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Independent, no-nonsense ratings and reviews
It remains hard to fault Hargreaves Lansdown for service and functionality which have largely excelled as volatility hits, trading soars and remote working bites. Answer times have remained strong and the site has held up well. But charges are now too high for this market and this needs to be addressed. The role and remit of the Wealth 50 is also in need of a re-think – what is it, what promises is it making, and how is it positioned to customers?
We score each provider on about 20 different criteria including cost, service, website, functionality, customer feedback and our experience of the service. All overseen by our PhD gonk!
Confident Investor
Excellent service
Established company
Too pricey for larger portfolios
Don’t want to take our word for it? We ask existing customers and investors to rate their experience with the company – based on value for money, overall service and the website. We need at least 20 customer reviews before we add anyone to our Best Buys list.
Based on 570 reviews
Moved to HL to manage two JISA's. Very slow process, website not as helpful as everyone was saying before I picked them (linking to forms that aren't there, not taking payments/top-ups, not as intuitive as I'd hoped) and the app keeps telling me to do things on the website that aren't there. Efforts to resolve via phone are ongoing - I'm into week two of waiting for someone to answer the phone. Hopefully once resolved it will work as expected, but delays mean I've missed some good upward movement in funds I came to them to invest in!
11/11/2020
Woodford
26/10/2020
HL's service and site just works and works well. Although not the cheapest it is all very efficient and their telephone help to any query is great. I am less keen on their selected 'wealth' funds and think some of the selection is flawed and some of their analysis articles are not great (China still an emerging market?. The bottom line is that I moved to them from another provider and find their platform to be very efficient.
25/10/2020
Not the cheapest but overall they are great to deal with. Their active saver option is also a nice addition.
25/10/2020
They are expensive ... but this rather depends on what you invest in. I invest in Investment Trusts within my ISA and they are not particularly expensive if this is your bag. The service is excellent. I rarely need to call them as I do most things online, but when I do they answer the phone quickly (very rare these days!) and are extremely helpful. I was new to DIY investing when I chose HL and I have not regretted my decision for one minute.
24/10/2020
a little more expensive than other sites, but easy to use, app and site. Good customer service..
24/10/2020
An okay platform - could do with improved functionality on app
24/10/2020
While higher than some others, their website is user friendly, provide good research and a fast response telephone service, which is a bit sluggish since the pandemic.
24/10/2020
Expensive and complicated but good range of services
24/10/2020
Great range of services, investment accounts, ISA, SIPP. Extensive fund range with preferential fee structures and comptitive securities dealing fees and a platform which is clear and easy to navigate
23/10/2020
I'm still with them after many years knowing they are expensive but persuaded by their size that at least the money they don't snatch off me is safe.
23/10/2020
Love their website and customer service.
23/10/2020
Quick, simple and great information services
23/10/2020
Excellent website and service buy charges are too high
23/10/2020
Good service and it works well giving me confidence my account is safe. Lacks the innovation of old HL, in danger of becoming a bit of a behemoth.
23/10/2020
Very convenient for accessing end of tax year investment report
23/10/2020
Shambles of a firm. Dont believe the hype this bunch are a rip off terrible service once your moneys invested. Worst performing GIA of 3 I have over last 2 years too.
23/10/2020
Although share dealing is I think expensive, no charge for funds. Overall fee structure is not cheapest but I feel, as much as I can, that my ISA and Pension are long term "secure" and how much is that worth?
23/10/2020
rreally helpful - always available either by message or phone call...excellent standard of customer service and enquiries are handled by the person who answers the call...not passed from pillar to post!
23/10/2020
Quality
23/10/2020
Yes they are good but sooooo expensive. Haven’t forgiven then for the Neil Woodford Debacle which cost me dearly.
23/10/2020
Great website and general information and help when you need it..... But not the cheapest provider
23/10/2020
The app has limited functionality and the site isn’t the most mobile friendly so I’ll often put off buying decisions until I sit down at my personal laptop on the weekend, which doesn’t really work given nothing is then live until Monday...
23/10/2020
Their on line service is good and their phone service is equally good
23/10/2020
Generally good but clients totally let down by HL in Woodford debacle. The seemed to run away and took zero responsibility.
22/10/2020
Can work out expensive with a large portfolio
20/10/2020
Can work out expensive with a large portfolio
20/10/2020
Very efficient...excellent customer service.Good website with plenty of detail.
20/10/2020
Very efficient...excellent customer service.Good website with plenty of detail.
20/10/2020
Pricey but great service and easy to use app.
19/10/2020
Pricey but great service and easy to use app.
19/10/2020
I like the way I can pick up the phone and talk to a friendly human, straight away. Great easy to use app, that starts updating as soon as the markets close each night. I like the way I can buy and sell funds for free too and trade on the app really easily. All round a smooth experience that helps make investing a no hassle, enjoyable experience.
18/10/2020
I like the way I can pick up the phone and talk to a friendly human, straight away. Great easy to use app, that starts updating as soon as the markets close each night. I like the way I can buy and sell funds for free too and trade on the app really easily. All round a smooth experience that helps make investing a no hassle, enjoyable experience.
18/10/2020
Great service (email and phone), good website and mobile app, but all comes at a price. I have to use a "preferred provider" approved by my company, but as soon as I don't have to I will be switching to a cheaper platform (Interative Investor most likely)
18/10/2020
Great service (email and phone), good website and mobile app, but all comes at a price. I have to use a "preferred provider" approved by my company, but as soon as I don't have to I will be switching to a cheaper platform (Interative Investor most likely)
18/10/2020
Hassle free, easy to use website
17/10/2020
Hassle free, easy to use website
17/10/2020
Service is great,plenty of options on offer to choose from and good value for money.Overall solid
17/10/2020
Service is great,plenty of options on offer to choose from and good value for money.Overall solid
17/10/2020
Good but on the expensive side.
17/10/2020
Good but on the expensive side.
17/10/2020
Mainly very good
17/10/2020
Mainly very good
17/10/2020
Really good app and when you need to call waiting times are short
17/10/2020
Really good app and when you need to call waiting times are short
17/10/2020
Easily the most user friendly platform Sooo much better than ANY other. Fees may be higher overall I
17/10/2020
Easily the most user friendly platform Sooo much better than ANY other. Fees may be higher overall I
17/10/2020
As an American I do not do funds, just stock investments and Hargreaves is good value and good service for me.
17/10/2020
As an American I do not do funds, just stock investments and Hargreaves is good value and good service for me.
17/10/2020
Very good but a little costly
17/10/2020
Very good but a little costly
17/10/2020
Not the cheapest but good tools and telephone support.
17/10/2020
Not the cheapest but good tools and telephone support.
17/10/2020
Still feeling badly let down over their handling of the Woodford affair.
17/10/2020
Still feeling badly let down over their handling of the Woodford affair.
17/10/2020
Relatively simple and user friendly
17/10/2020
Relatively simple and user friendly
17/10/2020
H&L are a very efficient and professional provider with an extremely good platform where you can have all of your financial products in one place which are easy to manage.
17/10/2020
H&L are a very efficient and professional provider with an extremely good platform where you can have all of your financial products in one place which are easy to manage.
17/10/2020
total costs are difficult to work out but probably no different from other platforms.Telephone service is 1st class
16/10/2020
total costs are difficult to work out but probably no different from other platforms.Telephone service is 1st class
16/10/2020
Easy to navigate website but lost some confidence in the brand due to the Woodford saga and directors paying themselves big bonuses
16/10/2020
Easy to navigate website but lost some confidence in the brand due to the Woodford saga and directors paying themselves big bonuses
16/10/2020
Excellent website, just not as cheap as some platforms
16/10/2020
Excellent website, just not as cheap as some platforms
16/10/2020
Good range, quality service but at a price point these days that’s unjustified
16/10/2020
Good range, quality service but at a price point these days that’s unjustified
16/10/2020
I have a sipp with these people and my gripe with them is cost, when you compare them with the other players in the market. Also when you choose a tracker fund this does not come under the umbrella of the £200 max charge per year for your sipp which would be a game changer for me as I am now considering transferring to ii. These people charge £240 per year a very tempting offer.
16/10/2020
Super website. Excellent communication. Confident about the quality of information. Slight expensive platform charge.
16/10/2020
Super website. Excellent communication. Confident about the quality of information. Slight expensive platform charge.
16/10/2020
Very good ap... but very expensive if you have over £100k in funds
16/10/2020
Very good ap... but very expensive if you have over £100k in funds
16/10/2020
Quite organised. costs are a little on the high side if you are only using their services online ( and I am). I am very loyal to them but they could quite easily reduce their pricing structure in the face of stiff, and getting stiffer, competition from the new kids on the block, without harming their profitability.
16/10/2020
Quite organised. costs are a little on the high side if you are only using their services online ( and I am). I am very loyal to them but they could quite easily reduce their pricing structure in the face of stiff, and getting stiffer, competition from the new kids on the block, without harming their profitability.
16/10/2020
Used to be excellent. Now to long to answer and certain things needed doing on my account and needed to be reminded 3 times
16/10/2020
Used to be excellent. Now to long to answer and certain things needed doing on my account and needed to be reminded 3 times
16/10/2020
Like many platforms and IFAs they promote funds (unit trusts/OIECs) over Investment Trusts, which can offer superior growth/return at less cost and (in the property sector) less risk. Their explanation for this is biased to the former because they derive greater revenues. Charges on ITs held in SIPPs and Stocks & Shares ISAs are capped at £200pa, Fund & Share Accounts are free of charges. The website is comprehensive (NB, the above caveat) and well presented. Cost of advice is expensive and model should be modified to time/cost base. Portfolio transfer out times are ~3-4 mths due to Covid constraints and volume of business. Reputation took a hit post Woodford and still has a way to go to restore confidence, e.g. in recommended fund lists. It will take a while. Improved management oversight (internal, and by FCA) needs to be seen, and demonstrated.
16/10/2020
Like many platforms and IFAs they promote funds (unit trusts/OIECs) over Investment Trusts, which can offer superior growth/return at less cost and (in the property sector) less risk. Their explanation for this is biased to the former because they derive greater revenues. Charges on ITs held in SIPPs and Stocks & Shares ISAs are capped at £200pa, Fund & Share Accounts are free of charges. The website is comprehensive (NB, the above caveat) and well presented. Cost of advice is expensive and model should be modified to time/cost base. Portfolio transfer out times are ~3-4 mths due to Covid constraints and volume of business. Reputation took a hit post Woodford and still has a way to go to restore confidence, e.g. in recommended fund lists. It will take a while. Improved management oversight (internal, and by FCA) needs to be seen, and demonstrated.
16/10/2020
The website functionality, ease of use, depth of available nformation and opinion is fab. The ability to get a human to respond to queries on the phone or via online messaging, is fab. HL is undoubtedly a top class organisation and it offers great value.....you get what you pay for.
16/10/2020
The website functionality, ease of use, depth of available nformation and opinion is fab. The ability to get a human to respond to queries on the phone or via online messaging, is fab. HL is undoubtedly a top class organisation and it offers great value.....you get what you pay for.
16/10/2020
The Good: Basic functionality but it works. Good fund selection. Reasonably priced. The Bad: can't change DD date. Need at least £100 to invest invest in a fund. Trading cycle not the fastest.
16/10/2020
The Good: Basic functionality but it works. Good fund selection. Reasonably priced. The Bad: can't change DD date. Need at least £100 to invest invest in a fund. Trading cycle not the fastest.
16/10/2020
A comprehensive selection of products and an easy to navigate website. The mobile app could do with some improvements and the login in process is more complex than my bank.
16/10/2020
A comprehensive selection of products and an easy to navigate website. The mobile app could do with some improvements and the login in process is more complex than my bank.
16/10/2020
An expensive service but highly reliable and professional. Their telephone service operates well and their online information is up to date and useful. But remember: they do deals with other fund managers so promote them 9remember Neil Woodford? so check other websites as well for recommended funds).
16/10/2020
An expensive service but highly reliable and professional. Their telephone service operates well and their online information is up to date and useful. But remember: they do deals with other fund managers so promote them 9remember Neil Woodford? so check other websites as well for recommended funds).
16/10/2020
Reliable accurate service. Not cheap. Ignore their investment suggestions
16/10/2020
Reliable accurate service. Not cheap. Ignore their investment suggestions
16/10/2020
Comprehensive, consistent, bit opaque on charges
16/10/2020
Comprehensive, consistent, bit opaque on charges
16/10/2020
Lots of information when they have it, good customer service, but performance data and presentation including cost breakdowns I think is lacking.
16/10/2020
Lots of information when they have it, good customer service, but performance data and presentation including cost breakdowns I think is lacking.
16/10/2020
Very good service and great website with helpful information
16/10/2020
Very good service and great website with helpful information
16/10/2020
Reliable
16/10/2020
Reliable
16/10/2020
First Class
16/10/2020
First Class
16/10/2020
Great website easy to use. Would be happier if their charges were less and thank god I didn't take their advice to put money into Woodford's fund. Although to be fair they did say that it hadn't performed well of late, which I took as a warning.
16/10/2020
Great website easy to use. Would be happier if their charges were less and thank god I didn't take their advice to put money into Woodford's fund. Although to be fair they did say that it hadn't performed well of late, which I took as a warning.
16/10/2020
Excellent web site and customer service .
16/10/2020
Excellent web site and customer service .
16/10/2020
They are usually available at the end of the phone and helpful when you get through.
16/10/2020
They are usually available at the end of the phone and helpful when you get through.
16/10/2020
Looks polished but appearances can be deceptive
16/10/2020
Looks polished but appearances can be deceptive
16/10/2020
As a first time investor, I found the website easy to navigate.
16/10/2020
As a first time investor, I found the website easy to navigate.
16/10/2020
If you use Investment Trusts in your savings vehicles then it is not as expensive as the headline 0.45%
16/10/2020
If you use Investment Trusts in your savings vehicles then it is not as expensive as the headline 0.45%
16/10/2020
Very good but expensive
16/10/2020
Very good but expensive
16/10/2020
Great website easy to use, phones always answered promptly, Active savings are a great help, easy to set up, and feels very secure. Probably not the cheapest in town but worth the extra, having said that I have not used another platform.
16/10/2020
Great website easy to use, phones always answered promptly, Active savings are a great help, easy to set up, and feels very secure. Probably not the cheapest in town but worth the extra, having said that I have not used another platform.
16/10/2020
Used to have swift, helpful customer service. Now slow and unhelpful.
16/10/2020
Used to have swift, helpful customer service. Now slow and unhelpful.
16/10/2020
I am a complete numpty and novice when it comes to investing but have found HL website to be easy to navigate around, the Wealth 50 funds (which is probably 70 now) most helpful, and the Active Savings great. I joined about 2 years ago at 73 (so approaching middle age) and am probably about 11% up now on my investments (this could be down to luck) if you need any help the phones are always answered promptly by young people who seem to know what they are doing. HL is probably not the cheapest platform out their, but M&S is probably not the cheapest shop in town either, but I like there food.
16/10/2020
I am a complete numpty and novice when it comes to investing but have found HL website to be easy to navigate around, the Wealth 50 funds (which is probably 70 now) most helpful, and the Active Savings great. I joined about 2 years ago at 73 (so approaching middle age) and am probably about 11% up now on my investments (this could be down to luck) if you need any help the phones are always answered promptly by young people who seem to know what they are doing. HL is probably not the cheapest platform out their, but M&S is probably not the cheapest shop in town either, but I like there food.
16/10/2020
I know they are on the pricey side (which I forgot about until I bought some shares last week and almost had a mini heart attack :) but the quality of the service, ease of use of the App and website and general depth of info they provide is stellar and I feel comfortable using the platform as a result.
16/10/2020
I know they are on the pricey side (which I forgot about until I bought some shares last week and almost had a mini heart attack :) but the quality of the service, ease of use of the App and website and general depth of info they provide is stellar and I feel comfortable using the platform as a result.
16/10/2020
Efficient website. Plenty to invest in. Neber had a problem in over 15 years.
16/10/2020
Efficient website. Plenty to invest in. Neber had a problem in over 15 years.
16/10/2020
Have found hargreaves service straightforward, comprehensive and efficient. But the cost, now that my portfolio has grown, is painful and unjustified. I tried to move to ii but the transfer process turned out to be clumsy, lengthy and damaged my investments. In the end I abandoned it and stuck with Hargreaves despite the cost.
16/10/2020
Have found hargreaves service straightforward, comprehensive and efficient. But the cost, now that my portfolio has grown, is painful and unjustified. I tried to move to ii but the transfer process turned out to be clumsy, lengthy and damaged my investments. In the end I abandoned it and stuck with Hargreaves despite the cost.
16/10/2020
Service is reliably solid. Intelligent and prompt phone convos, refreshingly normal as opposed to dead-eyed scripted tedium. Articulate people with highly professional manners. I know they are not the cheapest but you get what you pay for, and importantly for me there are no extra charges to factor in for each, buy, sell, switch, drawdown withdrawal etc. For me it is well worth it. And I have complete confidence my money is safe.
16/10/2020
Service is reliably solid. Intelligent and prompt phone convos, refreshingly normal as opposed to dead-eyed scripted tedium. Articulate people with highly professional manners. I know they are not the cheapest but you get what you pay for, and importantly for me there are no extra charges to factor in for each, buy, sell, switch, drawdown withdrawal etc. For me it is well worth it. And I have complete confidence my money is safe.
16/10/2020
They're expensive but ok
16/10/2020
They're expensive but ok
16/10/2020
Pretty good but charges too high
16/10/2020
Pretty good but charges too high
16/10/2020
For a novice like me the telephone contact was very useful. Patiently explained what I needed to do to sort out my transactions etc.
16/10/2020
For a novice like me the telephone contact was very useful. Patiently explained what I needed to do to sort out my transactions etc.
16/10/2020
Easy to use and see performance but slightly expensive.
16/10/2020
Easy to use and see performance but slightly expensive.
16/10/2020
H&L have very good customer service and online service will answer your questions and action any requests effectively. They are more expensive than other platforms but the have a lot of research toolset to assist you. Great updated information in relation to what is happening in the financial markets and current news.
16/10/2020
H&L have very good customer service and online service will answer your questions and action any requests effectively. They are more expensive than other platforms but the have a lot of research toolset to assist you. Great updated information in relation to what is happening in the financial markets and current news.
16/10/2020
HL have a very easy website to navigate and are well known, so if you are investing £1,000s of pounds somewhere, and you want to have reassurance that it is safe, HL are a good start. (Yes the actual investment could go down, but HL aren't going to run off with your money). They also have a vast selection of funds, investment trusts and shares, which some of the other platforms do not have on offer. BUT they are expensive on charges for funds (that's why their website is so good, possibly), but charges are resonable on investment trusts. They dropped exit fees last year, which makes them better to deal with, but if you are just interested in trackers/ETFs rather than looking at doing the odd trading during the year, then they probably aren't in the 'top tier' of choices to look at
16/10/2020
HL have a very easy website to navigate and are well known, so if you are investing £1,000s of pounds somewhere, and you want to have reassurance that it is safe, HL are a good start. (Yes the actual investment could go down, but HL aren't going to run off with your money). They also have a vast selection of funds, investment trusts and shares, which some of the other platforms do not have on offer. BUT they are expensive on charges for funds (that's why their website is so good, possibly), but charges are resonable on investment trusts. They dropped exit fees last year, which makes them better to deal with, but if you are just interested in trackers/ETFs rather than looking at doing the odd trading during the year, then they probably aren't in the 'top tier' of choices to look at
16/10/2020
I don’t think it’s the cheapest option but it had the easiest sign up for a LISA and the app is constantly being improved. Currently now showing live share prices as well as daily helpful news I think it’s one of the best.
16/10/2020
I don’t think it’s the cheapest option but it had the easiest sign up for a LISA and the app is constantly being improved. Currently now showing live share prices as well as daily helpful news I think it’s one of the best.
16/10/2020
Very helpful staff who explained all the issues.
16/10/2020
Very helpful staff who explained all the issues.
16/10/2020
I've always found HL to be efficient and offer an excellent range of products & services.
16/10/2020
I've always found HL to be efficient and offer an excellent range of products & services.
16/10/2020
Always answer calls quickly and seem to know what they are talking about. Charges a bit on the high side but paying for all the info on website which sometimes I find a bit overwhelming.
16/10/2020
Always answer calls quickly and seem to know what they are talking about. Charges a bit on the high side but paying for all the info on website which sometimes I find a bit overwhelming.
16/10/2020
User friendly. Excellent range of funds to choose from for your ISA. Good regular communications. Perhaps a little expensive. Could do with adding more dedicated positive impact equity and bond funds.
16/10/2020
User friendly. Excellent range of funds to choose from for your ISA. Good regular communications. Perhaps a little expensive. Could do with adding more dedicated positive impact equity and bond funds.
16/10/2020
Generally very good, a bit pricey the more you invest and their reputation has been a bit tarnished because of the support for Woodford when it was going down the pan
16/10/2020
Generally very good, a bit pricey the more you invest and their reputation has been a bit tarnished because of the support for Woodford when it was going down the pan
16/10/2020
Good fund choice, easy to buy individual shares but costly compared to some others. How they calculate growth on overall portfolio is very confusing and not transparent.
16/10/2020
Good fund choice, easy to buy individual shares but costly compared to some others. How they calculate growth on overall portfolio is very confusing and not transparent.
16/10/2020
Great website backed up by an impressive telephone service. Wide range of products (including new issues), all easy to use. Costs are reasonable. Overall, a first rate package!
16/10/2020
Great website backed up by an impressive telephone service. Wide range of products (including new issues), all easy to use. Costs are reasonable. Overall, a first rate package!
16/10/2020
Customer service and ease of website keeps me on track - no complaints. Flat fee for a portfolio as large as mine makes it very very inexpensive overall for me to hold shares and investment trusts. Funds, a bit less so- but I don't mind paying for the service they provide.
16/10/2020
Customer service and ease of website keeps me on track - no complaints. Flat fee for a portfolio as large as mine makes it very very inexpensive overall for me to hold shares and investment trusts. Funds, a bit less so- but I don't mind paying for the service they provide.
16/10/2020
It feels very old-school like it was designed for a grey monotone world. It needs to work on making investing more accessible. The way you search for investments and the way they are displayed oftentimes makes it hard to navigate. There's a focus on selling you HL recommended products as opposed to what's best for your personal financial situation.
19/09/2020
Awful company!!! Their entire business model revolves around a bunch of kids with posh accents who are frightfully nice on the phone but the service is dire and the prices exorbitant. After three years of endless complaints, HL asked me (sorry, told me!) to move my millions elsewhere. What sort of problems did I have? Transfers incorrectly identified, bank transfers sent abroad without beneficiary's details, delayed purchase of shares with dividends etc. It is very clear that the customer either accepts poor service - where mistakes are deemed inevitable - or they do not want your custom!!
16/08/2020
Awful. Bad advice and terrible advisor. Expensive.
14/08/2020
I have a £85,000 portfolio which does not contain much value in UNIT TRUSTs. All my holdings are INVESTMENT TRUSTS or company shares. In spite of the BORING report, I find that at about £50 per annum, the charges are competitive with any other provider. Services during the current pandemic are restricted, particularly as far as not being able to add paper share certificates to my account.
20/07/2020
Since HL changed the web site in respect of searching for funds in various categories its become very labour intensive and time consuming to use, in fact its awful.
08/07/2020
A bit pricey for high value portfolios but very good website and customer service, except for one serious mistake which they rectified quickly and at no cost to me, and Woodford debacle means that I would never use them again.
29/06/2020
Your review says it all. I have no experience elsewhere and as a customer for 15 years but got burned by their garbage Wealth 50 advice they cravenly ground out ref Neil Woodford. Service response has been badly hit by Covid. Having used them for so long I feel a bit trapped. The shine has definitely gone off this company for me.
18/06/2020
I’d like to pay a flat fee, not a percentage to manage my money. Why should my fees be so much for the same service as someone who has a smaller portfolio? I was once told by an estate agent that he wouldn’t get out of bed for less than 1% commission. When I pointed out that houses he was selling varied by vast amounts, it was clear he was getting less than 1% of the commission earned on a large house when he sold the cheaper ones. Same applies to the billionaire Peter Hargreaves.
14/05/2020
The website and mobile app are outstanding for viewing at a glance the performance of your portfolios and individual holdings. I use two other platforms and you really have to dig down to get performance - they pale in comparison. Yes it’s expensive regarding charges for holding funds/unit trusts, which is why I mainly hold shares and investment trusts. They were very good at chasing my pension transfers into my SIPP when the existing providers were dragging their feet.
28/04/2020
As others have said good service, responsive to queries and very good website, but a bit expensive.
05/03/2020
It's a bit pricey but you can always talk to an adviser, I like that.
29/02/2020
Excellent website with some interesting fund and share recommendations but after the Woodford fund debacle my trust in their recommendations went down as they are obviously biased. Service desk is excellent-quick and efficient. One big error made last year when they sold my entire portfolio for some unknown reason! They admitted their error and offered me compensation for my distress but it has made me wary. Their charges are high and I may well change provider as I only make any portfolio changes infrequently.
25/01/2020
Bit pricey for holding funds and charges for buying investment trusts infrequently are £11.95. However the customer service and info is first class... Very efficient. Website is good, very comprehensive breakdown of your holdings.
24/01/2020
The best thing is the quality of their customer service team. You can nearly always get straight through to someone who knows what they're talking about. They have been very helpful with transferring a DC pension into their SIPP, chasing the other provider who was being very slow. It makes the slightly higher charges worthwhile. My one negative is their marketing hype about the best funds to invest in - I ignore it now. I was also taken in by the multi manager funds until I realised I was paying another layer of management fees.
23/01/2020
All very straight forward so far. Their App is more intuitive than some.
23/01/2020
Provide a quality service both via telephone and online. Starting to look expensive in the overall marketplace for whats offered.
23/01/2020
Overall a very good provider with a wide range of domestic and international funds. You can also buy shares directly for a relatively small trading price. Additionally I am impressed with the app offering which easy to use overall 5 stars.
23/01/2020
Good choice. Effective platform. Improving.
23/01/2020
I have found Hargreaves Lansdown to be more of a front than substance. They have made mistakes on my account in buying holdings TWICE and trying to walk away from the issue. That said if you push them on their costs they will make adjustments if you have a substantial portfolio. In short I am happier to be with a large market leader albeit with its foibles with reasonable costs.
23/01/2020
Very good customer service and range of investment products but not the cheapest.
23/01/2020
Visible and clear layout, helpful commentary and is user friendly (particularly the mobile app) for on-the-move checking balances/investing in funds. Perhaps only negative is the cost to invest and the web version of the website seems quite outdated / less flexible than the app.
23/01/2020
Have a LISA with Hargreaves - website is a bit dated, especially if you are comparing to modern banks and financial institutions' sites, however Hargreaves is traditional. It has a variety of investment options and regularly updates customers on changes. I feel secure with my LISA being held with Hargreaves, against all other LISA providers.
23/01/2020
Great service, but slightly expensive. Telephone support is very good. Investment choice is excellent. Execution is always spot on.
10/01/2020
Truly excellent service. They always answer the phone promptly and all the staff seem extremely knowledgeable and friendly. All correspondence has been good too. The website is simple, intuitive and very easy to use. The downside is the cost. You get what you pay for, and in this case, you pay for this excellent service. I think it’s worth it, because I am managing an account on behalf of others, and the ability to link together all my family’s accounts is an absolute godsend. If you want to manage more than one account, this is the provider to go for.
06/01/2020
HL gets a lot of press both positive (feature-loaded, huge, leader of the pack, got everything covered etc) ad nauseam but also negative (too expensive, too up-itself to be trusted, way too much junk mailing and pestering) but it still manages to be a bench-mark. Their "buy this fund from us instead of our competitors and save on fund charges" is highly irritating - Yes, like about 0.05 % saving. Having said that, and I'm sure hundreds of others have already said similarly, HL is very well presented. Just a pity it can't give small investors a bit of a break on charges. I'm leaving, maybe!
05/01/2020
Great website and customer service. Expensive. I'm moving to Interactive Investor. The performance of their in-house funds are poor and the Wealth 50 is very middle of the road. They don't push investment trusts enough... for obvious reasons!
03/01/2020
Great company to deal with but slightly pricey, however you get what you pay for.
03/01/2020
Poor and unethical behaviour over Woodford funds, including, inter alia, head of research managing to withdraw "his wife's" holdings just before the door slammed shut for other investors. This would be the same Head of Research who asserted that they were long-term investors, when justifying keeping Woodford funds in their Wealth 50 list. Slow dividend reinvestment at odds with other platforms.
06/12/2019
I've been with HL for almost 20 years but the last 3 years have been less profitable for me. One reason might be a culture change in the company.
25/11/2019
No comment.
24/11/2019
Excellent information, customer service and transparent costs.
20/11/2019
A good help desk and good website, but ultimately one is looking at the quality of the investment advice. Hargreaves Lansdown bigs up its analysts, that they are talking to its relatively small group of highly recommended fund managers regularly, as part of their overall research. Hence, one is bound to wonder how they were still recommending Woodford at the time of fund suspension, when, from info that came out in the press over succeeding weeks, the man on the street would have known to avoid the fund. So bad by HL it undermines everything else. Platform charges are at the top end of the industry @ 0.45%.
20/11/2019
Phone app is very clear and easy to use. Buying and selling shares just takes seconds. Active saving facility looks to be very good as well (early days). Phone is always answered in seconds as well.
19/11/2019
This is just one of the platforms which I use. Over time its generally suited me well, but I have had to open accounts on other platforms where I can research companies better, see level 2, read blogs, short, etc. I think that as a simple investment platform it's fine, but if you are serious about investing and trading you are going to start seeing the gaps. To be honest I have not found a single platform yet that does all that I need it to.
16/11/2019
No comment.
15/11/2019
I am afraid I have no experience of other providers so cannot gauge how good or bad they are all. I can say is everything is very easy to set up and run, someone always answers the phone quickly when I call and they are very helpful. I am thinking of trying another provider to get a comparison, and look forward to reading some reviews when they are all in before I decide.
15/11/2019
Except for Woodford, obviously. Waiving fees on Woodford latterly is fine but probably not quite enough to restore their reputation.
15/11/2019
Excellent administration and website, the overall service if you have money spread over different accounts e.g. ISAs, SIPPs etc. is quite expensive.
09/11/2019
The best thing about Hargreaves Lansdown is the service. Their phone advisers are very knowledgeable, and proactive. I recently transferred a DC pension from another provider, who was problematic to deal with (and incompetent), but HL helped me drive the transaction through. Transactions are straightforward, e.g. it was relatively easy to set up a regular drawdown payment. My only criticism is that in the early days I believed the marketing hype in their newsletters about where to invest, especially the HL multi-manager funds, where you are effectively paying double management fees. I ignore it now.
08/11/2019
I like the platform and find it easy to use. Telephone help very good if needed. I read their fund info... but also research using other sources before making a decision. Never placed much emphasis on their "Best Buys"... and after recent events, it seems they now have some work to do before regaining my confidence! It is more expensive than other platforms and, as a "fund only" investor, I am not too sure it is worth paying the premium.
08/11/2019
Platform fees for bigger investors are high but offset by lower charges negotiated with some fund managers. Service is excellent and the website is a comprehensive source of information. Above all Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management offer an excellent choice of funds and switching is easy. The ability to invest in the best funds (often not offered on some platforms) is more important than small differences in platform fees.
31/10/2019
Having had an ISA with A J Bell, I can certainly state that Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) are better service-wise, and most importantly they have the size to negotiate really worthwhile discounts from many of the best fund managers which are then passed on to customers in full. Also, the HL call centre is so much better than any other call centre I have ever used. Their staff always seem to be fully trained which I cannot say for the likes of BT, John Lewis or A J Bell.
15/10/2019
Great service - a tad too high on the platform fees for the long term investor and especially so when the portfolio increases over the years.
18/09/2019
I opened a small Stocks and Shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown to check them out, thinking I may wish to transfer my reasonably sized SIPP to them. Having changed my mind (for reasons below), I ended up selling the ISA holdings and requested a cash-balance-only transfer to AJ Bell. Now nearly four weeks later, they have still not managed to do this (or even tried?), and fail to answer secure messages and e-mails on the topic. Their charges are completely unjustifiable, their iPhone app is weak, the website is dated and clunky, and the customer service has so far been appalling. HL is best avoided in my honest opinion :-(
09/09/2019
I have 3 separate accounts within HL holding both shares and Funds. My view is that their charges are high and for what they actually do for you, its really difficult to understand why they charge so much just for holding accounts which my money is invested in. Also their rates for Cash holdings are dismal. I feel Hargreaves really needs to ask themselves whether they feels it is value for what they offer . . . I do not think so.
23/06/2019
No comment.
13/05/2019
Impossible site to access - very difficult to have all details to hand when trying to manage different accounts and access is required infrequently. Customer service is completely useless. Time to move to a cheaper provider
02/05/2019
Very good service but hypocritical in their bragging about the fund discounts they get whilst ignoring the circa 65% profit margin they make on thier platform fees!
19/04/2019
We as a family are very happy with Hargreaves Lansdown's services. Whilst some say that they are a little expensive, platform fee wise, those critics nearly always fail to point out that special fund manager's charge discounts available on over 50 funds are substantial, but not for the likes of greedy Fundsmith! This means that the maximum HL platform fee of 0.45% can typically have a 0.35% special fund manager's discount which is only available to HL customers, so making a really typical net charge of just 0.1% pa, and that is nothing at all given the high level of service provided by HL.
19/03/2019
One even gets a virtually immediate and personal answer to one's telephone query! Incomparable and brilliantly managed company - apart from the fact that their costs are opaque. But the answer is to buy the stock itself; the dividends and/or capital appreciation could easily cover them,
03/03/2019
Customers with larger portfolios can negotiate with HL to reduce fees. Also discounts on some well regarded funds (Lindsell Train & Royal London for example) bring TOTAL costs down further.
01/03/2019
No comment.
25/02/2019
If you have any interest in financial matters, you could spend your life reading the website, it's a mine of information. Can be hard to find information you are interested in - like charges. Telephone helpline always great though. Charges are high but service info etc is brilliant. Performance of own funds poor this year.
16/02/2019
Brilliant website and customer service when you phone them, can’t be faulted, except on cost. Seems strange how they go on about reducing fund manager costs, especially with their new 50 recommended funds, but their costs remain resolutely high.
16/02/2019
Hargreaves Lansdown has an excellent site, with lots of information for buyers and its staff are uniformly helpful. That said, it is also very expensive and I increasingly wonder if my very boring basket of index trackers and investment trusts might be better placed elsewhere. So far inertia has won but I anticipate that this might well change soon.
15/02/2019
I endorse all that Boring Money has said about Hargreaves Lansdown. However, if you choose to invest in Investment Trusts only, then HL is excellent value for money; annual charges can be sub £500 pa. The .45% platform fee is what kills the OEIC/UT proposition.
31/12/2018
No comment
19/12/2018
suberb app great customer service. scrap inclusive pricing for lower annual charge
19/12/2018
quick response to phone calls queries answered promptly Loggingonseemssimpler than with other companies. reduce charges
19/12/2018
Simple ease of access. Speed
19/12/2018
Good website. Plenty of easily available informatio
19/12/2018
efficient, competent and, as I mostly invest in investment trusts, inexpensive. nothing!
19/12/2018
Simplicity
19/12/2018
Functionality of the website/platform. Nothing I can think of.
19/12/2018
charges can be reduced for small investors
19/12/2018
Very polite and fast to answer the phone. Simplify the costs
19/12/2018
Website. Having to pay £25 if I close one of my funds!
19/12/2018
Website easy to navigate, can hold both funds and individual shares. Cost of holding stocks and shares isa
19/12/2018
Good service. Cost - too expensive
19/12/2018
Thorough coverage and availability of investments. Good write-ups and articles. Very efficient website. The plaform fees are punitive for the average small-Joe investor like me. I do not like the special fee discounts idea at all. Makes me suspect that they are being fed "sponsorship incentives" by favoured fund providers regardless of the performance quality of the funds concerned. I'd rather have a lower platform fee. Also, I don't like being marketed at all the time. The snail-mail bumf they send out must be quite costly and it goes straight in my shredder.
19/12/2018
Simple to use. Excellent service. The website for SIPP doesnt look great. It could be more polished
19/12/2018
Everything is very clear and easy to find on the website.
19/12/2018
Like the ease of use. Would improve charges for inactive accounts
19/12/2018
After 25 years with Barclays Stockbrokers, I migrated to Hargreaves Lansdown. A breath of fresh air. A named contact to deal with during migration. Easy to read contract notes. Excellent website. Easy navigation. Dividends paid with the name of payer. Similar to Barclays Stockbrokers before 'Smart Investor', whose software designers have downgraded the experience and whose bosses have increased charges, particularly for large investors. My initial experience with HL has been excellent. The transition has been worth it. Particularly impressed with the ability to have a named contact. Well done HL!
13/12/2018
No comment.
09/12/2018
Chose Hargreaves Lansdown for grandchildren's funds. Good structure and choice, and like bundling 4 accounts under one login.
25/11/2018
HL Website is easy to navigate and to get to where you need to be is fairly intuitive. Plenty of information about each fund. Reduce the fees for smallish investors!!!!! HL's opinion on some funds seems a bit stale. Not sure that the HL Select range is any better than the herd. I was encouraged to become a customer by a media article and by Holly Mac's reviews.
14/11/2018
Very professional approach and informative with very good staff and implementation of action. Costs of investment, trading etc are somewhat high and the language used on the website can be too complex for many purposes. Some surprising omissions from the top 150 investments e.g. Fundsmith. Encouraged to become a customer by the website, good customer service, and a media article (e.g. online/magazine review).
07/11/2018
No comment
03/10/2018
Happy to use this company - well-known and generally the 'go-to' source used by the media for market statements. Not the cheapest - but reliable and easy-to-use web tools make tracking your investments very simple.
13/08/2018
Its quite a good product and the website is pretty easy to use. The downside is that obtaining advice on investments can be quite expensive and is not always very much more than you could obtain yourself. HL is a very successful product overall and my investments there have generally proved to be worthwhile and some have proved to be really good.
10/08/2018
No comment
10/08/2018
Yes they are expensive; however, in proportion in pounds and pence the difference between the cheapest and Hargreaves Landsdown is IMHO worth paying for a professional, safe and reliable platform.
03/03/2018
Excellent for shares,PIBs and trusts due to dealing costs. Not so good for funds due to management costs.
06/02/2018
Expensive if you only trade in funds, no cap so at 0.45% management costs a £100K portfolio would cost £450 each year. Using it for your own choice share portfolio, with low online dealing costs and the 0.45% capped at £45, makes it one of the cheapest if you trust your own judgement, deal infrequently and are willing to hold for years not days.
30/01/2018
Can be very expensive if only invest only in funds, for example £100K @ 0.45% management charges would cost £450 each year. On the other hand using the ISA to hold your own share portfolio, with HL having one of the cheapest online dealing costs and the 0.45% charge capped @ £45 makes it one of the cheapest in the long run, especially if you hold onto stock and infrequently trade. However you need to be confident in your own stock picking ability and be prepared to hold.
30/01/2018
It works and I feel they will look after my assets. They are big enough to give that assurance but the service has remained that of a small company that actually cares, and not corporate that pays lip service with jargon and platitudes. It could be cheaper, but I'd rather pay a bit more for the peace of mind, after all it took a long time and lot of hard work to earn the money, so I don't want to cut corners now.
30/01/2018
Relatively easy to use, good information, various levels of advice if needed, clear website, excellent customer service.
30/01/2018
Extremely helpful and ease of using website.
30/01/2018
Website is informative and clear. Transaction fees are OK and transparent (I think!). Clear documents from transactions and 6-monthly summary.
30/01/2018
Easy to understand website.
30/01/2018
It feels slick and professional to use. Very easy to navigate the website to buy and sell and gain advice.
30/01/2018
I wish that some of the investment terms were explained better. It can still feel like a closed world to the newbie.
30/01/2018
Accessibility, ease of use of website. Staff always available at end of a phone line to help with a query.
30/01/2018
Good service and easy to use web site.
30/01/2018
Feature-rich website, tailored reports. Improvements could be lower charges (0.45%) and more robo funds available.
30/01/2018
One of the few to offer a trust fund account.
30/01/2018
I always speak to a knowledgeable person.
30/01/2018
Excellent customer service and reasonable charges, if you don't invest in funds. Expensive if you invest in funds - so don't! Would improve if they published an annual summary of charges they have made with a breakdown of them. At the moment they just give separate lump sums each month for each account and you have to work through the full list of transactions each month to extract them.
30/01/2018
The service is great but expensive.
30/01/2018
I haven't been with them that long but I like the website, lots of information available and it's easy to trade.
30/01/2018
Usually deal with issues quickly and efficiently, although recently there has been a drop off in service levels.
30/01/2018
Good for consolidation.
30/01/2018
Very easy to use website, extremely helpful service desk. They may be more expensive, but it's worth it.
30/01/2018
Good website. Ease of use.
30/01/2018
It's taken me a while to find the right options on their site, e.g. when making pension contributions from my company. They seem to be releasing new functionality frequently to fix things though.
30/01/2018
Ease of operation, clarity of information and website all very good. Costs for larger deposits relatively high.
30/01/2018
Everything works very well. They answer questions quickly and efficiently. They are proactive about advising on corporate actions.
30/01/2018
Good financial size, ease of access.
30/01/2018
No complaints about this lot.
30/01/2018
A human voice at the end of a telephone and the subsequent timely action to query / request.
30/01/2018
Good service and lower charges if trading little.
30/01/2018
Clearly one of the best providers.
30/01/2018
Easy to use website with plenty of clear information. The staff are very helpful when I call.
30/01/2018
Lower cost.
30/01/2018
SIPP and ISA fee of 0.45% far too high.
30/01/2018
Service is excellent and the website is dependable. My only issue is I realise they are relatively expensive compared to peers.
30/01/2018
No comment
30/01/2018
Very easy to use website, I don't have to look too hard to find the information that I need. I feel that the charges are higher than they could be.
30/01/2018
Easy to contact by phone.
30/01/2018
Efficient service, good website. Their fees of 0.45% of funds are really ridiculously high these days though - one of these days it's going to bother me enough to start transferring funds away from Hargreaves Lansdown.
30/01/2018
Online account very quick and easy to access. Account details very clear. Happy with their service.
30/01/2018
More coverage of investment trusts.
30/01/2018
Strong online offering, but far too much email and postal correspondence, which is rarely relevant.
30/01/2018
Comprehensive service and very good website but a little pricey.
30/01/2018
Quick answers to online questions. It is not 100% clear what my return is after charges.
30/01/2018
They always answer the phone quickly. Sometimes it seems like a student has answered without the correct experience to answer my query.
30/01/2018
Excellent customer service + good website. LOWER COSTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30/01/2018
Comprehensive investment information, but they send me too many publications.
30/01/2018
When I feel I have to ring them they are very knowledgeable, competent and helpful. The website is good for information e.g. You can get performance (Morningstar) of funds over many years to compare. I find buying stocks rather a complicated process but I am more used to the old TD Waterhouse site. This service could improve if they stopped bombarding me with paperwork urging me to invest in their Vantage ISA or whatever that is.
30/01/2018
Range, price, and service.
30/01/2018
Ease of information and trading.
30/01/2018
Online investment information is great.
30/01/2018
Extensive research information and ease of operation for the website.
30/01/2018
Knowledge, quality and responsiveness of customer service.
30/01/2018
Prompt online service for simple queries. Slow postal response to anything more complex. Staff need to be more proactive during the process of transferring pension funds in.
30/01/2018
Good fund advice, good site to see how my funds have been doing and easy to buy and sell small or large amounts.
30/01/2018
Excellent service, but need to drop their charges.
30/01/2018
No comment
30/01/2018
Excellent website which enables quick access to ISA account, checking on other funds, trusts etc, research and up-to-date information. A lower management fee would rate 5 on value for money rating.
30/01/2018
The clarity of web pages and access. Ability to look up tables of funds same as for shares.
30/01/2018
The website is really easy to use, email replies are very prompt, account charges are too high.
A
30/01/2018
Services very good. Pushes the average person to buying into Wealth 150 which contains some very poor funds. Too much concentration on increasing their business. You need to be savvy to not take the articles/ research as gospel. Should target fees at investors needs, rather than the whole package, allowing customers to tailor the information they require.
30/01/2018
All very easy to operate but good customer service on the phone if you have any questions.
30/01/2018
Good research/analysis, ease to use.
30/01/2018
Easy to use, good service.
30/01/2018
Good basic reporting whenever required.
30/01/2018
Too expensive.
30/01/2018
Good telephone back-up to web facilities.
30/01/2018
Great website, responsive and educated customer service and low SIPP cost. What I don't like are their investment suggestions which are aver cautious.
30/01/2018
The funds are well explained and there are plenty of helpful articles for those starting out in investments.
30/01/2018
Jargon free, easy access to accounts and a good mobile app to keep an eye on investments.
30/01/2018
A human being answers the phone!
30/01/2018
Best service. Could be improved if fees were capped for funds as they are for ITs and ETFs.
30/01/2018
Very efficient polite and informative well trained staff.
30/01/2018
Website is the best I've seen in the industry. Telephone operators are good and actually check with their superiors if they are not sure of the details I require. Their rates are expensive - that is the only reason I might change platforms.
30/01/2018
Reduce costs.
30/01/2018
Like - lots of information and data readily available. Improvement - completely inflexible. If your need falls outside the Hargreaves Lansdown scope, they will run in circles but not help.
30/01/2018
Likes: it's so easy to deal with. Online experience is slick and lots of helpful information and insights. Email updates are good and engaging. Could be slightly better on costs.
30/01/2018
Bonus.
C
30/01/2018
Expensive.
30/01/2018
Good website with lots of information.
30/01/2018
The website is very good and relatively easy to use. You can quickly set up regular savings and the amount of information available is extensive. However, I gave it a low recommendation score because of its costs. They seem to stubbornly refuse to lower their costs on the basis that they offer such a good website. That may have been a valid statement a few years ago but now there should be no excuse in being able to reduce their overall costs and with a 25 pounds exit charge per fund its not cheap to move away. For that reason I have moved a lot of my investments into investment trusts which has a maximum amount per year they charge rather than it being on a percentage basis.
30/01/2018
Great information and easy to use website. Good customer service and trustworthy name. I have already recommended them to friends. I don't see anything in particular that I'd improve. Lower charges would of course be nice.
30/01/2018
Like: the web site is easy to use, feels as if it has the right level of security and is reliable. The telephone and email customer service is responsive and helpful. They offer a very broad range of investments. Improve: if you hold funds, their charges are too high and it is annoying that they do not add all of your accounts together to give you the benefit of reduced tiered charges. Their research is not particularly insightful. The reports / analytics could be improved.
30/01/2018
Charges are relatively low but could be less.
30/01/2018
Website is easy to use and customer service is very good.
30/01/2018
Bad costs and website.
30/01/2018
Comprehensive, good response to queries... in terms of content and time.
30/01/2018
Lots of information and research regarding stocks and shares.
30/01/2018
The website is pretty easy to navigate and I don't have to contact them about anything. I haven't had any problems in the 6 months I have used them.
30/01/2018
Easy to use, and the website is easy to navigate. There is huge amount of information on hand to help inform decisions and they have a strong reputation.
30/01/2018
Good app and low charges.
30/01/2018
Their website is great.
30/01/2018
Good website, friendly and efficient helpline, lots of proactive communication.
30/01/2018
Been with the company for over 15 years, never had any problems with them. Easy to get in contact with, and the website is excellent, I can't think of any negatives.
30/01/2018
They should lower platform charge and stop over-promoting their own funds.
30/01/2018
The website is clear and easy to use, it was very easy to set up my SIPP and ISA. The research information available on the website is really useful and the customer service I've experienced when I've contacted them has been efficient and professional.
30/01/2018
Phone answered promptly by a human who understands what I need. The website is superb. Charges are far too high for holding funds in reasonably large portfolio and are levied on each type of account rather than overall total invested across all accounts.
30/01/2018
Cheaper dealing costs.
30/01/2018
I've had glitches on the website where drop downs would not work.
30/01/2018
Total costs should be made clearer.
30/01/2018
Cost effective.
30/01/2018
Innovative (they have Bitcoin ETFs!), amazing service and great website.
30/01/2018
Easy to use app. Their fees are high and they spam you with mail in an attempt for you to transfer them more money or securities.
30/01/2018
I like the wealth of information it provides.
30/01/2018
Good website with lots of resources and it's user friendly.
30/01/2018
Great website and good service if you phone them.
30/01/2018
I'd like to see a detailed breakdown of % achieved each year not just an overall figure.
30/01/2018
Easy to understand and use, plus well performing own funds.
30/01/2018
Great app and fund selection. Improve: make better fund comparison tools.
30/01/2018
Prompt dividend payment and live share dealing.
30/01/2018
Very good customer service. Website and apps very good. Better charging structure to make it cheaper to hold large accounts in funds would be good - uncapped 0.45% platform charge on funds make large accounts costly so good for shares, ITs and ETFs. Fund platform fee applies to all accounts uncapped as far as I know.
30/01/2018
It works!
30/01/2018
Easy to understand and good call centre customer service.
30/01/2018
The level of research and articles/information is very good. The website and apps are very user friendly and clear.
30/01/2018
Customer-centric, with a good combination of online info and tools to help you manage the account.
30/01/2018
Discounted prices and investment insights.
30/01/2018
Large range of products. They give discounts on fees (apparently). Could improve the settlement time for paying dividend cheques.
30/01/2018
No comment
30/01/2018
The range of ETFs, but the trading fees are very high.
30/01/2018
No comment
01/01/2018
No comment
02/11/2017
The Ford car of investing! But I'm really against it for three reasons: 1. Lots of charges on different parts of the web site: capital account, income, SIPP charges on the main account, more fees gone from your loyalty bonus which didn't even show on the web site... they just go on and on. So the charges need a three-page spreadsheet, capital, income and merged to work out what's going on. 2. I've always felt the charges are high, especially for my small SIPP. 3. They pay dividends to your bank account automatically, about one month after receipt and net of fees, but didn't pay out the capital amount when one of my investments was sold.
27/10/2017
Very expensive unless you are a frequent trader.
29/09/2017
They are expensive, but the app is easy to use, fantastic research and customer service. Yes they are expensive, but it is worthwhile.
26/09/2017
Reliable.
C
26/09/2017
I like the fact that they offer discounts on some funds. I like the fact I can see all my investments in one place. It would be good if the staff were better trained as sometimes I do not feel confident in the information they provide.
26/09/2017
Excellent service.
26/09/2017
Very good site to see how your shares or funds are performing. Easy to buy small amoumts of funds and good helpline.
26/09/2017
Easy to talk to when I need to. Share dealing is expensive but information helps balance the cost, but the iOS app lacks some of the information.
26/09/2017
I find their telephone help can be quite patronising at times.
26/09/2017
Research very good. General info/articles very good. Expensive to trade at �11.95.
26/09/2017
They are good but fees are comparatively high (0.45%) so I no longer invest new money with them and am thinking of moving funds away from them.
26/09/2017
It offers a lifetime ISA! Not many else do...
26/09/2017
Simplicity of service and easy things use online and mobile portals.
26/09/2017
Great customer service. ROI presentation should be improved.
26/09/2017
Very user-friendly website, good range of investments, plenty of investment communication. A bit more expensive than some for standard fund/equity investors.
26/09/2017
Too expensive.
26/09/2017
It is costly when compared to the likes of Alliance Trust Savings but far slicker, more online functionality and quick valuations (mobile app). The downside is the amount of marketing junk received and the clear "Woodford" and "HL investment" bias. Being a bit more fund agnostic and independent would improve the experience.
26/09/2017
Website is good. Staff can be frosty.
26/09/2017
Good ease of use, range of investments, and I'm able to call and get help.
26/09/2017
They need to reduce charges.
26/09/2017
Easy to use website, good access to research coupled with information on funds. Good communication and always works.
26/09/2017
It works. I have confidence they will administer my account well, I know that aren't the cheapest but I value the peace of mind and the investment research. Clients seem to be their focus, as demonstrated by the design of their website/app and the fact they have negotiated lower AMCs. I managed to negotiate a lower price which was an added benefit.
26/09/2017
I find the mobile app limited and harder to navigate than necessary.
26/09/2017
Platform is easy to use, with all accounts in one place. Good range of products available. Fees are too high, FX rates are shockingly bad.
26/09/2017
The customer service on the phone is fantastic and the platform is very user friendly. The fees are not so competitive.
26/09/2017
Easy access and not too expensive.
26/09/2017
Top marks for the investment research, Wealth 150 buy list, open architecture and service. Fees are not great, would expect those to come down at some point.
26/09/2017
I like the weekly postage.
26/09/2017
Ability to manage SIPP in a convinient cost effective way.
26/09/2017
SIPP is now not the cheapest in the market.
26/09/2017
Good user experience in mobile and web.
26/09/2017
Easy to read and understand website, very knowledgeable staff but a bit stuffy on the phone when I have called in but tbh I can put up with that. I would recommend them and would give them an 8/10 overall.
24/09/2017
I think this is a good product.
10/07/2017
It all works well. The phone is always answered by an informed human being. No menu of button-pushing and excessive security. Good at administration and quick email responses. The website works simply. No flashy graphics. Paying in and withdrawals very straightforward. Charges are reasonable – if you avoid funds. Charging could be more transparent with a breakdown of how it is arrived at in an annual or six-monthly summary.
09/07/2017
It's reliable in everything it does. It answers emails with hours if I have a query. It keeps me informed. I am more than satisfied.
04/07/2017
Clear and concise information. Good website with plenty of informed research available. Easy to navigate around website and actions are easily/quickly carried out. Good analytical tools. Of course, they could reduce their fees by a margin, but I acknowledge they have a business to run.
04/07/2017
Exemplary service. The website is sometimes a little slow - charges could be more competitive.
04/07/2017
Very efficient and easy to use. However, I asked a question about Income Tax recently and was not given a valued response.
V
04/07/2017
Good information and service, and ability to trade foreign exchanges. Easy website to use.
04/07/2017
Very easy to use. Charges overall at the top end.
04/07/2017
Efficient. Portfolio tracking and analysis is not the best.
04/07/2017
Good customer service. They should lower platform charges.
04/07/2017
The web site and information is first class. The phone service is also superb. Charges could be smaller, although I did negotiate a reduction.
04/07/2017
It is easy quick and efficient. It has more security back up systems than any similar organisation. Want marginly lower fees.
04/07/2017
Ease of use.
04/07/2017
Always prompt action and sound advice when calling for assistance. As always� they need to lower charges!
04/07/2017
It's a bit more expensive than others, but phones are ALWAYS answered. Large range of stocks, ETFs, Bonds, Funds, ITs are available. Occasionally the online share purchase system is unavailable - too many users perhaps?
04/07/2017
Excellent website. Regular e-mail updates. No improvement required.
04/07/2017
The customer service experience is faultless. I transferred my non-SIPP investments to Interactive Investor for its lower costs, transferred back because of poor service. They should introduce capped fees for holding funds, as they already have for equities.
04/07/2017
Comprehensive and efficient.
04/07/2017
Great website, informative and extensive research, and very easy to access expert and informed advice by phone. They are quite expensive for a large portfolio, I'd like them to have better scales of charging for larger portfolios and to combine the charging across products for the same customer.
04/07/2017
Ease of contact - both online and personal.
04/07/2017
Great website, selection of funds, ETFs. ITs etc. Good telephone backup if necessary. Clear charging structure and straightforward dealing. Would like even more choice of fund companies ITs etc. The service is already excellent.
04/07/2017
You can trust them and everything just happens. Could do with reducing costs but you get what you pay for.
04/07/2017
Large extent of information and ready access to all the investment details on our accounts. Could reduce charges further but it's difficult to see what's going to drive that when they have such a large market share.
04/07/2017
Very accessible website, plenty of background info, everything explained well. A (small) reduction in fees for funds and share dealing charges would be good.
04/07/2017
Transparent charges and quick reply to enquiries. Has masses of investment ideas information and Wealth 150 top rated funds.
04/07/2017
Good phone service. Costs need to come down.
04/07/2017
Easy to use. Also good by phone on the few occasions that I've spoken to them.
04/07/2017
Great website, knowledgeable customer service staff, quick response for additional services such as attending AGMs. Needs less implicit marketing of their favourite funds.
04/07/2017
I rate their website highly, have tried others but have not been tempted to move. Good documentation / contract notes and good telephone centre. Have experience of other providers including iWeb, The Share Centre for a family estate and consider Hargreaves Lansdown documentation to be superior. Need to improve cost only.
04/07/2017
It has a good reputation. One of the market leaders. Need fewer items of junk mail - gets on my nerves.
04/07/2017
It'sasy to use. Needs a wider range of online investments.
04/07/2017
Like: quality of website, ability to see the whole family's investments with linked accounts. To improve they need to reduce fees!
04/07/2017
Good name, money feels secure, good website, easy to arrange transfer of funds and buying and selling. Need to reduce costs.
04/07/2017
Overall, it's great value for money and the large selection of investment options they offer.
04/07/2017
Website and mobile app are excellent. Phone service and general comms are great too. But the cost (especially for a high value SIPP) is expensive and their research / recommendations seem heavily influenced by the deals cut with the fund managers rather than quality of investment alone.
04/07/2017
Great ease of use and helpfulness of staff. They need to improve charges.
04/07/2017
Really good research pages.
04/07/2017
Good: website. Improvement: online trading in VCTs after issue.
04/07/2017
Efficient and easy.
04/07/2017
It occasionally offers incentives for investing more money. The Wealth 150 list could be more transparent in terms of the reasons why each fund on the list is recommended.
04/07/2017
Too pricey - I find it expensive for the services that I am actually using which is buy and hold in a stocks and shares ISA.
04/07/2017
For a novice investor, it offers lots of information. This makes up for the platform charge, which is slightly too high.
04/07/2017
Easy to deal with.
04/07/2017
Like: lots on options for investment and great research. Dislike: keep trying to move you to paperless.
04/07/2017
It could be made a lot simpler for people like me who don't really understand all the different types of investment.
04/07/2017
Overall excellent, particularly if share dealing as able to trade in real time. Lots of information on the website, very good telephone support.
04/07/2017
Good all round service. Great website and app.
04/07/2017
Good choice of funds and easy to use website. Quite pricy for non-advised and a bit frosty to deal with.
04/07/2017
Customer service is excellent - particularly the way that the phone is ansered quickly by an intelligent and empowered human being. Security is only done when neccessary. Email and postal replies are very quick. Fees are said to be high but I worked them out as a % of my investments and they seem quite reaosnable for the level of service. Website works well, too. I worry that they may go the way of the banks in attaching more importance to selling 'extras' than to providing the basic service. By 'extras' I mean their own funds and their advisory service. I get useless mail shots enocuraging me to put more money in my ISA (I don't have any more) or to transfer my other pensions to HL (it's a DB scheme and this is not possible). But this is a minor irritation. The six-monthly investment reports are slow to come out and contain too much self-promotion.
04/07/2017
I have a lot of trouble understanding their website. They need to change the language so you dont have to Google every other word!
04/07/2017
Easy to use.
04/07/2017
The website and customer service are great. Costs are OK if one does not use unit trusts. They are a little too intrusive with their sales promotions, I have just received probably the third transfer pack of the year - a waste of paper.
04/07/2017
Readily available data on investments.
04/07/2017
Well known company, often seen on the news etc.
04/07/2017
Smart, compehensive good website
04/07/2017
I am happy with the service it offers.
04/07/2017
It is expensive but I think it provides an excellent, safe service.
R
04/07/2017
Great website and research information. It's easy to use and access. Charges need to come down, though. Target charges should be 0.15-0.20%.
04/07/2017
Don't like them.
O
04/07/2017
Good service and website. Rip off fees.
04/07/2017
Nice website. On the few times I've needed to call them, excellent contact centre operators. Main negative is that the fees are opaque and I suspect we're paying much to much for the service we're actually using.
G
04/07/2017
Like: easy to use. To improve: cost too high, not possible to hold cash in different currencies, too expensive to trade outside the UK.
04/07/2017
Good access to foreign markets, including NASDAQ.
04/07/2017
Good investment research and excellent mobile app and website. Its a bit expensive however.
04/07/2017
I use a lot their mobile app and the watchlist therein.
04/07/2017
For some reason, I missed the payment reminder so they sold some of my shares, which was a bit annoying.
04/07/2017
Very easy to use website which is great for people to access the information they want. They are very good at pushing the funds they like - i.e. with higher charges which is ok once you know this - you can use their research to find a better fund for you.
04/07/2017
They should lower their platform charge.
04/07/2017
Excellent research facilities. Easy to access my account and trade.
04/07/2017
Cost of their platform compared with others is high. You need a big fund to get a lower cost.
04/07/2017
They are very expensive.
04/07/2017
Plenty of functionality.
04/07/2017
Trusted. I can do the things I need to and it's reliable.
04/07/2017
Website appears to have a lot of functionality, and ancillary requests have been dealt with very quickly and very efficiently. However, they need to keep their junk mailings under control, and their credibility suffers when so much of their supposed "research" is just as likely to be disguised marketing.
04/07/2017
Generally expensive, but no custody charge for equities, which is good.
04/07/2017
Expensive transaction costs and expensive transfer structure.
04/07/2017
Very good website and good customer service. The % platform fees are too high, particularly for mid sized accounts and there is too much promotional material.
04/07/2017
Good website, some good discounts on some unit trust management fees. Get rid of or reduce your exit fees. Lower the 0.45% broker fee.
04/07/2017
Very professional company and very easy to manage everything online. Because thei fees are percentage based it will always get more expensive as you increase your holdings. Share and ETF fees are capped though which is great!
04/07/2017
I like the website functionality and the depth of the information but a platform fee of 0.45% for funds is too much for larger holdings.
04/07/2017
Its easy to use and good info. Better prices would be good.
04/07/2017
Great service and web portal but expensive charges.
04/07/2017
Good resarch on the website. I wish there was the ability to convert accumulation units to income units.
04/07/2017
I like the linked account for childrens SIPP but need to lower fees.
04/07/2017
A human being answers the phone and you can quickly get an answer to your query. The website is excellent.
04/07/2017
Excellent service, but cut the charges.
04/07/2017
They are efficient and professional but I don't like the charging structure.
04/07/2017
Good website with low cost for investment trusts and ETFs. I would like a monthly dealing option with a wider choice and obviously for it to be a bit cheaper.
04/07/2017
Good website but the charges should be lower.
04/07/2017
Website is still excellent compared to others. Allows up to 7 funds to be directly compared on graphs & tables. Easy to access portfolios for my own and linked accounts. Easy to trade online Good telephone service for the limited times I need it
04/07/2017
Quick and easy access and if its necessary to use the telephone very helpful and obliging. Ipad app doesn't have the same features as the computer. Reduce costs on SIPP.
04/07/2017
04/07/2017
Very good research pages and I like the magazines I'm sent. The mobile app is a bit clunky and not very user friendly. There is quite a bit that�s easier to do on the website.
04/07/2017
Its easy to use but the app is quite limited.
04/07/2017
Easy to contact and swift replies. Website easy to use and understand. Bad point is that its not cheap.
04/07/2017
There is an extensive range of information. Capped platform fee for certain types of investment, but other fees are high.
04/07/2017
Good research which helped me when I was starting out however the costs drove me away in the end.
04/07/2017
Excellent web platform. More information on investment trusts would be good.
04/07/2017
A well run company, that provides very good market information and general recommendations. Perhaps the costs of holding unit trusts could be reduced?
04/07/2017
Its comprehensive and relatively easy to use. A more intuitive and easy to navigate website is needed.
04/07/2017
They are very proactive and I like the montly newsletter.
04/07/2017
Great website, easy to use and excellent communication.
04/07/2017
Excellent website and research facilities. Please reduce costs though, the charges remain too high.
04/07/2017
I don't like much about this service. The fees are high and the exit charges are high as are portfolio management fees and there is still lack of transparency on fee structures.
P
04/07/2017
Its an excellent website for trading but not the cheapest by a long way! Also their advised funds are not the best performers.
04/07/2017
It�s a brilliant website, slick and easy to use and they have top quality customer service. Platform (and to a lesser extent) dealing charges could be a bit lower though.
04/07/2017
Very responsive and helpful when you need to talk to them. Plenty of good information and tools online to help with decision making. In practice it works really well. I do think the fees could be more competitive.
04/07/2017
I like the simplicity and ease of how it all works. I also like the newsroom feature which keeps me up to date while logged on. The app is absolutely terrible though!
04/07/2017
The portfolio tools and the choice of financial products is really good. I do wish they would pay more attention to small DIY investors and recognise them as a different group within the investment community.
04/07/2017
Easy online account management. Additional model portfolios would be good. Also, portfolio analysis needs upgrading to include ETFs etc
S
04/07/2017
Its good information and easy to use. Please stop spamming me asking me to transfer pensions!
04/07/2017
The website and content is good but they don't advise you when dividends have been paid.
S
04/07/2017
Its pretty easy and it appears to be a comprehensive set of products. The security is a bore, to the extent I have transferred three childrens ISAs 9 months ago but not yet managed to setup regular payments.
04/07/2017
Low fees and expert customer service. I'm very satisfied with Hargreaves Lansdown.
04/07/2017
I like the service and the completeness of the offering. The mobile app is good too. I don't think they are as good value as they once were though, the pro-rated costs get prohibitive as portfolio grows so a fixed fee would be much better.
04/07/2017
Comprehensive and accurate data. Prompt telephone service with well trained staff. Very reliable. Speeding up the response time of the website is my only criticism.
04/07/2017
I like the fund choice plus the excellent contact centre and service. Website needs a basic tool that adds up how much you've put in and how much its worth now.
04/07/2017
I like the choice and convenience but the costs need to be lower.
04/07/2017
Good service and reasonable charges.
04/07/2017
I like the service but I think the website has poor navigation.
04/07/2017
Good website. Charges have become too high in relation to other providers though.
04/07/2017
Brilliant website, excellent research, extensive fund coverage. The platform fee is too high though.
04/07/2017
I like the easy access but the price is high.
04/07/2017
All very obvious and easy to trade and keep track of my investments. Sometimes the live prices can be a little delayed.
04/07/2017
Friendly staff who are extremely helpful when you have a query. The iPhone application is shocking though. Stuck in the dark ages.
04/07/2017
Easy to invest and takes little time but the costs could be lower.
Catherine
04/07/2017
The range of funds available is good, however I would like to see lower share trading fees.
L
04/07/2017
Great choice of funds and easy to manage online. Needs a better website and mobile app. The user interface feels a bit dated.
04/07/2017
Easy to use and cheap. Needs better insight into portfolio.
04/07/2017
An easy to use platform. Fewer exhortations to spend more money with them would be appreciated.
04/07/2017
Great telephone service. Please reduce the costs for investing.
E
04/07/2017
It�s a comprehensive service. Price and mobile apps could be better.
04/07/2017
Very efficient service and excellent company information and links to data. Lower charges for funds please.
04/07/2017
Its really easy to use, they are a bit more expensive than other platforms though.
04/07/2017
I like the ease of use and the speed of response
04/07/2017
Well established brand. Savings rates are easy to manage online. Has a really good repuation regarding customer service. The process of opening an account could be easier though.
04/07/2017
Its focused with lots of options but the website could be simpler and easier to do things.
04/07/2017
It all works without any issues but 0.45% annual charge is way too much.
04/07/2017
I like the overall quality but I think the mobile app needs improving.
04/07/2017
It gives a lot of useful information in one place. Please make it clear that if you apply for an ISA transfer, which requries a signature this will then become a postal request which is charged for.
04/07/2017
A lot of research, information, data and most products. All clearly presented. They need to reduce their costs on funds, especially on their own multi funds.
04/07/2017
If you phone you get straight through to a competent person. Almost all admin work has been done quickly and well. Fees are difficult to analyse because they do not supply either an annual figure or a breakdown to show how the fees were arrived at.
04/07/2017
Good info which is easy to use and understand. Would like to have an app.
A
04/07/2017
Easy to use and informative but charges need to be lower.
04/07/2017
HL is very user friendly.
C
04/07/2017
You can speak to people on the phone, those I've spoken to know what they're talking about. Stop bombarding me with junk mail.
04/07/2017
phone is always answered by someone knowledgeable who can deal with your issue; excellent website with good access to research. Charges at 0.45% are much higher than other providers.
04/07/2017
They have a wide spread of investments available and competitive terms. The technology is easy to navigate. I would like to see lower fees.
04/07/2017
I like the constant flow of articles they provide (although I suspect the information is available to all and not just clients. They offer regular investment into FTSE companies shares for �1/month
04/07/2017
Wealth of information on funds. Mobile app is quick and easy to use. Charges are a bit too high!
04/07/2017
I like the fact that when you call their main line, you get through to a real person straight away (at least when I last called a few months ago). - - They are a large well established company and I feel reassured using them.
04/07/2017
Ease of use and multiple products in one place is good, pre-fund switches/encashments can still be a bit clunky when moving between linked accounts.
04/07/2017
I like the personal service and the courtesy but not the pricing!
04/07/2017
I like the history and the fact its not a startup. Full asset range and decent discount on big funds. Trading costs are too high for ETFs and shares.
04/07/2017
The app is good but not great. Service is great. The app needs to have more functionality to amend regulatr payments, trades etc.
04/07/2017
It works well and I feel confident my money is safe. The telephone support has fallen off a cliff. I never used to have to wait on hold. Becoming more like other firms over the last year or so. Is it becoming a big corporate?
04/07/2017
04/07/2017
I like the app and special deals for funds. I think they should have a cheaper standing charge.
04/07/2017
The website is easy to use, especially for new investors. All areas of the website are accessible even if you are not a customer. They have the widest number of funds. Platform charges at 0.45% are higher than most other providers though.
A
04/07/2017
Lots of interesting information and calculators on the website and they are very helpful if you ring them. Its fairly long winded to setup the access online.
04/07/2017
I like the ease of use. It could be better if you were given a choice of level of research to reduce costs.
04/07/2017
Good information and plenty of it. The website feels a little jaded compared to some new propositions.
04/07/2017
The website is clear and easy to use. The customer service and research is good too. I think their charges are increasingly OTT.
04/07/2017
Reliable, accurate and on time for all actions related to investments. Lower charges for selected funds. Would be better with lower platform charges.
04/07/2017
Knowledgable people man the telephones and your call is answered immediately. The mobile app could be improved.
04/07/2017
Its easy to use with lots of information about funds. There are lots of ways to invest via the platform. The cost seems high post RDR world.
04/07/2017
Wide range of funds, lots of investment research. The telephone service is good. I think its good for investors with bigger sums of money to invest.
H
04/07/2017
Its accessible and transparent regarding charges, but needs an updated app.
04/07/2017
I like the fact its simple to use but I wish they would stop bombarding me with marketing.
04/07/2017
I like everything about the HL service.
04/07/2017
Its easy to use but needs a better mobile app.
04/07/2017
The customer service is excellent. Fees could be lower.
04/07/2017
The fund range is good and I like the ease of access.
04/07/2017
Its really easy to use. I'm not keen on the % charging model though, I think the costs could be lower.
04/07/2017
Its not the cheapest but I do like the simplicity of the website and the speed of trading.
04/07/2017
Good research and information. Website clear and useful. Need to be more explicit on fund charges in addition to HL management charges.
04/07/2017
I like that you can speak to someone easily who is financially literate. They could be quicker to answer phones at peak periods though.
04/07/2017
Phone answered quickly by an intelligent individual who can answer queries or get an answer quickly. I have more than 500k with them over three accounts but I pay the same 0.45% as someone with �500. They really need to address this otherwise I may be tempted to go.
04/07/2017
Sign up much smoother than interactive investor at the time. Very pleasing share data page pages, including graphing tools. Generally reliable, very good telephone based staff. Please make processes for bereaved relatives of account holders much more user friendly. No fleecing for simple statement of holdings value for the deceased. Proactive guidance.
04/07/2017
Best Buy ISA
Service and website scored very well by customers and well-rated by BM testers. However, they scored poorly on costs.
Best Buy Pension
Service and website very well ranked by customers; well-rated by BM testers; scored poorly on costs.
The website is very product-focused and requires a level of pre-existing knowledge that many customers do not have.
That said reviews we get for Hargreaves Lansdown are almost universally positive – customer service is the stand-out feature.
The architecture behind the scenes is clever and navigating around the site is quick if you know what you need to do. There is a wealth of supporting information and calculators, the site always works and the service is great.
This word cloud has been created from customer reviews of Hargreaves Lansdown.
Pink is positive and grey is negative.
The size of the word indicates the frequency of mentions.
Stocks and Shares ISA
Junior ISA
Lifetime ISA
Investment Account
Pension
Own brand funds
Funds from other groups
Stocks and shares
Robo advice / ready-made portfolios
Help building a portfolio
Includes a shortlist of investments
Pick your own funds
Pick your own shares
The biggest and most established of them all, Hargreaves Lansdown looks after about £85bn of investors’ money. Providing a one-stop-shop for shares, funds, Junior ISAs, ISAs, pensions and (coming soon) cash, these guys know their stuff. The phone service is quick, staff are very well trained and it's just good. It can however baffle newer investors and feels a bit old-school and stuffy. If you need help look out for their "multi-manager funds" which are decent pre-packaged options, just pricey.
At 0.45% for admin, plus investment charges, expect to pay about 1.2% all-in. If you’re happy to pay for good service, it’s still fair value. Just not the cheapest. Having said that, lots of people in the finance industry use it as they know it just works. It's a bit like Ocado. Good website, prompt service, polished, tasty, convenient, pricey.
| Provider Size: | The largest platform for investors, administering over £80bn. |
| Minimum amounts: | £25 minimum monthly amount £100 minimum initial amount for funds; no minimum for shares |
"I currently have my children's Stocks & Shares ISA's with H&L however I am not that savvy with investing so I am thinking of moving it over to Wealth Simple and allowing them to do it for me. Would you recommend this or are there other roboadvisors you would suggest? I am happy to leave the money in long term until they are about 18 so looking at an 'ambitious' risk. I also have the same account with H&L and will potentially swap also."
Funmi, LDN
12/10/2020
Read our replyI currently have my children's Stocks & Shares ISA's with H&L however I am not that savvy with investing so I am thinking of moving it over to Wealth Simple and allowing them to do it for me. Would you recommend this or are there other roboadvisors you would suggest? I am happy to leave the money in long term until they are about 18 so looking at an 'ambitious' risk. I also have the same account with H&L and will potentially swap also.
Funmi, LDN
12/10/2020
Fidelity has recently announed no fees on Junior ISAs - they also have ready-made investment options. If you want to keep it super simple I would look at Nutmeg, Wealthify or Wealthsimple - you can read more about them on our Best Buys pages.
"Good day, If I were to invest with A J Bell or Hargreaves Lansdown in a self select Stocks & Shares ISA and they were to 'go bust', what would happen to my investment? Thanks."
David, County Down
28/07/2020
Read our replyGood day, If I were to invest with A J Bell or Hargreaves Lansdown in a self select Stocks & Shares ISA and they were to 'go bust', what would happen to my investment? Thanks.
David, County Down
28/07/2020
Hi David,
All platforms will appoint what we call a custodian. One of the jobs of this custodian is to effectively ring fence client money and client investments, so that if the platform business itself goes bust, the client money remains protected and intact.
AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown look after about £50 billion and £100 billion of clients' investments respectively, and I think you're on very certain ground with either of these two options.
This is a very well regulated industry and the custodians role means that you should not need to worry about the impact of these firms potentially going bust.
Hope this helps,
Holly
We are not regulated to give personal financial advice - This isn’t full-fat regulated financial advice. Boring Money is a publisher and not regulated by the FCA.
This means we can't help with specific personal circumstances or recommend specific investment products. It also basically means that if we say something daft, you have no recourse to come back and complain.
We’re only allowed to give you a steer or share an opinion or tell you the facts - That said, we promise that our answer to you is an independent unbiased perspective with no commercial gain to make. If you need regulated financial advice, you can find a good adviser via sites such as Unbiased & Vouchedfor.
"I'm a newbie investor looking for a SIPP. I see AJ Bell have low fees compared to Hargreaves Lansdown. Is it worth the lower fees even though there are exit charges, or pay the higher Hargreaves Lansdown charges, but have no exit fees?"
Andy, Hampshire
20/04/2020
Read our replyI'm a newbie investor looking for a SIPP. I see AJ Bell have low fees compared to Hargreaves Lansdown. Is it worth the lower fees even though there are exit charges, or pay the higher Hargreaves Lansdown charges, but have no exit fees?
Andy, Hampshire
20/04/2020
Both options you mention have very good service and are decent propositions. The AJ Bell Youinvest fees are indeed lower cost from an ongoing administration perspective.
You don’t say if you are in saving-up mode with your pension, or are close to ‘drawing down’ money out of it. AJ Bell Youinvest does have a menu of costs for those in drawdown mode whereas Hargreaves Lansdown's fee is more inclusive so it’s worth considering that too if you are close to retirement.
As for exit fees...
AJ Bell Youinvest is really quite unusual these days in having them.
I hate them, BUT you can make the argument that moving stuff out of an account costs money and why should everyone else subsidise those who do this?
This argument gets thinner and thinner the more that tech brings costs down. My gut feel is that if you chose AJ Bell Youinvest you would be broadly happy there, and I trust the integrity of the management team not to change direction/stuff things up/ become greedy.
So the exit fees question could be a moot point.
Broadly speaking I don’t think you’ll go far wrong with either. The larger your account, the more material the cost difference between the two options will be.
Hope that helps,
Holly
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