Schroder UK Mid Cap (SCP) fund manager Jean Roche made a well-timed purchase of Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) two months before a bid approach for the investment broker saw its shares soar more than 50%.
Roche, who runs the £238m investment trust with Andy Brough, held 1.9% of the portfolio in Hargreaves at 31 March after buying the shares earlier that month as they drifted following their demotion from the FTSE 100 at the end of last year.
Regulatory uncertainty following Hargreaves’ previous support of failed fund manager Neil Woodford combined with fierce competition from other brokers and difficult stock markets saw the shares slump from a peak of £24.19 in May 2019 to a 694p low in mid-March.