Hargreaves Lansdown has seen record profits of £72m for the second half of 2011, a 28 per cent rise year on year.

The results were published by the firm today in its latest interim report which gave results to 31 December 2011.

Total assets under administration stand at £23.4bn, a five per cent rise from £22.3bn last year while revenue rose by 16 per cent to £112.9m.

Net new business fell to £1.16bn, down 13 per cent from £1.34bn for the same period last year.

Ian Gorham, chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown, said the results were encouraging especially during such poor investing conditions.

He said: “This record result has been achieved despite the continued backdrop of economic uncertainty both at home and abroad.

“In turbulent times wise investors focus firstly on the security of their assets and trustworthy service. As a listed company with a 30-year reputation and a strong balance sheet, Hargreaves Lansdown is uniquely placed to deliver that security and service to the UK public.”

The firm added 16,000 new clients onto its Vantage dealing service, bringing the total number of clients to 396,000. This was credited for much of the firm’s asset growth.

Mr Gorham said: “The main driver of asset growth was again derived from Vantage, where the Sipp saw a net business increase year on year, benefiting from the simplified tax rules and the long term investment horizon of the product.”