Philip Dicken, manager of the Threadneedle Pan European Smaller Companiesfund, has upped exposure to discount broker Hargreaves Lansdown, arguing the company can navigate headwinds created by the retail distribution review (RDR).
Dicken, who heads the European equities desk, has taken advantage of the recent market rally to sell into strength and recycle profits. Hargreaves Lansdown faces some headwinds in light of the RDR’s platform paper, but Dicken believes the model and the firm’s strong presence in the direct-to-consumer space will remain strong.
‘Yes, changes potentially are negative. It will change the way it can charge, but on the other hand regulation is putting more power in the hands of the consumer, which is basically good for a scalable platform like theirs,’ he said.
Source: CityWire. Read full article here.
