AJ Bell announces big leadership appointments

Salford-based investment platform giant AJ Bell said it has appointed Ryan Hughes as managing director of its growing AJ Bell Investments business.

The wider AJ Bell group also said it has hired Deutsche Numis’s Steven Westgate as group corporate development director, a new role at the firm.

Both Hughes and Westgate will report to AJ Bell CEO Michael Summersgill.

The AJ Bell group has assets under administration of about £84 billion, while the AJ Bell Investments business has grown its assets under management to around £6.3 billion.

Having been made interim managing director of AJ Bell Investments in late 2023, Hughes has now been permanently appointed to the position and will join AJ Bell’s Executive Committee with immediate effect.

AJ Bell CEO Summersgill said: “Since listing in 2018 AJ Bell has grown rapidly to become a business serving more than half a million platform customers, with assets under administration of £83.7bn.

“The remarkable growth of the business illustrates the success of our model, serving both the advised and D2C markets.

“Ryan and Stephen’s appointments add further depth to our leadership team, bringing new perspectives and thinking to help develop our strategy and identify further organic growth opportunities for the business.”

Hughes said: “I’m honoured to be given the opportunity to lead the investment business at AJ Bell. We are growing rapidly, with AUM hitting £6.3bn at the end of June, up 47% in the last year alone.

“Our focus is on delivering strong investment performance via low-cost investment solutions and we are seeing particularly strong demand for MPS partnership arrangements with financial adviser firms.”

Westgate said: “AJ Bell has delivered exceptional organic growth based on a sound strategy and commitment to making investing easy and low-cost for customers.

“I’m delighted to be joining the business and working with Michael and the rest of the AJ Bell team, with so many opportunities for the business to continue to develop its growth strategy.”