Hargreaves Lansdown Appoints First Female Chair; Net New Business Up 43%

Oppenheimer, who already sits on a number of boards including AXA and Tesco, will officially become chairperson of Hargreaves Lansdown subject to regulatory approval from 7 February.

She replaces Mike Evans who served as non-executive director from 2006 and as chair from 2009. Chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown, Chris Hill said "under his guidance the group has become a successful FTSE 100 business combining strong client focus with high service standards".

"I thank him for his support in a process that has seen us strengthen our board with the appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and diversity to lead the business in its next phase of growth."

Gender diversity: How will tomorrow's asset management leaders look?

Oppenheimer is the first female to be appointed as chair of the board of Hargreaves Lansdown. The board has been committed to encouraging board diversity following the Lord Davies' Women on Boards Review in 2011.

It believes "diversity amongst board members is of great value" and "gives careful consideration to issues of overall board balance and diversity in making new appointments to the board".

Strong figures

Meanwhile, net new business for the group increased by 43%  to £3.3bn during the six months to 31 December as the number of active clients was also up by 61,000, allowing the total figure to surpass the 1bn mark to 1,015,000.

Total assets under administration were up by almost a quarter (23%) to £86bn, while profit before tax was also up to £146m. The group announced a 17% increase in its dividend per share to 10p.

Activity levels were also up as the industry prepared for the implementation of MiFID II in January and macroeconomic developments such as the rise in interest rates and continued uncertainty in the UK.

Hill said: "Despite a small increase in interest rates, and low overall confidence in the UK, clients continue to invest elsewhere with confidence in order to generate returns and flows have been directed towards overseas markets. 

"Activity levels are up significantly with the Helpdesk regularly handling call levels more than 18% higher than last year, and client instructions averaging one million a month. These are all record levels.

"Our clients have also needed us to help them through the changes brought about as a result of MiFID II regulation and we believe this has increased our call activity over 50% at times."

Updated brand

Following the expansion of its marketing team last year, Hargreaves Lansdown continues its ambition to "become a household name" and has also announced its intention to update its brand and visual identity later this week.

"Clients and those using our website will see a refreshed visual identity but, most importantly, we are using this as an opportunity to develop and expand our tone of voice to complement our broader reach," added Hill.

"Our digital presence has continued to expand and develop and we recognise the need to match our approach to the broader range of people with whom we are now building a relationship."