Stakeholders in Bristol-based wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LSE:HL.) will be seeking supportive words from the board on the topic of consumer duty in Wednesday, 9 August’s preliminary results.
The FTSE 100 group’s shares have taken a bit of a battering lately due to new City rules that could very well impact management fees for Britain’s top financial services managers.
Under the new rules, companies must utilise fair value assessments for on-sale tools and services, ensuring alignment with customer benefits and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requirements.
Hargreaves, alongside its peers, copped a rating downgrade from Citi analysts after the rules took effect on 31 July.
Stakeholders will be eager to know how this will square with Hargreaves’ full-year outlook as outlined earlier this year.
The firm anticipates an overall revenue margin of 50-55 basis points, largely due to higher cash revenue margins from increased interest rates.
Cost growth is expected to be at the higher end of the 9.5-11.5% range, while strategic investment costs are projected at £50-£55 million, with no change to the £225 million strategic spend planned through 2026.
A 3% ordinary dividend rise is also expected.
For now, Hargreaves’ share price is sitting at 803.2p with a market capitalisation of £3.81 billion.