simplification outlined above would combine powerfully with proposed ‘Targeted Support’ reforms being pursued by the Treasury and the FCA. Offering a single ISA wrapper in tandem with a service that enables financial service firms to offer customers more personalised nudges (without risking straying into regulated advice) would only increase the number of customers who feel confident to make the transition from cash saving to investing,” it said.
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