Growth slows at Hargreaves Lansdown as investor confidence falters
Dan Olley (pictured) became CEO of Hargreaves Lansdown in August 2023.
Although the company reported continued client growth over the three months in its trading update today (19 October), revenue, net new clients, share dealing volumes and client and asset retention all came in lower compared with the second quarter of the year.
Revenue at the end of Q3 2023 stood at £183.8m, down from £197m at the end of June. Similarly, the number of net new clients dropped from 13,000 to 8,000 as of 30 September 2023; with share dealing volumes per month coming in 50,000 lower than in Q2 alongside small drops in asset and client retention.
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Net new business more than halved over the three-month period as well, from £1.7bn as of the end of June to £600m at the end of September 2023.
However, assets under management grew by around £800m for the quarter to £134.8bn, with the number of total active clients as of the end of September 2023 at 1,812,000 from 1,804,000 at the end of Q2 2023.
Dan Olley, CEO of Hargreaves Lansdown, noted the continued net growth for the business, despite lower than in previous quarters, highlighting the macroeconomic backdrop dampening investors confidence and client behaviour.
He added: «Clients are looking to invest more in cash than risk-based investments, from our Active Savings offer, giving easy access to a range of banking partners, to money market funds and short-dated bonds. Combining this with informative and relevant content provides our clients with a wide range of solutions to meet their saving and investment needs.»
The platform's annual general meeting is scheduled to take place on 8 December 2023.
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