In the back
[ PLATFORMS & PENSIONS ]
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With Hargreaves Lansdown cutting
its exit charges, John Blowers asks
if existing users should consider
switching to a different platform
Should I stay
or should
I go?
W
ith around 1.2 million
clients, Hargreaves
Lansdown dominates
the UK platform market
and it is unlikely you will have missed
the news that it has recently simplified
– and reduced – its charges.
The “star reduction” is the removal
of the unpopular exit fee and
account-closure charge which act
as a significant barrier to moving to
another platform or broker.
This unprompted generosity is
expected to cost Hargreaves around
£3m in lost revenue, but in reality, the
platform will barely notice this hit,
such is its scale and profitability.
Some commentators have speculated
it was about time the country’s most
expensive platform brought its pricing
FE TRUSTNET
It looks like Hargreaves jumped before it was pushed
into dropping exit fees in an attempt to generate some
positive PR in a year it will be keen to forget
in line with the competition, but it is
more likely that its generosity is being
driven by two factors:
• The Financial Conduct Authority has
declared war on exit fees and this
was the most notable fee reduction
in Hargreaves’ announcement
• Hargreaves has been embroiled in Neil some positive PR in a year it will be
Woodford’s fall from grace, retaining
his funds on its best-buy list long after
performance merited removal
It looks like Hargreaves jumped
before it was pushed into dropping
exit fees in an attempt to generate
keen to forget.
Several competitors had already taken
this step and the regulator is keen to
see barriers to free movement between
platforms removed so people don’t feel
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