Hargreaves Lansdown is losing senior analyst Laith Khalaf (pictured) in the latest change this year to its roster of spokespeople.
Khalaf will officially exit the business in early September. He indicated to Portfolio Adviser that he will be taking some time off before deciding his next move.
His exit, after 18 years at the D2C platform, comes six months after former Morningstar senior international editor Emma Wall joined Hargreaves as head of investment analysis.
Meanwhile, head of research Mark Dampier has been keeping a low profile since the suspension of Woodford Equity Income, which he had enthusiastically championed since launch despite recent performance issues.
GBI2 managing director Graham Bentley said Wall’s arrival may have made Khalaf’s role as senior analyst more redundant, given her broader coverage of the investment market.
“His role seemed to me to have been rather more as a stock market commentator, and contributor to a limited number of publications.
“Emma Wall meanwhile joined the business as head of investment analysis in April, and has a career as a financial journalist. She heads up all the investment commentary across the media.”
Hargreaves head of communications Danny Cox confirmed Khalaf’s departure but had nothing further to add. He said the firm is currently in the process of searching for a replacement.
Bentley questioned how many investment commentators Hargreaves needs, pointing out Cox himself comments on financial planning and Tom McPhail is a “fairly iconic” pensions spokesperson.
Cox said that Khalaf is in the PR team whereas Wall sits within the investment research team proper.
Both are listed as press contacts on Hargreaves’ website under investments, Isas, funds, the stock market, VCTs and economics, alongside Dampier and senior economist Ben Brettell. Other spokespeople listed on the Hargreaves website include personal finance analyst Sarah Coles and pensions and retirement expert Nathan Long.
Khalaf’s areas of research are listed as funds, markets and investment trends, while Wall’s duties include managing the research team, producing investment research including conducting fund manager interviews and expanding Hargreaves’ commentary across video and digital media.
Khalaf first joined the FTSE 100 platform in 2001 after graduating from Cambridge University. During his 18 years at the firm he has held a variety of roles in pensions and investments and was promoted to senior analyst in 2014.
