Hargreaves Lansdown joins FTSE 100

Hargreaves Lansdown is to join the FTSE 100 index, reflecting the continued growth of the wealth manager in recent years.

The firm, which has a market capitalisation of over £3bn, has seen its share price rise from under 200p at the beginning of 2009 to over 600p.

Its promotion to the index, which was confirmed in FTSE's quarterly review, is likely to see a rush for shares from index tracker funds.

The change will be implemented at the close of business on 18 March and take effect from the start of trading on 21 March.

Co-founders Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown retain control of around 52% of the shares in the firm, although Lansdown recently stepped down from his role as chief executive.

The company recently revealed an operating profit in the six months to 31 December 2010 of £55.6m, up 41% from the same period in 2009.

However, it said the figure would have been "significantly higher" but for a £3m FSCS bill to help compensate customers of failed investment businesses.

It also said it had 346,000 active clients on its Vantage platform and total assets under administration of £22.3bn.

To qualify for entry into the FTSE 100, a company must be ranked in the top 90 in terms of market capitalisation, while it falls out of the index if ranked below 110.

International energy services company Wood Group and commercial television network ITV will also join the FTSE 100, while Bunzl, Alliance Trust and African Barrick Gold will leave the index.

Hargreaves Lansdown's shares closed today at 634.68p, up 3.37%, having gained 2.7% yesterday as traders speculated on its imminent promotion.