CHRIS Hill today said he would quit asset manager Hargreaves Lansdown, a move that comes amid wider turmoil in the sector.
His arch rival Andy Bell is stepping down from the board of the AJ Bellbroker he founded – HL’s most direct competitor.
Abrdn, the wealth manager that lately bought interactive investor, is under pressure due to the cost of that deal and bullying allegations against CEO Stephen Bird
Today Hill said he will retire after six years, during which time he has been paid towards £10 million. He still holds around 70,000 shares and another 70,000 share options.
HL shares today fell 48p to 764p on news of his departure.
Hargreaves is without doubt a UK success story, founded by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown from one room in Bristol in the 1980s.
Hargreaves is a Brexit supporter and outspoken Tory. Lansdown is the lower key owner of Bristol City football club.
While Hill will stay until a successor has found, recent market turmoil has hit the industry hard.
He said: "The impact of the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop on asset values, client confidence and propensity to invest has been seen across our industry.”
HL, AJ Bell and the rest saw client numbers and assets boom during Covid lockdown, as punters spent money they were saving from the closure of pubs and restaurants on building share portfolios.
That has changed lately. Hill said: “Although flows into risk-based investments remain subdued, both client and asset retention rates remain strong and in line with last year”.
HL has been heavily criticised for promoting funds run by disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford. Court cases are pending.
Hargreaves shares have themselves been good investments, particularly for the very rich founders. They are down 50% in the last five years however.
HL said it is conducting an “extensive search” for Hill’s successor.
Deanna Oppenheimer, HL Chair said: “Having started the implementation of the next phase of the company’s growth, Chris has decided it is time to pass the reins to a new CEO to continue to execute on this strategy and build on our market leading proposition. The Board is grateful to Chris for his leadership and looks forward to continuing to work with him on delivering the strategy and a successful handover next year."
