Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LSE:HL.), the financial services business, has said investor confidence remains low as macro-conditions weigh on sentiment.
In an update for the three months to 30 June 2023, the FTSE 100-listed group said share dealing volumes were 11% lower than the previous quarter and 12% down on the last year at 685,000.
“Investor confidence across the quarter has been low with cost-of-living issues, rising interest rates and market volatility impacting deal volumes,” the company said in the statement.
Hargreaves Lansdown did, however, report net new business of £1.7bn in the final quarter, which was 6% higher than the previous three months as “clients focused on utilising their ISA and SIPP tax allowances.”
Active savings saw net inflows of £800,000, while the group had closing assets under administration of £134bn.
Active clients grew by 13,000 in the quarter, taking the total clients to 1.8bn with a retention rate of 92% compared to 91.3% year-on-year.
“The improvements in the previous quarter, including the launch of a new cash ISA, three new Portfolio Funds and price reductions on our LISA and JISA accounts, were further enhanced with the removal of fees for dividend reinvestment and regular monthly investing along with the addition of new partner banks to Active Savings,” said Hargreaves Lansdown chief executive Chris Hill.
“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,” Hill added.