Key Takeaways
- Hargreaves Lansdown is a safe saving and investing platform heavily regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
- HL charges a tiered annual account fee for clients investing in funds — the percentage decreases as portfolio value grows.
- HL provides clients with many ISA and SIPP options spanning Stocks & Shares ISA, LISA, JISA, and Self-Invested Personal Pension wrappers.
- HL’s Wealth Shortlist is a researched list of 65 funds investors can use to align selections with their drawdown tolerance and goals.
What Hargreaves Lansdown Is and Where It Sits
This Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) portfolio tracker provides an overview of the HL trading platform, which is the UK’s premium saving and investment platform for private investors. This platform was founded by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown in 1981 in Bristol, England, where the company is currently headquartered. In 2007, 25% of HL’s shares went public so that existing clients, institutions, and employees could trade shares publicly. The remaining 75% were privately held by Peter Hargreaves, Stephen Lansdown, and other directors. In March 2025, however, HL was acquired by CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital, and ADIA, resulting in the removal of its shares from the London Stock Exchange. The goal of the acquisition is to focus on technological transformations to enhance HL’s product offerings and customer service.
Despite the recent take-private acquisition, HL remains a large platform with over £172 billion in AUM and over 2 million clients. Additionally, HL currently employs over 2,000 people. This platform targets UK clients specifically, unlike eToro’s global multi-asset platform.
Is HL Safe? Regulation, Protection, and 40-Year Track Record
HL is a safe platform for investors and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), although individual investment products contain varying degrees of risk. HL’s FCA Register number is 115248 (https://register.fca.org.uk). HL notes that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can cover up to £85,000 per investor if an investment business is in default. Additionally, if one of the banks used by HL goes into default, the FSCS can cover 100% of the first £120,000 per investor for losses across all deposits at that bank. These amounts align with the increase in protection that went into effect beginning December 2025, where investments are protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS, and bank deposits are protected up to £120,000 by the FSCS. HL also makes it clear that it follows the FCA’s client money rules and guidance by keeping clients’ funds separate from the company’s funds. This means that HL’s creditors have no legal right to clients’ funds, and HL cannot use these funds to settle its debt.
The take-private acquisition in 2025 fundamentally altered HL’s structure. The company went from having its shares publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange to being privately owned. As a result of this shift, HL’s management is now accountable to its private equity owners. HL emphasises that these structural changes have no impact on the overall safety and security of its clients’ assets. The company is still regulated by the FCA, clients’ funds are still covered by the FSCS, and HL continues to keep its funds separate from clients’ funds.
The Real Cost of HL – Beyond the 0.35% Headline
HL is transparent regarding its fee structure and the ways in which different investment products affect the fees paid by clients. Importantly, HL notes that there are no fees for opening or closing an account, and transferring money to and from other providers is free. HL’s account charge consists of a tiered fee structure for clients investing in funds. The account charge is an annual fee that is billed monthly by HL to clients, and the amount of the fee decreases as the value of a client’s funds increases. The annual account charge is 0.35% when the value of funds is £0 – £250,000, 0.25% when the value of funds is £250,000 – £1,000,000, 0.10% when the value of funds is £1,000,000 – £2,000,000, and 0% when the value of funds exceeds £2,000,000.
It is worth noting that this fee structure is specific to investments in funds. HL charges different fees for investments in shares. The annual account charge for shares, which includes shares of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), investment trusts, bonds, gilts, and venture capital trusts (VCTs), is fixed at 0.35%. This charge, however, will not exceed £12.50 per month. Additionally, HL does not charge any fee for uninvested cash. HL clearly states that clients have to pay dealing charges each time they place a trade, which are the trading fees associated with buying and selling an investment. For funds, this charge is £1.95 for one-off trades. For shares, this charge is £6.95 if the client had 0-19 trades in the previous month, and £3.95 if the client had 20 or more trades in the previous month. For both funds and shares, there is no charge for monthly regular investing through direct debit.
HL allows clients to trade in US, Canadian, and European markets, but clients incur foreign exchange charges for investments held in any currency other than GBP. Like the account charge for clients investing in funds, the foreign exchange charge is a tiered fee structure. The charge is 0.99% when the value of trade is £0 – £10,000, 0.50% when the value of trade is £10,000 – £25,000, and 0.20% when the value of trade exceeds £25,000.
Aligning HL’s tiered fee structure with your portfolio milestones can meaningfully reduce the fee percentage over time. Investors approaching the £250,000 threshold (where the rate drops from 0.35% to 0.25%) may want to model the impact on their projected wealth horizon before adding capital elsewhere.
The following table compares the cumulative fees over five years for a £100,000 investment with HL, Interactive Investor, and AJ Bell.
| Year | HL | Interactive Investor | AJ Bell |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £350 | £156 | £250 |
| 2 | £700 | £312 | £500 |
| 3 | £1,050 | £468 | £750 |
| 4 | £1,400 | £624 | £1,000 |
| 5 | £1,750 | £780 | £1,250 |
Multi-Wrapper Reality and The CGT 2026 Problem
HL offers a variety of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) for clients to choose from, and these HL ISA tracker and HL SIPP tracker provide an overview of the different types. Stocks and Shares ISAs enable money to grow free from income and capital gains tax in the UK. Investors have the option of picking their own investments or selecting a ready-made option. HL notes that these ISAs are free to open, and the annual ISA allowance is £20,000 for the 2026/27 tax year.
HL also offers Lifetime ISAs (LISAs), which provide investors with a way to save money for a home purchase or for retirement. Like with Stocks and Shares ISAs, investors can either pick their own investments or select a ready-made option. Investors must be between the ages of 18 and 39 to open a LISA. If investors are over the age of 39, then contributions can continue until age 50. These accounts are free to open, and withdrawals are tax-free after the age of 60. Investors can invest up to £4,000 per year, and money grows free from income and capital gains tax in the UK. Additionally, these accounts provide a 25% government bonus each year.
Junior ISAs (JISAs) enable investors to save money for their child’s future. These accounts have similar characteristics to the other ISAs offered by HL. Specifically, investors can choose their own investments or select from ready-made options. These accounts are also free to open, and money grows free from income and capital gains tax in the UK. Investors can currently invest up to £9,000 per year in these accounts.
SIPPs are another option for investors who are saving for retirement. The government gives clients money each time they make a payment to their pension, which is known as pension tax relief. The amount of tax relief a client receives depends on the rate of income tax they pay, but it typically ranges anywhere from as low as 20% to as high as 45% – 48%. The annual contribution limit for a SIPP is currently £ 60,000.
The UK recently lowered its capital gains tax (CGT) allowance from £12,300 to £3,000, which has implications for investors. This means that if a client has a highly concentrated position with an unrealised capital gain, then selling even a small percentage of that position could trigger large capital gains taxes. The Hargreaves Lansdown capital gains tracker shows clients their capital gains and current holdings, but does not provide forward-looking scenarios. Further, HL does not run a Mathematical Stress-Test on disposal scenarios.
The UK reduced the annual CGT allowance from £12,300 to £3,000 – a substantial change that affects investors with legacy positions in General Investment Accounts (GIAs). Small disposals that previously sat below the threshold may now generate taxable gains. Investors should consider their full position and seek advice from a qualified tax advisor.
HL’s Built-In Tools, Wealth Shortlist & the Tracking Gaps
This section of the Hargreaves Lansdown portfolio tracker provides an overview of HL’s built-in tools and features. Hargreaves Lansdown analytics provides a dashboard for clients that shows real-time valuations, transactions, dividends, and basic performance. HL also provides investors with investment reports that show details of recent transactions and account valuations. Another feature of this platform is the Wealth Shortlist, which is meant to help investors build diversified portfolios. The Wealth Shortlist contains a list of 65 funds across a wide range of industries and sectors. HL notes that the risk levels of these funds are not suitable for every investor and that it is not meant to be personal advice. Further, HL emphasizes that it is worth considering investment goals and Drawdown Tolerance before making any investment decision.
HL’s selection criteria for adding funds to its Wealth Shortlist are stringent. The company evaluates the fund’s manager(s), the investment company’s culture, the fund manager’s process for implementing trades, and the fund’s performance. HL makes it clear that past performance does not indicate future returns. Additionally, HL regularly provides investors with research updates regarding the funds on its Wealth Shortlist. New investors who are inexperienced in evaluating a fund’s performance and risk characteristics will likely find HL’s research worth the fund management charge. Conversely, experienced investors who regularly conduct their own analysis will likely be able to replicate HL’s research using Morningstar, JustETF, or similar platforms.
Although HL provides investors with a large amount of investment research and data, there are some gaps and limitations. As mentioned earlier, investors can see basic performance data, but the data does not distinguish between time–weighted rate of return (TWRR) vs. money–weighted rate of return (MWRR). The TWRR does not account for an investment’s inflows or outflows and is calculated as the geometric mean return. The MWRR does account for inflows and outflows, including all deposits and withdrawals, and is calculated as the internal rate of return (IRR). Sharesight notes that the TWRR is often used by portfolio managers, while the MWRR is the best method for investors. Both measures of return provide slightly different results, and HL does not disclose which method it uses to calculate returns.
Additionally, HL does not provide data on Drawdown Tolerance modelling and does not provide asset allocation drift alerts. The platform also does not provide clients with a multi-broker view. Finally, HL does not surface portfolio-level conviction logic. With Avex, Vault Sync handles HL imports, and a multi-broker view becomes possible, enabling investors to track HL holdings externally, which is also covered in our eToro review.
“There is a gap between the data HL provides and the data investors actually need. HL’s dashboard delivers surface-level metrics — basic performance and real-time valuations — while many investors require a deeper analytical layer: risk-return decomposition, forward-looking disposal scenarios, and household-level concentration analysis across wrappers and brokers.”
Former Affiliate Researcher at CFA Institute · Editorial Contributor at Avex AI
HL vs. Interactive Investor vs. AJ Bell
Interactive Investor and AJ Bell provide investors with similar investment products to HL, but with some differences in fee structures. Interactive Investor charges investors a flat fee, as opposed to charging a fee based on the percentage of funds. Interactive Investor’s flat fee starts to become mathematically advantageous relative to other investment platforms with a portfolio value of £35,000. AJ Bell’s fee structure is similar to that of HL. AJ Bell’s account charge does not exceed 0.25%, and it also imposes a dealing charge when clients place a trade. Additionally, clients incur foreign exchange charges with AJ Bell as they do with HL. AJ Bell’s product offering is similar to HL’s but lacks the research depth that HL provides.
HL’s main strengths consist of the research it provides for investors, its strong customer service, and its brand awareness. One of the main disadvantages of this platform is that the fees can build up quickly as clients invest more money. Additionally, HL lags behind on technological innovations, but that is one of the main reasons for the recent take-private acquisition. Overall, an investor with a low Drawdown Tolerance and a long Wealth Horizon will likely find HL suitable because of the platform’s emphasis on saving. Saving typically requires a long Wealth Horizon, especially when saving for retirement or for a major milestone such as a home purchase.
Weighing HL against a commission-free platform instead? Our Trading 212 portfolio tracker guide covers the opposite model — zero commission, different tracking gaps.
Who HL Is (and Isn’t) Built For
HL provides investors with multiple options for saving and investing, and some investors will find this platform more suitable for their goals and needs than others. An investor with £200,000 across ISAs and SIPPs who values in-depth research and UK-based phone support will likely find that HL is a good fit. HL offers multiple ISAs and SIPPs, which clients can use for saving for retirement or, in the case of JISAs, saving for a child’s future. Additionally, HL provides investors with thorough research on the funds in their Wealth Shortlist, and they have a strong customer service system.
Additionally, an investor who primarily invests in funds, as opposed to picking individual stocks, will likely find HL suitable for their needs. HL offers multiple funds with varying levels of risk, which gives investors the option to select funds that best align with their Drawdown Tolerance. Conversely, an investor who prefers to conduct their own investment research and pick their own stocks will likely find that HL does not meet their needs. This type of investor may not be able to justify paying HL’s fund management charge and using their Wealth Shortlist. Instead, this type of investor may prefer conducting their own analysis on platforms such as Morningstar or JustETF.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown is considered a safe platform and is heavily regulated by the FCA. Additionally, the FSCS covers up to £85,000 per investor if an investment company is in default, and up to £120,000 per investor if one of the banks used by HL is in default.
HL provides three steps for transferring an ISA. First, the client needs to complete a form online. HL notes that this form only takes a couple of minutes to complete. Second, the client needs to confirm their investment choices. Third, HL will work with the client’s current provider to confirm the transfer, which can take between two and six weeks.
Clients pay an annual account charge of 0.35% on a £100,000 portfolio. Clients may also incur dealing charges when trading securities and foreign exchange charges. There are no fees for opening or closing an account, and transferring money to and from other providers is free.
Clients can download their HL portfolio data through the HL portfolio export feature. Clients should first log into their account, then select ‘Portfolio history’ from the tab list. Then, the client can select the investment report they want to download under ‘Statements, valuations and pension illustrations’.
HL makes it clear that this acquisition does not affect clients’ funds and that these structural changes have no impact on the overall safety and security of its clients’ assets.
Closing: Tracking Math, Not a Verdict
This Hargreaves Lansdown portfolio tracker provides an overview of the key characteristics of the platform. HL is heavily regulated by the FCA, and the company has made efforts to ensure that the platform is safe for investors. HL’s fee structure is transparent, and investors should expect to pay annual account charges up to 0.35%, depending on how much they invest. Overall, this is a suitable platform for investors with a long Wealth Horizon who value saving and in-depth research.
