Table of Contents
- HL clients can recover £100 worth of share trading charges
- The refund offer will be valid from today until June 21.
- Trading costs up to £11.95 normally with Hargreaves Lansdown
The products presented in this article are independently selected by This is Money’s specialized journalists. If you open an account using links that have an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence.
DIY investment giant Hargreaves Lansdown is offering investors £100 in share trading fees.
Hargreaves Lansdown* has launched £100 online trading fee refund For new and existing clients, buy or sell shares, investment trusts, ETFs, bonds or gilts from today until June 21.
But while Hargreaves Lansdown offers free share trading, its standard share trading fee of £11.95 is higher than many rivals, so is this a good deal? We take a look.
Hargreaves Lansdown has launched a £100 trading fee rebate to help reduce the cost of trading fees that impact returns.
Stock Trading: How Much Does It Cost?
Trading shares, investment trusts, corporate bonds and ETFs costs £11.95 per trade at Hargreaves Lansdown. If you trade more than 10 times a month, share trading costs are reduced to £8.95 and again to £5.95 if you trade more than 20 times a month.
The trading fee refund offer will help you recover a good amount of money, but it is worth noting that AJ Bell*has £5 dealing charges and Interactive investor*charges £3.99, while some app-based platforms such as Trade 212* They don’t charge anything at all, although they may not offer investment funds.
Interactive Investor has a £100 free trading offer*but that’s only if you open a new Isa before 19 May 2024.
Higher share trading charges make Hargreaves Lansdown one of the most expensive investment platforms for investing in shares, investment trusts and ETFs if you make multiple trades per month.
The flip side is that rivals including Interactive Investor and AJ Bell charge for trading mutual funds at £3.99 and £1.50 per trade respectively, something Hargreaves Lansdown offers for free.
HL’s fee structure can keep overall costs down for those who primarily buy and hold listed investments on the stock market by capping its annual account charge fee from 0.45 per cent to £45 for them.
Regular monthly investment in shares and some investment trusts is £1.50 with Hargreaves Lansdown, while dividend reinvestment is 1 per cent, with a minimum charge of £1 and a maximum of £10.
Investors pay an account fee of 0.45 per cent on their total fund investments up to £250,000, 0.25 per cent up to £1 million, 0.1 per cent up to £2 million sterling and nothing more.
See below for a more detailed breakdown and comparison of investment account fees.
Hargreaves Lansdown said that trading fee refund offer* is aimed at early bird investors.
Early Isa investors can earn higher returns. This is because they can earn up to an entire year of dividends and potential market growth sooner than those who leave until the end of the fiscal year to invest.
Someone who invested their entire Isa allowance into a global tracker on the first day of the tax year over the last decade would have seen their investments grow to £360,500, compared to £322,500 if they had left it until the last day.
If you spread your investment evenly over the year using regular investments, you would have £343,500, according to Hargreaves Lansdown’s numerical calculations.
Ruchir Rodrigues, commercial and client director at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Our share offering encourages investors to use the benefits of being an early riser to their advantage and help those who want to invest for a better future.”
‘Early investment is incredibly sensible. The start of the tax year is by far the best time to take advantage of your new Isa and Sipp allowances, either as a lump sum or by setting up a regular investment, via direct debit, to take advantage of compound growth.
‘Your savings and investments will be protected from tax immediately and for up to a year longer than if you left them until the end of the tax year.
‘Tax-free allowances on dividends and capital gains were reduced on 6 April to £500 and £3,000 respectively, making it even more important to act early in the tax year. ‘
Investing online is simple, affordable and you can do it from your computer, tablet or phone at a time and place that suits you.
When it comes to choosing a DIY investment platform, stocks and shares Isa or general investment account, the range of options can seem overwhelming.
Each provider has a slightly different offering, charging more or less to trade or hold shares and giving access to a different range of shares, funds and investment trusts.
When assessing which one is best for you, it is important to consider the service it offers, along with any administration and dealing charges, plus any other additional costs.
To help you compare the best investment accounts, we’ve looked at the facts and put together a complete guide to choosing the best and cheapest investment account for you.
We highlight the main players in the table below, but we recommend that you do your own research and consider the points in our full guide linked here.
>> This is Money’s complete guide to the best investment platforms and Isas
The platforms shown below are independently selected by This is Money’s dedicated journalists. If you open an account using links that have an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence.
| Administrative position | Notes of charges | Fund trading | Standard Shares, Trusts and ETF Trading | Regular investment | Dividend reinvestment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell* | 0.25% | Maximum £3.50 per month for shares, trusts and ETFs. | £1.50 | £5 | £1.50 | £1.50 per bid | More details |
| Bestinvest* | 0.40% (0.2% for ready-made wallets) | The account fee is reduced to 0.2% for investments already made | Free | £4.95 | Free for funds | Free for income funds | More details |
| Charles Stanley Live* | 0.35% | No platform fee on shares if a trade is made in that month and an annual maximum of £240 | Free | £11.50 | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Fidelity* | 0.35% on funds | £7.50 per month up to £25,000 or 0.35% with regular savings plan. | Free | £7.50 | Free Funds £1.50 Shares, ETF Trusts | £1.50 | More details |
| Hargreaves Lansdown* | 0.45% | Capped at £45 for shares, trusts and ETFs | Free | €11.95 | £1.50 | 1% (£1 minimum, £10 maximum) | More details |
| Interactive investor* | £4.99 per month under £50,000, £11.99 over, £10 extra for Sipp | Free trading worth £3.99 per month (does not apply to £4.99 plan) | €3.99 | €3.99 | Free | €0.99 | More details |
| iWeb | £100 one-off fee (not applied until July 2024) | £5 | £5 | n/a | 2%, maximum £5 | More details | |
| Accounts that have some limits but attractive offers | |||||||
| Etoro* No investment funds or Sipp | Free | The investment account offers stocks and ETFs. Be careful with high risk CFDs. | Not available | Free | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Trade 212 | Free | The investment account offers stocks and ETFs. Be careful with high risk CFDs. | Not available | Free | n/a | Free | More details |
| Free trade*No investment funds | Free basic account, Standard with Isa £4.99, Plus £9.99 | Freetrade Plus with more investments and Sipp costs £9.99/month inc. isa rate | Without funds | Free | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Vanguard Only Vanguard products. | 0.15% | Vanguard funds only | Free | Free Vanguard ETFs Only | Free | n/a | More details |
| (Source: ThisisMoney.co.uk, March 2024. The administrative percentage charge can be applied monthly or quarterly. | |||||||
