Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has reached its record assets under administration (AUA) in the year to 30 June, which increased by 11% to £172.7bn.

The financial services firm, which is the largest direct-to-consumer investments brand in the UK, said this increase was driven by a 43% jump in its net new business, which totalled £6bn in this period, while its profit before tax increased by 19% to £544.3m.

Furthermore, HL reached the milestone of two million active clients on its savings and investment platform. Year-on-year, its number of active clients increased by 7%. The latest milestone comes after HL reached its first one million clients in 2017.

In the current financial year, HL said it has seen recent improvements to its customer journey of moving money between cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs, which has seen £2m moved between the products since it went live earlier this week.

The firm added that recent growth has been driven by its investment in products and services, such as its first digital VCT offering. It has also become the first platform to offer LTAFs within the SIPP wrapper.

Interim chief executive officer at Hargreaves Lansdown, Richard Flint, said that the firm’s latest results were a "testament" to the work it is doing.

He concluded: "Our business has really solid foundations in terms of the range of investments that we offer and the trust that our clients have in us. However, we recognise the need to continually invest in our technology and products, and we are committed to doing that.

"Importantly, we’re seeing that where changes are made, they deliver results – in everything from improved client experience to attracting and retaining more clients and assets to the platform.

"As the UK’s largest retail investment platform with the broadest range of saving and investment options, for beginners through to those more experienced, we’re excited by the huge opportunity ahead as we create a nation of retail investors for the future."

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