IG Group continues to trade in line with expectations; CFO to resign

Christopher Hill is expected to continue to serve in his current role in IG until February 2016 and will then assume the position of Chief Financial Officer at Hargreaves Lansdown PLC.

This appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

The resignation comes weeks after Hargreaves Lansdown chief executive Tim Howkins said he would retire after nine years in the job. “He has a highly relevant financial services background and will bring new skills and expertise to the Board”.

As at 7 August 2015, Mr Hill confirmed that he does not hold any shares in the Hargreaves Lansdown, the stock exchange announcement said.

“We are disappointed to lose Chris, but we understand his decision”.

IG Group provides online stockbroking and trading services to retail investors, much like Hargreaves, whose platform allows retail investors to access mutual funds.

Chris Hill commented: “I will be sorry to leave such a great business, but I am excited about the opportunity presented by Hargreaves Lansdown, an established FTSE 100 company”. He will join from IG Group PLC, where he is now and has been CFO for the last 4 years.

The departures come after IG said its pretax profit fell in the financial year to the end of May, primarily thanks to a GBP27 million hit the group took when the Swiss National Bank removed the Swiss franc’s cap against the euro.

IG Group said it continued to trade in line with expectations and was scheduled to release a trading update on September. 22.