Hargreaves Lansdown Expert Review: The Waitrose Of the Investing World

Where do I start.

Claiming they sent forms when they didn’t. Then sent them in an email, but the forms were not attached.

Provided all information requested.

Week later I get an email requesting more information. We are all HL clients but they have made a bad situation so much worse because of their incompetence and awkwardness.

I have NEVER dealt with a more difficult organisation in thise who bereavement process.

They offer good products but I am seriously considering moving my considerable financial invesment away from HL.

Utterly appalled.

One of only a few providers of a JISA where you can pick and manage your investments. Setting up the account was reasonably easy. The app UI is ok but not great. Can only fund the account through a card payment is a little frustrating but not a deal breaker.

Opened up a JISA on HL due to fees and ease of use. Good stock universe and the app works very well. Got no complaints

HL Junior ISA is okay but their website and app need improvement compared to competitors like InvestEngine and Trading212.

Hargreaves Landsdown operate outside of the law demanding Facial Recognition to verify accounts of both new and existing customers. They will tell you its the only way to verify, but when you look into the privacy law, this is simply not the case.

The system they use is MITEK. A quick search will show you who owns MITEK. Its the same corporations whom own everything.

Furthermore, HL are using extremely unscrupulous resources to keep their image squeeky clean by using BLACK MARKETING sources to write positive reviews. They pay approx £10 a review. Search Black Marketing and you will find many people happy to lie and cheat for money.

Go onto Trustpilot and see how many reviews they receive per day. I just counted over 20 in 24 hours. This is a statistical impossibility.

Now, do you really want a company that lies and cheats and sells your data to look after your hard earning money?

Think about that

I have been a customer of theirs for many years and i am absolutely disgusted at their practices and you should be too.

one of the very few services that allows for some investments… It could be improved and made even more powerful (i.e. investments in other currencies) but really probably the best platform for easy access and universe of investments possible!

I’ve used HL for more than 10 years. They used to be low cost. Customer service was excellent. Online platform was great. Still not bad, but other platforms are now cheaper. Slower to resolve the occasional problem.

Hargreaves Lansdown are good value for those that are low volume traders of stocks. If you hold funds then they are not such great value because of the admin fees that they charge. However, they don’t charge dealing fees on funds which is a good point. A negative thought is that fund trades have to be placed by 9am or 8am for some in order to receive that day’s valuation price. Many other brokers have a cut-off time of 11am-11.30am. HL are also one of the slowest to update fund prices – if you check Fidelity, Morningstar or AJ Bell, at 4pm, most fund prices are update, whereas HL take until 6pm or later.

The process of placing a deal with HL using the app is the best of many brokers that I have used as it is so smooth and quick. Very quick to login. However, there are many small companies, foreign companies or investment trusts that don’t load up on the app and only can be viewed or traded on the desktop website.

The app and website are my first choice for checking share prices and news/RNS releases for UK stocks. Historical performance indicators are good too. However there is no provision of key metric data like P/CF, Forward P/E, Debt/Equity, Quick ratio, current ratio, Free cash flow yield, ROCE, ROE, ROA etc so I have to go to Reuters or other sites to check such details.

HL has always been very unaccommodating for those who wished to subscribe to IPOs or share offers, I have found other brokers providing access to new IPOs but HL will not.

They also have a strange system whereby they put dividends you receive into a hidden account and then only 2 weeks later transfer them to your capital account to allow you to trade with that cash.

Watchlists are very good in providing current prices and being well layed out.

It would be good if we could see futures prices for US markets and individual stocks in the morning when the UK is open. I have to check marketwatch or investing.com for that.

Why can’t you make charts with HL of different stocks all on the same chart?

The total return chart function is great for funds but why can’t that be extended to longer than 5 year periods and for stocks as well?

HL is an excellent platform as it’s easy to use and set up. It does however have rather large fees when buying a share. Considering the number of clients they have I’m surprised they remain high and is the reason I am looking for an alternative for my Stocks and Shares ISA

When you are a newbie to investing, it can be overwhelming, there are sharks in the tank that you need to avoid, along with many obstacles to overcome. While no financial organisation can deliver guidance with a crystal ball – I have found Hargreaves’s Lansdown to operate with expertise and business integrity with a focus on client satisfaction. This has led me to confidently invest in a safe and secure environment with top class educated guidance. I don’t think you can do better than that.

Set up Junior ISAs for my kids last year with 0% commission on all trades into and out of the Junior ISAs has been an excellent way to get them started in investing. I use other resources for keeping track of my portfolio but the overall service provides excellent value for money.

I have been a customer of Hargreaves Lansdowne for many decades, and I use the platform to manage my stocks and shares ISA, my SIPP, plus my Fund and Share Account.

The platform is easy to navigate

The choice of investments is wide ranging.

The customer service is very good, though not as good as it used to be since a cost saving exercise about a year ago.

Obviously, other platforms are cheaper, and for that reason I cannot give it five stars.

It is safe and secure like a trusted old friend, and long may that continue.

Love the lack of fees on the product for the junior ISA. Really draws me in to make the most of the contributions that are made to it. However I really don’t enjoy using the HL website to manage the JISA. It lacks a lot of the ease of use that you find in other products e.g. Invest Engine, Trading 212 that HL should be able to compete with. Just changing my contribution / d

Good service speed, feedback clear website

My Friend made a small investment in Hargreaves Lansdown PLC . They are a United Kingdom-based digital wealth management service administering company. The Company provides a range of services, including stocks and shares individual savings account (ISA), Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), share dealing, fund dealing, drawdown, cash savings, lifetime ISA and junior ISA.

There is so much to like about this company. They have money in the bank. The returns are enormous with ROC of 50% ROE of 46% and a healthy margin of 48%. Gearing is low. Liquidity is good. Analyst sentiment is reasonably positive. The fundamentals are excellent . Revenue is increasing . Operating profits are steady. Cash flow and working capital are all good.

I had a few reservations. New investment last year was 38% down year on year. However, this is understandable in a cost of lockdown crisis. In addition, compared to their peers, such as AJ Bell, they are not doing that badly.

Another drawback is that HL are not competitive for those who are just getting started with investing. Investors with a large portfolio are ok because of the platform fee cap. However, HL could well lose out to new platforms offering commission free trading and no platform fees.

I like the sound of the new CEO and a potential British ISA may bring in more clients.

All in all, this is a quality company that I bought at a low price (P/E 11) with a great dividend story (expected 6.6% this year). which they have consistently paid over the past 8 years: with no share dilution.

This will be a stock that I will hold and enjoy the dividend and probable capital accumulation

I will be transferring a JISA to HL as it is fee free and also pays interest on any cash held which my current provider does not.

Been using HL to invest for my daughter’s future. All transactions are quick and simple to execute. Buy & sell orders fulfilled smoothly. I also was impressed with their customer service and help in transferring in a cash JISA from Nationwide. The application process was easy and the response was swift.

I’ve been a Hargreaves Lansdown customer for many years, and the platform does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s generally user-friendly, reliable, and offers a wide range of investment options and app. However, it is undeniably expensive compared to other platforms. The fees add up, especially if you’re an active investor. While I plan to continue using it for now, the market has become increasingly competitive, and it’s worth exploring other options that offer similar functionality at a much lower cost.

HL pensions staff have not been helpful, open or transparent with my drawdown application. I am still waiting after 6 weeks and have no confidence in their internal work processes. HL are not acting in my best interests.

I wish I had checked Good Money Guide and other sites before as others have experienced similar issues. Delayed payment appears a deliberate HL policy.

HL currently is a market leader to my investment experience. Top service, top platforms, safe an secure with a large portfolio and great analytics. I would recommend.

App is pretty intuitive and decent value

I’ve been following Hargreaces Lansdown it has been helpful to understand present money and investing guide.

They hold my shares. It’s an easy website to navigate.

I like the HL app which allows me to follow markets and my investment with ease. It was also very simple to set up.

professional competent and efficient

keep you updated trustworthy

1. I Sold isa to pay deposit for house. 2. I Changed my address which stopped me nominating a bank for transfer.

3. Spoke to them was asked to provide proof of house purchase which I did.

4. 10 days later despite an email saying they would be in contact in next few days I heard nothing.

5 Rang them , nothing had been done! I wasn’t allowed to speak to the relevant department they don’t speak to customers.

6. Looks like at least another week before I can even nominate my bank for a transfer exchange date is before that.

IF YOUR HAPPY TO BE ABUSED AND DONT WANT CONTROL OVER YOUR FINANCES HARGREAVES LANSDOWN IS THE COMPANY FOR YOU, FOR OTHERS AVOID THESE SOULLESS COMPANY.

People & platform – professional, competent & efficient. Overall, great value.

No fuss – just really good platform and service

I find the platform good but it is difficult sometimes to navigate around. Customer service can be slow. Overall it is ok

I’ve been using Hargreaves Lansdown for about 20 years for my investments and have been very satisfied with the service provided. They provide a one stop shop for all my needs which include Stocks & Shares ISA, Cash ISA and their Active Savings product.

Really easy to use platform, good range of choices offered

provides the complete package for an investor.

None

outstanding

Efficient but pricey, easy to use website.

Seem ok

App experience isn’t great

Very reliable with good customer service and care. Offers variety of packages

slow process to open savings accounts and rates are uncompetitive

Very easy to use; and good tools withn the platform

Competitive and good help line

expensive, flaffy

Far too big

Easy to use and customer focused

Excellent platform but expensive.

Excellent app and website

Good but expensive

Excellent

good enoughfor Isa and investments. on the expensive side

Easy to use & cost effective

Not had much interaction

Good

Limited access through the app

Efficient service

Expensive recommendations not reliable

The platform is easy to use in both app and web form. Information is clear and making investments is very simple. They also have and Active Savings service which allows access to great savings rates with banks not accessible through other means

great app with good info

None

Good reputation but little used

I have an outstanding claim against them concerning Woodford.

Easy to use and to trade shares

Not user friendly.. takes a while to look for topics

Good for placing own Stocks and Shares and money deposits

Not the cheapest, but a slick platform so happy to use

no comment

Good

Cheaper SIPP Fees than some

Good

Helpful customer service. Reasonable charges

best for junior isa

Comprehensive and proactive

Reliable, but some restrictions on more complex financial products

I wish they would adopt the usually accepted method of conducting financial information. I have had, several times, had to seek out an explanation for transctions instead of them being understandable “at a glance”. Otherwise, HL are OK.

OK, don’t have a lot with them, not keen on their website.

Great LISA and savings provider

Good for trading account in stocks and shares, less so for trading in unit trusts and in an isa.

Reliable great service and established. A platform you can trust

Good website but expensive

fine

Good but fees are far too high.

Solid, low cost provider.

Opaque, not user friendly, hard to understand reports

NA

They are not the cheapest but v good support

fairly dear – could use faster payment system

Good site easy use friendly staff will always help if you need it

x

Offer all services easy to use and trustworthy

No thoughts

Very good & easy to use

Good service, expensive for funds, less so for individual shares

Excellent for varied investment ways

Bit expensive but sound

Easy to use online platform. Reasonable costs.

The McDonald’s of investing