Hargreaves Lansdown enjoys ‘elevated’ trading levels as British investors target US stocks after the Gamestop frenzy
- Interest from existing customers looking to US stocks is high, Hargreaves said
- Investing platforms have seen a surge in customers over the past year
Hargreaves Lansdown has said its annual profits look set to come in at the top end of forecasts amid high demand from customers.
The number of people looking for higher returns via investing is on the up amid record low rates and a surge in interest following the Gamestop frenzy in January.
Hargreaves now expects its full year profit to come in at the top end of broker estimates of between £334million and £360million.
On the up: Hargreaves Lansdown continues to enjoy ‘elevated’ trading levels, it said today
The group said it continued to enjoy ‘elevated’ levels of trading since the end of January, with many existing customers looking to international stocks, particularly US stocks.
Hargreaves previously revealed it added 84,000 new customers in the second half of last year alone, marking a 40 per cent rise in net new business on the same period back in 2019.
Earlier this year, shares in US-based video games retailer Gamestop rocketed from $17 to a peak of $483 as traders on internet forum Reddit sent the share price soaring, before it tumbled again.
Like other major investing platforms, Hargreaves subsequently started to display a warning on its website about the potential dangers of speculative investing.
In demand: The Gamestop trading frenzy caused a serious stir earlier this year
Shares in FTSE 100-listed Hargreaves are currently up 0.87 per cent or 13.50p to 1,563.00p. A year ago, the company’s share price was 1,449.50p.
David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: ‘Hargreaves Lansdown issued a positive trading statement, the stockbroker and pension provider predicts that full year profit before tax will be modestly above the top end of analyst expectations.
‘There has been a lot of volatility in the financial markets in the past 12 months as a result of the lockdowns and the subsequent support packages from central banks and governments.
‘That greatly benefited Hargreaves as more retail investors entered the markets.’
Hargreaves will publish its next trading update on 13 May, for the four months up to 30 April.