Curiosity: why go with (example...) H/Lansdown, St James' Place?

B0bbyEwing

Something I wondered recently after seeing someone here be with Hargreaves Lansdown.

What makes you be with costlier providers like them and St James' Place rather than go elsewhere?

I was with H/Lansdown for years but as I learned more & the important of fees (although not the be all & end all), I found I could get the exact same funds I was investing in elsewhere for about half of what H/L were charging me - so I jumped. 

So just wondered what kept people investing with costlier providers? Is it because you can't get your investments elsewhere? Don't care for fees? They offer something really great that I've overlooked when I jumped ship?

eskbanker

Within the MSE bubble, there's plenty of choosing providers based primarily (or wholly) on price, but for the population at large the criteria do often encompass (perceptions of) customer service, reputation, scale, marketing, etc, and the likes of HL and SJP are more prominent on those measures....

ColdIron

SJP is in a different league to HL, they are not even close to being equivalent. HL offer a whole of market choice, while SJP have a very restricted range of in house funds. Also don't forget that SJP provide advice whereas (for most) HL do not. This has a value and is not free

That said, HL's 0.45% for OEICs is expensive especially for large portfolios (it doesn't really matter for small sums). Someone like IWeb will be far cheaper. But for ITs, ETFs etc they can be very reasonable

I have a 6 figure GIA with them (the Fund and Share account) which only contains ITs. For that they charge me £0 pa. The £11.95 dealing charge can be reduced to £0 with the monthly savings option. It is effectively free until you sell

With a similar portfolio in an ISA the most they can charge is £45 pa and £200 pa in a SIPP. For large portfolios this is pretty reasonable

As ever, horses for courses

Rich1976

Customer service, a decent app and website . Basically HL do what they should do without any ( or very few errors) in the 17 years I’ve been with them. Their charging structure is easy to understand. For instance they do not charge for swapping funds or for investing regularly. They also take the annual charge straight from the fund without the need for a separate direct debit or other faff to pay them.

i was with Vanguard for a period of a few months based purely on fees and their reputation but their customer service was no where as good as HL and the amount of basic errors they made were really disappointing.

ive looked at Interactive Investor but didn’t like their website and found it difficult to find funds unless you knew the names of them and that weren’t in their top funds they were promoting .

also looked at AJ Bell but they charge a £1.50 regular investing fee which when you add to their 0.25% annual fee I calculated would only save me about 0.10% compared to what I pay HL for the same fund. They also require a separate payment to be made for the charges I think which would mean I would need to make more money available just to pay this or reduce the amount I invest monthly to compensate.

so those are my reasons. I’m sure others will come back with counter arguments but it is not like inertia has stopped me moving. I have looked in great detail but appreciate the hassle free, stress free experience HL provide.

wmb194

HL's terrible* and I don't rate its website or app but it's useful for certain things e.g., it doesn't charge a fee to hold corporate bonds.

*I spent a couple of days figuring out why I couldn't withdraw a bond's coupon payment. I thought it just needed to clear or something but it turned out that I needed to transfer it from an income(?) account to a capital account and then I could withdraw it, all hidden away in the web interface. Absolutely ridiculous.

masonic

I'm quite tempted to transfer to HL for their generous cashback offer. I think I can afford to pay £80 extra for my SIPP for a year, and I'd actually save money on my S&S ISA if I moved it there now that Interactive Investor is giving back less and charging more. I have to wait for the clawback period for my last SIPP transfer incentive to expire before moving again.

DiamondLil

I recently moved investment trusts from CSD to HL.

I love the customer service from HL, which so far has been second to none and their monthly investment scheme is great value. I invest in ITs monthly into each of my accounts free of charges. The cost saving is not to be sniffed at.

I like the website too - easy to navigate and much more user friendly than some others.

TBC15

For some reason a few people feel comforted having an extra hand in their pocket.

ColdIron

TBC15 said:

For some reason a few people feel comforted having an extra hand in their pocket

Care to expand upon that?

boingy

I use HL because they offer a handy £25 monthly DD that qualifies for bank switches. I don't invest. I just draw the £25 back out each month and turn off the DD when I don't need it.

If anyone here invests with them please check their fees and think again...  

jaypers

I really like HL. Whenever I’ve need help they are easy to contact and just reliable generally. Probably a silly notion but with investments I feel a little more reassured being with a company such as them rather than a bargain basement outfit.