(Reuters) Hargreaves Lance Down (LON: HRGV) posted high annual underlying asset returns on Monday and the “GameStonk” retail trade frenzy along with pandemic-regulated online moves attracted record new customers to Britain’s largest fund supermarket.
The company listed on the
FTSE 100 said its underlying pre-tax profit increased by £366 million ($57.42 million) in the 12 months ended June. The company’s assets under management increased by 30% to £135.5 billion and net inflows from new businesses of £8.7 billion.
Hargreaves has benefited from a surge in trading volumes as retail traders gathered on platforms such as Reddit to discuss strategies and bet against beaten-down stocks in a flurry of activity dubbed ‘GameStonk’.
The company said equity trading volumes surged 54% compared to the prior year, but said it does not expect it to remain at such high levels. Total active clients rose by a record 233,000 to 1,645,000, with 83% of its new clients under 55.
“If the biggest trend has been the change in demand for online service, the second biggest trend has been in the demographic mix,” Chief Executive Chris Hill said in a statement.
“We are seeing younger clients show an interest in – and willingness to learn about – investing, prioritising financial resilience and saving.”
Hargreaves raised its dividend per share by 3% to 38.5 pence, but total dividend fell 8% to 50.5 pence compared to last year, when it paid a special dividend.
($1 = 0.7213 pounds)