Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON:HL. on Thursday said first-quarter assets under administration rose 3% over the previous quarter as the wealth management firm also outpointed market uncertainty during the period.
Assets under administration rose 3% to £94.1bln in the three months to September 30 from the three months ended June 30. AUA stood at £82bln in the year-ago period.
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The FTSE 100 component said first-quarter net revenue increased 16% to £120.8 million over the year, aided by higher AUA levels due to net new business and market growth.
Hargreaves said net new business was £1.3 billion. In the year-ago period, net new business totalled £1.54 billion. The company added 29,000 new clients during the first quarter compared with 30,000 a year earlier. The company said it now has 1,120,000 active clients.
Chris Hill, chief executive, said: "I'm pleased to report a solid start to our financial year for growth in clients, net new business and revenue. The past quarter has seen an uncertain market environment and weak investor sentiment resulting in an industry-wide slowdown in net retail flows.”
He added: “Despite this backdrop, we believe the strength of our business model positions us well for when sentiment improves."
Hargreaves Lansdown during the first quarter added three more banks to its cash marketplace service, Active Savings, which the company said allows clients to manage their cash more easily at attractive interest rates.