Hargreaves sees inflow boost in Q1 as AUM falls

Hargreaves Lansdown saw net new business inflows rise by almost a quarter in the three months to September but said a fall in its assets under management was caused by stock market movements.

In the first quarter of a financial year which runs to the end of June, Hargreaves said inflows rose £680m, up 24% on Q1 2010.

Revenues climbed 27% to £57.2m while the number of clients rose by 8,000 to 388,000.

Assets under management fell from £24.6bn to £22.3bn as at 20 September 2011, a 9% slide the group said was due to falling markets, with the FTSE All Share down 14% over the same period.

AUM on the Vantage platform fell 10% from £23.1bn as at 30 June 2011 to £20.9bn on 30 September 2011. But overall net new Vantage business of £660m was 20% higher than the first quarter of the previous financial year.

“The first quarter of our financial year historically tends to be our quietest,” the group said.

“July and August combined saw net new business significantly up on last year. September saw a fall year on year as market volatility and uncertainty over the macroeconomic environment appeared to make investors less inclined to act.”