Hargreaves Lansdown Revenue Rises, Raises Guidance

Hargreaves Lansdown (LON: HL.) issued a trading update for the first quarter ended September 30 on Monday, which saw its assets under administration fall but revenue rise 15%.

The financial services firm reported $122.7 billion in assets under management, down from £123.8 billion. Due to concerns about the global economy, wealth managers have seen their holdings decline this year.

Meanwhile, total revenue in the quarter rose to £162.9 million, up 15%, driven by higher revenue on cash, according to the firm.

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During the quarter, Hargreaves Lansdown grew its net client growth by 17,000, taking its active clients to 1,754,000. In addition, the company boasted a client retention rate of 92.9%.

“The impact of the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop on asset values, client confidence and propensity to invest has been seen across our industry,” said Chief Executive Chris Hill.

Hill added that despite this backdrop, the company delivered £0.7 billion of new business “reflecting both the diversified nature of our platform and also the trust clients place in us.”

Furthermore, the company raised its FY2023 revenue margin guidance to 49-52 bps from 44-47bps.

Shares of Hargreaves fell 7.6% on Monday.

In a separate announcement on Monday, the company said Chris Hill, its CEO, will retire after five years in the position. Hill will stay in the role until a replacement is named, giving time for a transition up until November 2023.

Elsewhere, reports emerged over the weekend that Hargreaves was hit by a multi-million-pound lawsuit, with up to 3,200 investors filing claims over the failure of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund.