Hargreaves remains boringly good
The website is off-putting to less confident investors. For those familiar with the service, though it's easy to use and reliable
What we say
Holly's View
Holly has accounts with all the providers on our website and independently reviews all of them.
It remains hard to fault Hargreaves Lansdown for service and functionality which have largely excelled although there were a few unusual IT glitches in the 2020 volatility. As for service and things just working these guys remain the best. But not cheap and getting to the point of being just too expensive. If Joanna Lumley were a pension provider, she would be these guys. Classy. Not cheap. A few wrinkles. Lovely.
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Overall Summary
Mobile & Apps
The app is great. You can sign up, research, view, add money and trade. The connection between ‘View’ and ‘Do’ is just seamless. If you have several accounts which you have linked, these are all easily seen too. One of the best investment apps we use.
Behind the scenes
Boringly enough these guys continue to smash it out of the park when it comes to user experience. Trading is quick and easy. The site works well. Reporting is clear. Account linking is easy. Mobile and app is great. They do spend the slightly too high fees they charge customers well! Hard to fault in terms of performance.
The 'Geeky' Details
Provider details
The biggest and most established of them all, Hargreaves Lansdown looks after over £100bn of investors’ money. Providing a one-stop-shop for shares, mutual funds, ETFs, investment trusts and cash, these guys know their stuff. The phone service is quick, staff are very well trained and it's just good. If you need help look out for their "multi-manager funds" which are decent pre-packaged options, just very pricey.
HL do support investors with regular articles on topical news and offer advanced research options on the platform. One particularly nuanced and useful feature is allowing the end investor to see every single holding in a fund, alongside its weighting and sector – instead of just the Top 10 holdings which most platforms provide. The opportunity to sink your teeth into the nitty gritty elements of investing as well as kick back and let someone else do the hard work for you is welcome.
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.
There are no additional fees to set up drawdown.
Important Facts & Figures
Provider Size:
The largest platform for investors, administering over £80bn.
Minimum amounts:
£100 minimum lump sum contribution
£25 minimum monthly contribution
Hargreaves Lansdown