Tech veteran Dan Olley appointed new boss of Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown has appointed a new boss as it gears up to deal with the fallout from the Neil Woodford saga.

The investment platform announced that Dan Olley, a technology industry veteran, will succeed Chris Hill, who announced his resignation in October.

It comes as Hargreaves tries to strengthen its business, focusing on improving IT systems and online sites.

But Olley will take the reins at a difficult time as the company faces lawsuits and the result of a regulatory investigation into its conduct that led to the demise of Woodford’s investment empire.

Olley, 52, joined the board in 2019 as a non-executive director.

He said: ‘This is a company with an exceptional track record, a strong strategic position and a formidable brand. I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the company through its digital transformation into the next phase of growth.”

Earlier this year, Hargreaves revealed it was investing nearly £200m in boosting its technology, which dealt a blow to the stock.

Bosses claimed this would take it to the ‘next stage’ of growth, but Ben Yearsley, director of Shore Financial Planning, said: ‘Hill’s downfall was having to announce £200 million worth of technology, which made it look like they were underspending. for years.’

Yearsley said he hadn’t heard much about Olley, the former CEO of market research firm Dunnhumby and former executive at data analytics firm Relx, but said his appointment was an “interesting move.”

Hill resigned just weeks after litigation organization RGL Management filed a claim against Hargreaves in the Supreme Court on behalf of 3,200 investors involved in the Woodford implosion. Hargreaves has denied any allegations.

The investment platform was one of the first companies to come under scrutiny when the Woodford Equity Income fund was suspended in 2019.

Hargreaves recommended the troubled fund to clients through its so-called “best buy” list until it was suspended in June 2019.

About 133,000 Hargreaves clients were invested directly in the fund, many of whom blamed the fund for promoting Woodford after suffering heavy losses.

Just weeks before the fund closed, Hargreaves’ now-retired research chief Mark Dampier told clients: “We think [Woodford’s] still have the ability to deliver outstanding long-term performance.”

But thousands of others were also indirectly exposed because they invested in Hargreaves’ “multi-manager funds” — pots of money it managed and dispersed the money across a variety of funds.

In total, about 300,000 Hargreaves clients are thought to be potentially exposed to Woodford’s investment empire.

Experts criticized Hargreaves, founded in 1981 by entrepreneurs Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown, for recommending the fund as long as they did.

For several months leading up to the collapse, performance had been poor – and there were signs that Woodford had begun to shift its strategy to invest in riskier, earlier-stage companies.

When the fund closed, Hill had to apologize to Hargreaves’ clients. Her behavior will come under scrutiny in the lawsuit brought by RGL, which is also against Link Fund Solutions, the company believed to be overseeing Woodford’s management of the fund. Hill was boss for nearly six years. Yearsley described his tenure as a “total disaster.”

While investment platforms benefited during the pandemic, as households sought to invest extra savings they had accumulated, they were weighed down by the cost of living and fears that the weakening global economy will hurt companies’ growth prospects.

Yesterday, Hargreaves shares increased by 1.8 percent or 15.4 p to 850.4 p.

Olley will take over from Hill in November next year.