Genuine alternative to HL?

planteria

le_loup wrote: »

If you can't make sense of H-Ls literature and the various post on here and the tables of different platform's charges - should you be investing at all?

a bit harsh, i think. as i've been happy to make clear in this thread, picking the best value platform for my circumstances is not easy, so i can understand riccaricca finding it daunting. £94k is a good chunk of money, by any standards, so it is worth trying to get it as right as you can.

Totton

Help!! I hope this is the right thread.

Please can anyone explain to me whether it really is true what HL say in their letter sent out about their New Charges? (I’m not very financially savvy).

“Our new tariff means most clients will be better off”, is what they say.

Yes it most likely is as the majority of their customers will be the 'breakpoint' that many seem to think is around £40k to £50k without factoring the further reduction that may arise once the 'super-clean' range is announced in March.

Totton

I have 15 funds in HL Vantage stocks & Shares ISA, Plus 227 Royal Mail Shares. The funds are worth approx £71,000.

You will be penalised by an additional fee of up to £45 for holding the shares, the fee is payable over monthly instalments. Personally I would make a decision as to whether you want to hold funds or shares (including Investment Trusts).

Once you know what type of holding you want then you will find it easier to compare HL against the other platforms. If choosing both Equities and Funds, then you probably need to look for a flat fee platform or broker etc. Myself I have switched entirely to Investment Trusts for which Hargreaves Lansdown will charge me £0 in the Share a/c and £45 a year in the ISA account.

If the charges change and I need to move, then I may have missed the boat but for now I am happy with HL who have given me years of excellent service. I am sure that platform charges will be a merry-go-round until the regulator steps in and bangs a few heads together.

hyposmurf

As an alternative I'm currently looking at Charles Stanley Direct, who have lower charges 0.25% rather than H&L's 0.45%. There is also RPLAN at 0.35%. They also have a free comparison tool:

https://www.rplan.co.uk/Home/Tour#/1

grey_gym_sock

Totton wrote: »

Yes it most likely is as the majority of their customers will be the 'breakpoint' that many seem to think is around £40k to £50k without factoring the further reduction that may arise once the 'super-clean' range is announced in March.

there are 2 different questions:
(1) will you be better off under HL's new charges than before?
(2) would you be better off again with another provider?

if holding mostly actively managed funds, in ISA + fund&share account, then the answers to both (1) and (2) are likely to be yes - regardless of size of investments.

(however, the cheapest provider to move to will vary, depending on size of investments.)

£40k-£50k has been been mentioned as a size of SIPP below which HL may offer reasonable value.

Totton wrote: »

You will be penalised by an additional fee of up to £45 for holding the shares, the fee is payable over monthly instalments.

with 227 royal mail shares as the only holding in individual shares, there is a charge to hold them in an ISA with HL, but it's only c. £6 per year (and this charge falls slightly with the new charges).

(there are other providers who'd charge 0 for that instead of £6.)

planteria

Totton wrote: »

Yes it most likely is as the majority of their customers will be the 'breakpoint' that many seem to think is around £40k to £50k without factoring the further reduction that may arise once the 'super-clean' range is announced in March.

the breakpoint being: below c£40-50k total portfolio HL offers good value, but above c£40-50k total portfolio it is better to be using another platform:question:

planteria

hyposmurf wrote: »

As an alternative I'm currently looking at Charles Stanley Direct, who have lower charges 0.25% rather than H&L's 0.45%. There is also RPLAN at 0.35%. They also have a free comparison tool:

https://www.rplan.co.uk/Home/Tour#/1

yes, it looks to me that moving away from HL is almost certainly a good idea for everyone...it's just a matter of where to, and i agree with Totton in that platform costs could well become a merry-go-round. i like the strategy that you've moved to ITs.. again, one of the things coming out of the changes are that it makes you re-think your strategy, aswell as your broker.

Watsy

I was planning on setting up a SS ISA with H&L for a VLS 60% and maybe moving my cash ISA over to S&S as well. Really like the look of the HL website as it appeals to a novice like myself but it makes me reconsider when I see folks looking for alternatives due to the extra charges they receive because of their portfolio wealth.

I'd have around £25k invested over the next few years so their charges for me would still be competitive compared to others. I'll likely go with them for a few years anyhow and consider transferring down the road in a number of years should I gain enough wealth to make their charges unrealistic compared to other providers.

Edit: There's also the chance that in a few years I'll have completely forgot about charges and they'll be hammering me and I don't realise it.

ColdIron

Watsy wrote: »

I'd have around £25k invested over the next few years so their charges for me would still be competitive compared to others

Pardon me but they'd be just as uncompetitive. The VLS with HL will cost £112.50 pa, with Charles Stanley Direct it would be £62.50. Interactive Investor charge a flat £80 pa and the break-even point where this becomes genuinely competitive is about £32,000

I agree that the HL website is good for beginners but you'd have to ask if it's really worth £1,125 after 10 years, and don't forget the exit fees on switching. HL have their place but for a single investment tracker I can't see the value

Watsy

Thanks ColdIron for pointing out they aren't as competitive as I'd thought then. I'd got my information from a chart that showed how various platforms compared with varying sizes of portfolios and in the smaller ones the HL fees were fairly in line with the other ones.

Much homework needs to be done on my part, I'll have a look at Charles Stanley Direct and for what it's worth I had previously looked at Interactive Investor and had been considering them.