Hargreaves Lansdown eyes further price cuts this year

The chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown has said the group is considering cutting charges later this year following a surge of activity across the platform sector.

Hargreaves, the country’s largest D2C platform, was one of the first to announce its new, commission-free pricing ahead of the regulator’s April deadline.

It opted for an annual fee of 0.45% for clients with less than £250,000 in their portfolios, covering the vast majority of its client base.

Rivals such as Fidelity’s personal investing platform have since undercut Hargreaves on headline charges, with Fidelity introducing an AMC of 0.35%.

While charges are hard to compare in the sector given a number of add-on costs for trading, exiting and switching, rival platforms have nonetheless moved to put pressure on Hargreaves.

However, speaking exclusively to IFAonline sister title Investment Week, Ian Gorham (pictured) said his company’s own pricing was not a “one-shot” decision, and the group plans to review it after the end of the tax year.

“We will look at all charges as we want to be competitive,” he said. “There are one or two areas in particular we are interested in, and our charges are not locked in.”

Gorham said it was “quite possible” the platform could cut charges in 2014, adding in the long run prices on the platform have come down.

“We have never been afraid to lower charges,” he added.
Hargreaves has already U-turned on one aspect of its pricing following demands from users, scrapping plans to introduce a charge for investment trusts.

Hargreaves had initially intended to charge investors holding trusts a separate fee of 0.45% alongside any charge for owning shares, ETFs and bonds.

Categories: Wrap/platforms

Topics: Hargreaves Lansdown|Fidelity|platform