February 3, 2022

Spotlight: Hargreaves Lansdown Investment Platform

Nick Investing reviews 6 Comments

Today I’m looking at Hargreaves Lansdown, an investment platform I have used on various occasions myself over the last few years.

HL describes itself as ‘the UK’s number 1 investment platform for private investors’ and it’s hard to argue with that. It is officially the largest stockbroker in the UK and listed on the FTSE 100.

At the start of 2022 the company had a staggering £135.5 billion of assets under administration (AUA) – considerably more than their two biggest rivals in the UK, AJ Bell YouInvest and Interactive Investor.

What Does HL Offer?

As you might expect for such a large company, Hargreaves Lansdown offers a wide range of accounts. These include:

• Stocks and Shares ISA
• Junior ISA
• Lifetime ISA
• SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension)
• Fund and Share account
• Active Savings account
• Cash ISA

Within their investment accounts, clients can select from a huge range of funds and individual company shares. HL have over 500 funds listed, including OEICs and unit trusts. You can also invest in thousands of individual company shares on the UK, US, European and Canadian markets.

What Are The Charges?

HL charges an annual platform fee of 0.45% for shares, ETFs and investment trusts.

For funds, the fee begins at 0.45% for the first £250,000, 0.25% for the next £750,000, and 0.1% for the next £1,000,000. There are no additional charges for any fund holdings over £2,000,000.

There are caps on maximum charges for different account types, e.g. a maximum £45 annual management charge on shares in a Stocks and Shares ISA. For more information about fees and charges, see the HL website.

Share dealing charges start at £11.95 per deal but reduce to as little as £5.95 based on the number of deals you made in the month before. This is set out in the table below.

Note that there is an added foreign exchange charge for overseas share deals, depending on deal size

Information and Advice

As well as dealing and portfolio management, Hargreaves Lansdown also offer investment information and advice.

For starters they have The Wealth Shortlist, a list of recommended funds researched and chosen by HL for their long-term potential. This can help investors narrow down their choice of funds from the vast number available on the platform.

HL also offer a service called Portfolio+. This is aimed at people who want to invest but prefer to leave the choice and management of investments to HL’s experts. You simply choose one of six ready-made portfolios that invest in a broad mix of assets across a range of countries and regions, giving lots of diversification (something regular readers will know I’m a big fan of).

Portfolio+ offers simplicity, performance potential and a low minimum investment of £1,000. Portfolios can be sold at any time free of charge (though of course they should only be bought as long-term investments). Once invested, portfolios are automatically rebalanced twice a year. No additional charges are levied for managing your portfolio. Not surprisingly, Portfolio+ is a popular choice among HL investors.

Personalized advice from professional financial advisers is also available via the HL platform. There is (of course) a charge for this, but the initial consultation is free. Again, see the HL website for more information.

• For those brand new to investing, a very useful resource is HL’s Investing – As Easy As 1, 2, 3 page. This takes you through the basics of why, when and how to invest.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Hargreaves Lansdown?

Pros

• Large, well-established platform with huge (over 1.5 million) client base
• Wide range of accounts to meet all needs
• Well-designed, user-friendly website
• Mobile app also available
• No dealing fees when buying or selling funds
• Highly rated UK-based customer service team
• Information, advice and ready-made portfolios available

Cons

• Share dealing fees of up to £11.95 per deal are above average
• Management charges for larger (over £50,000) portfolios are less competitive

What Do Users Think?

On the popular independent TrustPilot website, HL has an average rating of 4.2 (‘Great’) at the time of writing, with 55% of users awarding them a maximum five stars rating. That is on a par with the other leading UK investment platforms.

Positive comments emphasize the high-quality customer service, the well-designed website, and the range of investment products available. There are fewer negative comments, but some of these concern HL’s above-average charges for some services. There are also a few complaints regarding technical issues with the website.

• Hargreaves Lansdown has also received various industry awards, including ‘Best Share Dealing Platform 2021’ (UK Investor Magazine) and ‘Best Digital ISA’ (Boring Money 2021 Best Buys).

Closing Thoughts

If you are planning to start investing (or switch from your current platform) Hargreaves Lansdown undoubtedly has a lot going for it. It’s a popular, well-established platform with a wide range of accounts and services on offer. Their charges are generally competitive, and (as I can testify myself) the UK-based customer service is first rate.

Their Portfolio+ service is an attractive option for novice investors – but equally, if you are happy to pick your own shares and funds, HL has all the info and tools you need.

If you are planning to regularly buy and sell individual shares, Hargreaves Lansdown is on the pricey side. In that case a low-cost share-dealing service such as eToro might be better for you. They offer commission-free trading on shares and charge no monthly account fee. That makes them ideal for short-term traders and investors looking to build a portfolio of shares cheaply. Of course, this is a much riskier approach to investing, and not recommended for those new to the field.

As ever, if you have any comments or questions about this blog post, please do leave them below.

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

Note also that this post includes affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered.