Hargreaves Lansdown review 2024 – Worth the extra cost?

This would be my first choice for anyone looking for a Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfJunior ISA, as Hargreaves Lansdown has scrapped the fees for this account, meaning you are effectively accessing a premium service for free.

Dealing costs are the highest I’ve encountered to date. However, if you are the sort of investor who buys large amounts of specific securities in one go and holds them for the long term, then this may not be a factor.

You can also swerve all dealing fees and account fees by investing by direct debit for as little as £25 a month straight into a Fund and Share Account which is akin to a GIA, but remember you won’t be protected from tax in this account.

Low-value investment pots will also benefit from the percentage-based account charges. In addition, pots over £250k in value will benefit from a reduced annual rate.

If your investment pot is worth over £2 million, then this is a no-brainer. You will automatically slide into the zero account fees bracket, and an investment pot of that size probably won’t feel the sting of the high dealing charges. Equally, those looking for a massive selection of investment options won’t be disappointed.

Investors won’t be left wanting for account types at Hargreaves Lansdown, as this is one of the most comprehensive offerings I have encountered to date, as this table demonstrates:

General Investment Account (GIA)
Referred to as a General investment account (GIA) is an account designed to provide access to investments. You may be liable for tax on any income or capital gains earned within a general investment account but this can be a useful vehicle for anyone who has maxed out their ISA allowanceFund and Share Account, this is a good option for anyone who has maxed out their ISA. You can either start investing with a bank payment or by setting up a direct debit starting at £25 per month. The direct debit option means you swerve any dealing commissions (usually fairly hefty at this platform) or account charges. In order to invest in funds, you will need a minimum lump sum of £100.

There is also the option to transfer investments from elsewhere into your HL Fund and Share account.

ISA
As with any ISA, the Hargreaves Lansdown Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAstocks and shares ISA allows users to invest free from any UK tax. There is an account charge of 0.45% for the ISA, and you should make sure you are aware of those high dealing charges.

One of the advantages of the HL ISA is the extensive range of investment options, in addition to the excellent range of educational material for those who are new to investing.

Read more about ISAs

Lifetime ISA
For those between 18 and 39, this is an excellent account specifically designed to help you save to purchase your first home or for retirement. What makes this account so special is the 25% bonus from the government of up to £1,000 per year.

What makes the Hargreaves Lansdown Lifetime ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (LISAs) are designed to help you save for your first home or retirement and come with an automatic 25% government bonus on all contributions up to the value of £4,000. There are stocks and shares LISAs – where you invest your savings – and cash LISAs – where you earn interest on your savings. You must be between 18 and 40 to open a LISA and all income, capital gains and interest earned within LISAs is tax-free, although these funds can only be used to purchase your first home or for retirement. Ensure you are familiar with the rules surrounding this account before utilising itLifetime ISA stand out is its access to a wide range of investment options with account charges that have recently been cut to 0.25%. However, those crippling dealing charges still apply, so again, this is a good option for buy-and-hold investors.

Read more about Lifetime ISAs

SIPP
The Hargreaves Lansdown A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundSIPP gives you the flexibility to make monthly direct debits from as little as £25 a month or one-off payments of £100. Again, you can access the comprehensive range of investments or select one of the A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolios. With the human financial advice available at Hargreaves Lansdown, you can also opt to pay a financial advisor to choose your investments for you.

In March 2024, Hargreaves Lansdown introduced their ready-made pension plan, which is a simple and low-cost solution for inexperienced investors. It aims to invest in growth funds while you are young, gradually decreasing your exposure to risk as you reach retirement age.

The HL SIPP will set you back 0.45%, and it is free to buy and sell funds. However, if your pension pot is just under £250k, you could be paying up to £1125 a year for the SIPP, which is extremely high when compared to other providers. However, over £250k and the fee drops to 0.25% which is much more favourable.

Read more about SIPPs

Junior ISA
This is probably the best value product being offered at Hargreaves Lansdown. All account charges have been removed, and it’s free to buy and sell investments within this account. This really is exceptionally good value for a premium product.

To demonstrate what excellent value I think this is, I have gone through the process of transferring my child’s trust fund to this account.

Read more about the transfer process below.

One of the advantages of using this account is that once your child turns 18, it will be a very simple process to transfer the funds from their Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfjunior ISA to the Hargreaves Lansdown Lifetime ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (LISAs) are designed to help you save for your first home or retirement and come with an automatic 25% government bonus on all contributions up to the value of £4,000. There are stocks and shares LISAs – where you invest your savings – and cash LISAs – where you earn interest on your savings. You must be between 18 and 40 to open a LISA and all income, capital gains and interest earned within LISAs is tax-free, although these funds can only be used to purchase your first home or for retirement. Ensure you are familiar with the rules surrounding this account before utilising itLifetime ISA.

Of course, you should remember that when a child turns 18, they take the reins on a Junior ISA and are at liberty to withdraw the full amount.

Junior SIPP (child’s pension)
It’s not often that I see this account option when reviewing these platforms, which demonstrates how comprehensive Hargreaves Lansdown’s account options are. This is a nice add-on for parents who have already maxed out the Junior ISA allowance and would like to continue saving for their children in a tax-efficient way. Of course, it is worth remembering that your child cannot access this money until they retire, so you really are locking it away for the long term. However, the advantage of this account is that contributions to your child’s pension fall under one of the inheritance tax exemptions and could therefore fall outside of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.

The limits on this account are fairly low, as you can only pay £2,880 each tax year into the account. Your child will get a 20% automatic boost from the government, and account charges are low at just 0.45% for funds and shares.

Active Savings Account
There are several options, depending on how long you can lock this money away. As of January 2024, interest rates are as follows:

Hargreaves Lansdown partners with multiple banks in order to provide their users with these rates. However, at the time of writing this review, they still aren’t the best rates out there. Plum and Moneybox are usually competing for the best rates so be sure to check my reviews of those platforms.

Cash ISA
A partnership with Coventry Building Society allows users to spread their ISA allowance across different products, including limited access and fixed terms.

As of January 2024, interest rates are as follows:

I can’t recommend this product as these are fairly low rates. As an example, at the time of writing this review, I was able to locate an easy-access ISA with a rate of 4.75% at Moneybox.

Markets

As mentioned, you will struggle to find a more comprehensive selection of investment options on any other platform. There really is something for everyone here, regardless of their experience or knowledge of investing. One of the only things you won’t be able to access here are cryptocurrencies.

Some of the options available include:

• More than 7,500 shares from North America and Europe
• More than 3,900 funds
• More than 1,400 ETFs
• More than 400 investment trusts
• Gilts and bonds
• An Initial public offer (IPO) is when shares in a company are made available to investors. It’s sometimes known as either a ‘listing’ or ‘floating’ on the public market.IPOs and new issues

For investors who find all this overwhelming, help is at hand with the following:

Ready-made investments
For those without the expertise or time to manage their own investments, HL provides a range of ready-made funds that are chosen and managed by in-house experts. All you do is pick the fund and then leave the professionals to manage the rest.

It’s important to stipulate that these investments have been put together for people who can leave their money in the market for a minimum of five years. If you think you’re going to need your money before the five years are up, then you may be better off with a high-interest savings account.

Funds are separated between 4 funds for growth and 1 for income, and can then be matched to your appetite for risk.

There is a decent amount of information available on each fund, including a fact sheet that details the objectives, historical performance, and assets held within the fund.

Ready-made investments performance

As you can see, there is a lot of historical data missing due to the longevity of the portfolios. With only 1 year of portfolio performance available it is difficult to provide investors with any useful comparisons.

The Wealth Shortlist
As I mentioned, the range of assets at HL is considered extensive. This could feel overwhelming for many investors. However, HL has addressed this issue by providing the wealth shortlist, which is essentially a whittled-down group of funds that have been specially selected by the in-house analysts. If a fund fails to perform, it is removed from this list, and I have seen this happen. In January 2024, the abrdn Asia-Pacific Equity Fund was removed from the Wealth Shortlist for failing to outperform the regional benchmark.

A range of sectors and risk levels are represented in this list and the analysts take into consideration the managers behind the fund, the performance of the fund, processes for buying and selling assets within the fund, and the approach to environmental, social, and governance (ESG is an investment approach that takes environmental, social and ethical governance factors into account alongside more traditional financial factors.ESG) factors.

Ready-made pension plan
Anyone opening an HL SIPP can access the ready-made pension plan, which has been designed by experts to grow your money when you’re younger, gradually moving to a low-risk investment as you approach retirement. It’s an easy solution, and you can choose to invest as much of your pension as you like into this ready-made option.

There is a fee of 0.30% on top of the 0.45% that you pay for your SIPP account.

All that’s left is to see how the pension has performed across the past few years. It isn’t good news for Hargreaves Lansdown. In fact, with the total cost coming to 0.75% of your pension pot, alongside poor historical performance, this could be the last place I would choose to keep my retirement savings.

This is where Hargreaves Lansdown gains much criticism among users and industry professionals. While account fees aren’t too out of the ordinary, dealing fees are the highest out there.

Account fees are calculated as a percentage of the value of your investments and apply to any account that you have at Hargraves Lansdown, with the exception of the Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfjunior ISA, which is free from any account fees.

For the Share Trading Account and Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAstocks and shares ISA, you will pay:

Funds:

• £0 to £250,000 – 0.45%
• £250,000 to £1m – 0.25%
• £1m to £2m – 0.1%
• Over £2m – No charge

Shares, investment trusts, ETFs, gilts and bonds:

• 0.45% capped at £45 a year

If you invest using the Direct Debit service on the Share Dealing Account, then there are no account charges at all.

For the Lifetime ISA, you will pay:

Funds:

• £0 to £1m – 0.25%
• £1m to £2m – 0.1%
• Over £2m – No charge

Shares, investment trusts, ETFs, gilts and bonds:

• 0.25% capped at £45 per year

For the SIPP, you will pay:

Funds

• £0 to £250,000 – 0.45%
• £250,000 to £1m – 0.25%
• £1m to £2m – 0.1%
• Over £2m – No charge

Shares, investment trusts, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), gilts and bonds

• 0.45% charge (capped at £200 a year)

To provide you with an indication of how this stacks up against other SIPP providers, here is a comparison table of platform fees (and additional trading fees for buying and selling stocks and funds):

This table highlights just how expensive Hargreaves Lansdown is for pension pots of £250k, and how much more, with no cap on fund costs until you reach the £2 million threshold, it costs to hold funds rather than shares. £1,125 for holding funds vs £200 for holding shares is a quite staggering, and unjustifiable, difference.

For the junior SIPP, you will pay:

Funds

• £0 to £250,000 – 0.45%
• £250,000 to £1m – 0.25%
• £1m to £2m – 0.1%
• Over £2m – No charge

Shares, investment trusts, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), gilts and bonds

• 0.45% charge (capped at £200 a year)

Dealing fees

Dealing fees are notoriously high on this platform and are charged whenever you place a trade on shares, investment trusts, ETFs, gilts, and bonds. Trading funds are completely free of charge, and should you use the Direct Debit service to invest, all dealing fees are free. The only other exception is the junior SIPP, where trades are always £5.95.

In every other instance, you can expect to pay the following:

The other fee to be aware of is the A foreign exchange (FX) fee is added to all trades involving foreign currencies. If you buy a stock that trades in US dollars, for example, and your home account is in GB pounds, you’ll need to pay an FX fee.FX fee that is charged when you buy and sell stocks in a foreign currency. One percent is fairly high, although at platforms like eToro, you can be stung by FX fees of up to 1.5%, so it’s not the highest.

Please note: all published fees are correct at the time of publishing. However, we suggest checking Hargreaves Lansdowns’ website for the most up-to-date figures.

There are two platforms to choose from at Hargreaves Lansdown, which I will go into in more detail below.

Web Trading Platform
While it does lack some customisation, the web trading platform is still well-designed and easy to use. You can link various accounts from your dashboard as well as access all the relevant information you may need about your portfolio, including history analysis, watch lists, investment reports, A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolios, and market movements. In addition, any messages regarding your account can be accessed from the dashboard.

There is a helpful search function that allows you to look for shares, funds, bonds and gilts, ETFs, and overseas stocks. You can also search by manager or sector.

Placing a trade was effortless, and accessing your account simply requires a password and a secure six-digit number. No issues from me.

Mobile App
I enjoyed the simplicity and ease of navigation on the app. You can access your holdings and create and monitor watchlists of funds and stocks. There is a helpful overview of the markets, a search function where you can access ready-made investments and the Wealth Shortlist, and a news section with all the latest relevant articles.

While you can access your messages and view things like live prices, there are no options to set alerts, which is a shame.

That being said, most of the necessary functionality is there for buy-and-hold investors, and, therefore, I can comfortably score the app highly.

I chose to open a Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfJunior ISA when testing Hargreaves Lansdown for the purposes of this review. You will need your National Insurance number and your bank details, should you wish to set up a Direct Debit. Be aware that if you do set up a Direct Debit at the minimum amount of £25 per month, you will be limited in the investments that you can select, and once you have chosen this option, it is difficult to go back.

I didn’t find the account opening process as slick and modern as some of the newer competitor platforms. HL has a slightly dated, clunky feel to it.

The other thing to note is that you will not be able to access your account immediately. Hargreaves Lansdown did send me an email informing me that it would take them a few hours to open my account or up to one business day. In addition, there is a pin and client number that are sent in the mail.

My tip: Unless you are particularly eagle-eyed, I would recommend opening an account via a computer or laptop, as the account opening process directly from the app redirects you to a web page where everything is tiny and very difficult to read.

In order to test the transfer process, I decided to transfer my son’s Child Trust Fund into a Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfJunior ISA. Given that the Trust Fund has performed fairly poorly to date and the Junior ISA is an incredibly cost-effective option at HL, this seemed like a good decision.

The transfer can be initiated via your Hargreaves Lansdown account. However, you will be asked to download a PDF form, which then needs to be printed, filled out, and posted back to Hargreaves Lansdown.

I have tested transfers on a number of other platforms, so I know that this can all be done electronically. Transfers are the bread and butter for these types of platforms; they literally represent taking business from competitors. It seems very strange that the process here is so archaic. Anything that relies on a slightly sluggish service from Royal Mail is going to set things back.

That being said, I did get in touch with the HL customer service team, who informed me that this is the case for junior accounts, but for adult accounts, electronic transfers are often an option depending on the provider you are transferring from. I’m told that not offering electronic transfers on junior accounts is a ’business decision’. It strikes me that this is a decision that would be unpopular with a lot of users.

Within the web platform, there is a significant amount of research available, including the option to register for market updates and share research and results updates. This can help keep you aware of specific stocks that you may have an eye on.

Research includes:

• Stock market news from Sharecast
• Market reports
• Share tips
• Expert research and articles
• Watch lists
• Free live share prices
• Share alerts
• Stock movements
• Interactive share charts using a range of technical analysis and comparison tools

While there is a lack of customisation available, I did think that the level of data was more than sufficient for buy-and-hold investors, which is ultimately what this platform is designed for.

I would almost go as far as to say that this is one of the safest options available for saving and investing. This is because, in addition to all the highest levels of regulation, Hargreaves Lansdown is also one of the longest platforms in operation in the UK, and they are listed on the London Stock Exchange, meaning all company financials are readily available.

Here at Investing Insiders, our Equity Research Analyst, James Fox, has conducted indepth analysis into the company financials. He has concluded the following:

‘Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s largest investment platform, with 1.882 million clients – far in excess of any peers — and managing £155.3 billion in assets. Despite slowing growth, Hargreaves Lansdown’s trajectory remains positive and steady. Moreover, operating margins of 49.5% in H1 2024, coupled with a strong net cash position of £536.3 million as of December 2023 and an unused revolving cash facility, highlight the company’s financial strength. These metrics should provide investors with a degree of confidence.’

More information on Hargreaves Lansdown and whether this platform might be a good addition to your portfolio can be found here:

Hargreaves Lansdown: Company performance analysis

Of course, HL is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and all account holders enjoy additional protection of up to £85,000 under the cover of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Beginners are well provided for here, with a range of materials that include:

• Videos
• Articles
• Savings and resilience tools
• Guides on subjects such as how to invest in funds and shares

I couldn’t find anything interactive, such as quizzes to test your knowledge, but head over to YouTube, where you will find a library of videos explaining how to use the app, how to buy shares, how to set up regular investing, and a whole wealth of information designed to help you build a portfolio. The videos are being uploaded regularly and are categorised in a sensible way that can help you find what you need.

There are also two podcasts available called ‘Switch Your Money On’; however, they were both uploaded two months ago and with only two available, I question how regular this will be.

What’s missing here is a demo account; however, given the sheer volume of instructional videos provided, I think HL can be excused.

Customer service is generally excellent, to the point that I am willing to overlook the fact that Hargreaves Lansdown does not offer live chat. For this platform, it’s back to old-school telephone support, which will put you straight through to helpful and knowledgeable staff.

It’s also worth considering that HL also offers financial advice should you require help beyond the usual account inquiries.

Hargreaves Lansdown has scored 4.1 on Trustpilot. Some examples of reviews include:

As I mentioned, as part of my investigative work for this review, I have opened a Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfJunior ISA for my son. I chose this account because I believe it to be the best value account offered at Hargreaves Lansdown, and this is also my top pick for a Junior ISA across all providers.

This has allowed me to take a deep dive into the platform and test what it’s like to actually place a trade, as well as the tools and research it offers.

The Junior ISA has no account or trading fees, so I deposited £50 pounds while I waited for the painfully slow process of transferring my son’s Child Trust Fund into this account. I bought 9 units of easyJet stock.

Searching for the stock was very easy, and I had placed a trade within moments. HL calculated how much of the stock I could afford with my deposit.

Have a question about Hargreaves Lansdown that we haven’t covered? Ask it here and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

This review is the result of my first-hand experience as an account holder at Hargreaves Lansdown and in no way represents financial advice.