We say
★★★★★
★★★★★
Finder expert rating
You say
★★★★★
★★★★★
Customer satisfaction
Good range of investments options
Expensive when you don't trade frequently
Hargreaves Lansdown review
Find out why investors like Hargreaves Lansdown and what we thought.
Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s biggest and most comprehensive wealth manager, so it’s not the cheapest. This “investment supermarket” is a popular choice for investors. It’s a bit on the pricey side but it makes up for it with its mobile app and easy trades. We’ve called Hargreaves Lansdown one of our best trading apps of 2021 and named it as “best for beginners”. It was also the winner in the Finder Share Dealing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2020, with a huge 83% of its customers recommending it to a friend. Find out about how to set up a Hargreaves Lansdown account, about the HL ISA and some pros and cons of Hargreaves Lansdown.
What's in this review?
Easy, low-cost account with the UK's biggest investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown
Your capital is at risk.
- UK’s largest investment manager with huge range of investments
- Invest in funds, global shares, bonds, ETFs and more
- Detailed online resources and Bristol-based helpdesk available
- Open an account in minutes with your debit card and NI number
Go to site
Capital at risk
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
What is Hargreaves Lansdown?
Hargreaves Lansdown is a leading “investment supermarket” for private investors. It is trusted with £96 billion worth of investment by 1.3 million clients.
The Fund & Share Account is a low cost, flexible investment account that allows you to deal, manage and hold a wide range of investments. It is aimed at those who are comfortable making their own investment decisions, without financial advice. There’s also a self invested personal pension (SIPP), junior SIPP and several different ISAs available.
Read on to find out more about Hargreaves Lansdown, and whether it might be the right investment solution for you.
Best for
Low-cost
Best for
Beginners
Best for
Funds
Best for
International shares
How does Hargreaves Lansdown work?
To start investing with Hargreaves Lansdown, you’ll need to open an account.
The right account for you will depend on your goals. You might be saving for the future, for a pension pot or for your child.
Hargreaves Lansdown can help you narrow things down and find the right account, allowing you to compare accounts and tick things which apply to you.
To open an account with Hargreaves Lansdown, you’ll need:
- Your National Insurance number
- Your debit card details
- Your bank details to set up monthly payments
What products does Hargreaves Lansdown offer?
Hargreaves Lansdown offers seven products:
- Stocks and shares ISA
- Junior ISA
- Lifetime ISA
- Self-invested personal pension
- Junior SIPP
- Share dealing account
- Active savings
What can you invest in with Hargreaves Lansdown?
Hargreaves Lansdown ISAs
As with all individual savings accounts (ISAs), you get an annual allowance. This is the amount of money you can invest in the tax-year, of which all of your profits are tax-free. Once you’ve used up your ISA allowance for the year, you can continue investing with a general investment account. Different types of ISA have different allowances, which we detail below.
Hargreaves Lansdown stocks and shares ISA
Your annual allowance for a stocks and shares ISA is £20,000 in the 2021/2022 tax year.
With Hargreaves Lansdown’s stocks and shares ISA you can choose to either create a DIY portfolio or use a ready-made portfolio based on your goals and attitude to risk.
Benefits of a DIY portfolio include:
- You decide which shares to buy and sell
- Hargreaves Lansdown’s research helps you make decisions
- Start with £100 or £25 per month
Benefits of ready-made portfolios include:
- Have a portfolio based on your risk appetite
- Hargreaves Lansdown will buy and sell investments for you
- Start with £1,000
Lifetime ISA (LISA)
Lifetime ISAs are for investing for your first home or for your retirement. You can choose between a stocks and shares LISA or a cash LISA.
Your annual allowance for a LISA is £4,000 in each tax year. The government will add an additional 25% to your savings. This allowance is included in the stocks and shares ISA allowance, so if you invest £4,000 in a LISA, you need to minus that from to find your remaining allowance for the year.
You’re locked into a LISA, which means you can’t withdraw it without losing 25% to the government – so you need to make sure that you’re committed to either buying a house with the savings or saving it for retirement.
Junior ISA (JISA)
If you want to save up for your child’s future, you can save in a Junior ISA. The allowance for the tax year is . This means that you can save up to this much in your child’s junior ISA without paying any tax on the earnings.
The junior ISA is for children under 18 years old. It’s managed by a legal parent or guardian, until the child turns 18, when it is automatically transferred to them.
Benefits of the JISA include:
- Invest up to the annual allowance without paying tax on earnings
- Friends and family can pay money in
- Start with £100 or £25 per month
Hargreaves Lansdown pensions, annuities and drawdown options
You can save for your retirement with Hargreaves Lansdown, and when the time comes, you can cash out on your pension with it too. Here are the products on offer:
Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
Self invested personal pensions are suitable for people who want to make their own investment decisions – this means it’s in your hands – there’s no hand-holding. If you don’t know what to invest in, or whether an investment is right for you, Hargreaves Lansdown does have advisers that can help you, although this is at an additional charge.
You’ll get the same tax relief with a SIPP as you do with other pensions. You can add up to £40,000 to your pension (if you’re a UK resident under 75).
Junior SIPP
For the ultra-orgnanised parent or guardian, you have the option to open a junior SIPP for your child. This works pretty much like the Junior ISA and the SIPP combined – there’s a allowance per child per tax year, of which the government will pay 20% tax relief. The “child” (they won’t be a child by the time) can only access the money when they turn 55 (57 from 2028).
If you’re looking for a way to invest in your child’s long term future, this could be suitable. If you’d prefer them to have access to the funds when they’re 18, consider the Junior ISA instead.
Retirement options
For those who are about to retire, Hargreaves Lansdown offers:
- Annuity (a guaranteed income for life, in return for a pot of pension savings)
- Drawdown (where you “draw down” funds from your invested pension pot to give you an income)
Share dealing: Fund and Share account
Hargreaves Lansdown’s Fund and Share account lets you buy and sell shares, investment trusts, exchange-traded funds and bonds. You build your portfolio yourself.
Benefits to a Fund and Share account include:
- Easily manage investments online, through the Hargreaves Lansdown app or by phone
- Free to hold shares
- Discover investment opportunities with a wide range of tools
Cash savings
Hargreaves Lansdown offers a service called “Active Savings” which gives you returns on cash savings. Instead of having to shop around for savings accounts and move your savings yourself, Hargreaves Lansdown allows you to swap to a new savings account with a better rate without all the hassle. This is a nice service and allows you to make the most out of the offers on the market.
Does Hargreaves Lansdown have an app?
Yes. And it’s pretty good, too! It uses Face ID and fingerprint technology to keep it secure. Some things you can do with the Hargreaves Lansdown app include:
- See live share prices
- Trade on the go
- Keep an eye on specific investments
- Manage your investments
- View your history
- Top up
The Hargreaves Lansdown app is available on iOS and Android.
Hargreaves Lansdown fees and charges
How safe is my investment with Hargreaves Lansdown?
When it comes to security, Hargreaves Lansdown is trusted by thousands of customers and is considered to be a secure FTSE 100 company that has been managing investments for 35 years.
Your investments are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means that you’ll be able to claim up to £85,000 if Hargreaves Lansdown were to go bust.
How do I decide which account is for me?
You need to work out what it is you want from your investment. Are you looking to put a bit of money away each month? Do you want returns on your investment?
Decide on these things before you start comparing the different offers available. Once you’ve done that, useful guidelines to compare include:
- Where you can invest. What types of investments can you access, and which stock exchanges?
- Fees (if there are any). Consider commission, platform fees and currency exchange fees (for any international shares).
- Access to ISAs. Everyone has an ISA allowance, which lets you invest without paying tax on your profits.
Pros and cons of Hargreaves Lansdown
Pros
- Plenty of investment options
- Great educational tools to help beginners find their way around
- Charging caps if you hold shares
Cons
- No demo account available
- Fees can be quite high for ETFs
Hargreaves Lansdown customer reviews
Hargreaves Lansdown’s customers are really impressed with its service. They feel that the customer service staff are friendly, efficient and that they go out of their way to explain things. Customers felt that the platform is straightforward and really easy to use.
A couple of customers mentioned high prices but they felt that the standard of service made up for it.
Related offers
Best for
Low-cost
Best for
Beginners
Best for
Funds
Best for
International shares
Our verdict
Hargreaves Lansdown has everything you could ask for in an investment platform. It was built with both experienced investors and beginners in mind, with plenty of educational tools and some options for those who want a bit of hand-holding along the way.
There isn’t a demo account available, though. You’d need to use a different platform if you want to try out share trading with virtual funds.
Compare share trading options
Table: sorted by promoted deals first
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Frequently asked questions
Share dealing platform ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
Our customer satisfaction scores ("Customers say") are based on a survey of 752 customers carried out in December 2020.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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