Summary

Hargreaves Lansdown plc abbreviated as HL is based in Bristol and the companies range of financial services includes the trading in shares and funds online.

In 2003 HL launched its HL Vantage SIPP account and clients could trade via Spread betting since 2006, when the HL website had a major make-over and was relaunched.

The HL mobile app offers a great range of features including touch ID with fingerprint login, investment managing via transaction history view, linked accounts to manage all family accounts in one place, fast account top-ups on the go and requesting withdrawals to bank accounts, while mobile users can also manage their pending orders.

2018 awards also included the Financial Planner of the Year Award, awarded to Chris Wordsworth, Money Management by Hargreaves Lansdown, Best Workplace Pension Provider of the Year 2018, WS&B Initiative of the Year 2018, Best Direct SIPP Provider 2018, Best Stocks & Shares LISA Provider 2018, Best Platform for D2C, Best Communications in Pensions 2018 Britains Most Admired Companies award, Best Direct Platform: Digital Experience 2018, Best Online Presence 2018 and Top Regional Wealth Management Company of the Year Wales & Western England.

Hargreaves Lansdown offers several account options including a shares and stocks, ISA, Lifetime ISA, Sipp, Junior ISA and fund and share account.

Broker Information

User Rating
Leverage
Instruments
Commissions Variable Spreads
Founded 1981
Min Funding $20
Regulation

    NOT REGULATED

    Introduction

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    Called the investment supermarket, Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the top UK financial service, shares and trading companies for private investors. HL have assisted investors to save money and tax and make informed investment decisions for over 35 years and is trusted by 1,091,000 clients to manage funds worth £86 billion. HL employs more than 1,300 individuals and is an FTSE 100 company.

    Hargreaves Lansdown plc abbreviated as HL is based in Bristol and the companies range of financial services includes the trading in shares and funds online. HL was founded by Stephen Lansdown and Peter Hargreaves in July 1981 and from initially trading from a bedroom, the company enjoyed major success and is now located at One College Square.

    In 1981, Lansdown and Hargreaves offered clients information regarding tax planning and unit trusts, placed their first advertisement regarding unit trusts and also send out their first newsletter. In 1986 the Financial Service Act introduced authorisation of regulation of investment services, and HL launched its Personal Equity Plan, and the company enjoys high volumes of business. Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers launched in 1991 and by 1994 HL fund Managers were formed to provide several managed equity portfolios. The HL pension direct offering was added in 1999, and the company also launched its online services in share dealing.

    Hargreaves Lansdown launched annuity services in 2000 and in 2001 added stakeholder pensions, while the online investment services offered online enjoyed massive growth in 2002. In 2003 HL launched its HL Vantage SIPP account and clients could trade via Spread betting since 2006, when the HL website had a major make-over and was relaunched. In 2007 Lansdown and Hargreaves managed over £1 billion in funds and by 2011 the company was promoted to the FTSE100 index, it is also the year the first HL mobile app was launched. By 2015 the company had over 700,000 clients and managed more than £50 billion in funds.

    Licensing & Regulation

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    Hargreaves Lansdown is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and bound by its rules to keep client funds in segregated accounts. HL Fund Managers Limited is authorised by the AIF and the FCA as well as UCITS.

    HL utilizes encryption technology to ensure all clients details and information remains secure and private and offers a security helpline service for reporting fraudulent activity or for getting answers to security related questions. The security helpline is available during the week from 08:00 up to 19:00 and also offers assistance via email.

    Mobile Trading

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    HL launched a brand new HL Live mobile app on the 1st of August 2017, which replaced its previous mobile application. The new improved and updated HL app offers flawless services on Android devices of 4.3 or higher as well as iOS 9.3 operating systems or higher. The HL mobile app offers protection via 128-bit encryption to ensure users information, details and transaction remain private and safe. The HL mobile app offers a great range of features including touch ID with fingerprint login, investment managing via transaction history view, linked accounts to manage all family accounts in one place, fast account top-ups on the go and requesting withdrawals to bank accounts, while mobile users can also manage their pending orders.

    Trading via the mobile apps offers access to thousands of bonds and UK shares as well as more than 2,500 funds, while it also allows trade on international shares. The investing and trading features also featured updated live share prices, tracking of clients favoured investments as well as limit and stop loss set to suit the user’s preferences.

    Brand & Functionality

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    Hargreaves Lansdown services include SIPP self-invested personal pensions, investing in funds, stock markets, world markets, currencies and commodities. Trusted by thousands of online traders and investors the company’s strive to offer the best services has won it several top industry awards including the following 2018 awards, at the Bristol Pride Awards – Best LGBT+ Staff Network. Gold Standard Awards: Gold Standard for Personal Pensions, Gold Standard for Retirement, Gold Standard for Group Pensions, Gold Standard for Portfolio Management, and the

    Gold Standard for Fund Management (Retail). 2018 awards also included the Financial Planner of the Year Award, awarded to Chris Wordsworth, Money Management by Hargreaves Lansdown, Best Workplace Pension Provider of the Year 2018, WS&B Initiative of the Year 2018, Best Direct SIPP Provider 2018, Best Stocks & Shares LISA Provider 2018, Best Platform for D2C, Best Communications in Pensions 2018 Britain’s Most Admired Companies award, Best Direct Platform: Digital Experience 2018, Best Online Presence 2018 and Top Regional Wealth Management Company of the Year Wales & Western England.

    Registration Process

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    Hargreaves Lansdown offers several account options including a shares and stocks, ISA, Lifetime ISA, Sipp, Junior ISA and fund and share account. By registering a fund and share account online traders gain access to trading from just £5.95 per trade and can set their own stop-loss and limit orders, there is no investment limit and no inactivity fees at HL.

    The first step in registering a new account is the declaration, followed by opening an account by providing all the information needed. Application for a new account also requires a colour scanned copy of the applicants driving license, ID or passport as well as proof of address via a bank statement or utility bill of no longer than three months old.

    The trading experience question confirms how much trading experience the new account holder have, and it could take up to around 10 minutes to complete the entire process. It is possible to explore the HL platform once the account application is completed, although no trading is possible until the account is verified, which takes a couple of days.

    Depositing Process

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    Funding your HL account is possible via Cheques, Debit Cards, the minimum deposit via debit card is £1 up to a maximum of £99,000. It is also possible to fund your HL account via telephone with your debit card while a cheque form is available on site.

    Product Offering

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    Hargreaves Lansdown trading products include stocks markets and shares. Stock market trading includes UK markets such as FTSE 100, FTSE 350, FTSE AIM 100 and FTSE techMARK100. World markets include NASXAQ, Paris CAC 40, Hang Seng, Xetra DAX and Nikkei 225. Commodity trading at Hargreaves Lansdown includes Brent Crude Oil, WTI Crude Oil, Platinum, Palladium, Silver and Gold, while currency trading includes EUR/USD, GBP/CHF, GBP/CAD, GBP/AUD, GBP/AUD, GBP/USD and GBP/EUR.

    Trade Execution

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    HL focus on getting the best prices for its customer on every deal and get prices from more than 31 different sources to ensure clients get the best possible prices. HL do not own any of the companies it places clients deals with, meaning there is no conflict of interest, while international deals are placed with Peel Hunt LLP and Winterflood Securities. In 2017 a high percentage of 99.9% of all traded by HL was within 0.04% of the London Stock exchange price.

    Banking

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    Withdrawals can be made via the same methods used for funding of your HL account, which includes nominated banks and debit/credit cards.

    Customer Support

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    HL can be contacted via telephone provided onsite for all the different departments, while support is also offered via email. The FAQ answers most asked by online traders while the company is also active on social media sites LinkedIn, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

    Trading Tools

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    HL offers online investors and traders a variety of tools as well as information to ensure they make informed decisions. Both the award-winning website and mobile app provide an easy to use interface enabling users to invest or trade at home or on the go. The main goal of HL is to provide access to all investment and pension opportunities via an investment platform that is super flexible to offer access to over 2,500 funds, European, Canadian, US and UK shares, bonds, gilts and ETFs as well as investment trusts. HL account holders enjoy the freedom to switch or choose between investment according to returns while enjoying low-cost dealing, tax-efficient shares and stocks and self-invested personal pensions.

    Investments can go up and down in value, so you could get back less than you put in. Please familiarise yourself with the risks involved before investing.