Hargreaves Lansdown boss Chris Hill to quit next year

The chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown is to step down after six years at the helm of the UK’s largest investment platform as the company tries to convince investors it can deliver on its ambitious plans for tech-led growth.

Chris Hill, who has led the FTSE 100 group since 2017, said Monday he would step down until November next year to give the board time to find a replacement.

The move comes after Hill outlined a five-year strategy in February, by $175 million. Shares fell on the day of the announcement and are down 45 percent over the past 12 months.

“Having started executing the next phase of the company’s growth, Chris has decided it is time to hand over the reins to a new Chief Executive to continue executing on this strategy and building on our market-leading offering,” said Deanna Oppenheimer, Chair .

News of the departure comes at a challenging time for the UK’s leading investment platform of more than 1.7 million clients. After a record inflow of new money as savers hoarded cash during the Covid-19 pandemic, the turmoil in financial markets this year has weighed on people’s willingness to invest.

The company is also facing a $100 million lawsuit.

“The impact of the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop on assets, customer confidence and investment sentiment can be seen across our industry,” Hill said in a quarterly earnings statement on Monday.

Hargreaves Lansdown posted £700m of net inflows in the third quarter, down almost half from a year earlier. Revenue rose 15 per cent to £163m as the platform benefited from higher interest rates on customers’ cash balances.