Hargreaves Lansdown (LSE: HL), a British company that sells funds and shares to retail investors, has released its trading update for the three months ended 30 June 2023. The company reported an increase in net new business and active clients and a slight rise in assets under administration.

Hargreaves Lansdown Reports Strong Performance

According to the trading update, Hargreaves Lansdown attracted £1.7 billion of net new business in the quarter, which is up 6% from the previous quarter and slightly lower than last year. The company attributed this to its focus on supporting clients to navigate the changes to the tax landscape and make the most of their allowances.

The company also added 13,000 active clients in the quarter, raising the total number of active clients to 1.8 million. The client retention rate was 92%, while the asset retention rate was 89.7%, reflecting some cash withdrawals by clients to fund cost-of-living increases.

The assets under administration (AUA) increased 2% in the quarter, reaching £134 billion. This was driven by net new business and positive market movements.

“The breadth of and continued investment into our client proposition, means we remain well positioned to grow and support both new and existing clients with their investment and savings needs,” Chris Hill, the CEO of Hargreaves Lansdown, commented on the update.

He mentioned some of the company's improvements in the previous quarter, such as launching a new cash ISA, three new Portfolio Funds, and removing fees for dividend reinvestments. Hill highlighted the addition of new partner banks to Active Savings, which is a service that allows clients to manage their cash savings through one account.

Lower Share Dealing Volumes amid Low Investor Confidence

However, not all aspects of the company’s performance were positive. The share dealing volumes averaged 685,000 per month in the quarter, which was 11% lower than the previous quarter and 12% lower than the prior year.

The company said that this was due to low investor confidence across the quarter, influenced by cost-of-living issues, rising interest rates and market volatility .

The company will issue its full-year results on 19 September 2023 and hold its Annual General Meeting on 8 December 2023.

The company reached a record valuation in 2019, when its shares were sold for almost GBP £2,500. Since then, however, it has been consistently losing value, falling by more than 60% since 2020. Today (Wednesday), one share of HL on the London Stock Exchange costs GBP £840.

New CEO

In December, Hargreaves Lansdown announced the appointment of Dan Olley as the new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, replacing Chris Hill. Following his tenure as the CEO, Hill will continue with the firm until November 2023 to facilitate a smooth transition.

Dan Olley has been serving as a Non-Executive Director at Hargreaves Lansdown since June 2019. He previously held the position of CEO at Dunnhumby, a customer data science firm based in London. With nearly thirty years of industry experience, Olley is a seasoned professional. In addition, he serves as a member of the Industrial Advisory Board at Imperial College London.