Hargreaves Lansdown cuts fees on Junior and Lifetime Isa investments to attract younger investors, but standard Isa fees remain at 0.45%
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Hargreaves Lansdown has reduced its fees for Lifetime Isas and waived them entirely for Junior Isas to encourage young people to build their savings.
The DIY investment platform has waived all platform fees, trading commissions and exchange fees for all existing and new Junior Isa accounts.
It has also removed the standard £12.95 flat rate stock trading fee and its foreign exchange, regular savings, dividend reinvestment and telephone trading fee remains however.
Hargreaves Lansdown has reduced its Junior Isa fee and reduced Lifetime Isa fee to 0.25%
This move now makes Hargreaves Lansdown* one of the cheapest stocks and Junior stocks on the market.
Fees at AJ Bell* start at 0.25% with share trades starting at £9.95 each, dropping to £4.95 for more than ten trades per month.
Interactive Investor* charges a flat fee of £9.99 per month to open a Junior Isa under its Investor plan, although you get your first trade free each month.
> Read our guide on how Junior Isa works and find out whether to choose cash or invest
Hargreaves Lansdown has also reduced its platform fee for its Lifetime Isa for new and existing customers from 0.45% to 0.25% starting this week.
This is taken from the value of investment funds in an account. Traded investments, such as stocks, ETFs and investment trusts, also have a platform fee of 0.25%, but these are capped at £45 per year.
The move aligns Hargreaves Lansdown with AJ Bell’s Lifetime Isa, which currently charges a 0.25% fee.
Ruchir Rodrigues, Chief Client and Commercial Officer, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “We believe saving and investing is for the whole family – across generations. We want to go further to help those who are just starting their investment journey.
“From our scale and unrivaled customer insights, we can see that parents and grandparents are taking money out to support their children and grandchildren during these difficult times.
“We also recognize the need to encourage younger generations to save and invest to improve their financial resilience. We believe this is the most important end of the fiscal year not only in a generation, but also for generations.
Fees for standard Hargreaves Lansdown shares and Isas shares remain the same.
Mark Polson, director of investment consultants at Lang Cat, welcomed the price cut, but said the price revision came at the expense of other clients.
He said: “Is HL really saying that the maintenance costs of a JISA and a LISA are different enough from a standard Isa to justify that these products are free and that the standard Isa still costs 45 points of base [0.45 per cent]?
“If you’re considering price cuts, that’s fine, but make sure those cuts are fair and proportionate across the board.”
“The big price gap between HL and others has always been defensible for service reasons. However, as the gap has widened on price, it has narrowed on service due to more and more processes digitizing and other vendors simply stepping up their game.
So, HL looks more and more off for “normal” Isas and Sipps and general investment accounts now.
“That means what’s pretty much keeping the price high is inertia, and history tells us that’s not a good long-term strategy.” If HL is hoping it’s a pressure valve release, we don’t think it will last long.
Compare the Best DIY Investment Platforms and Isa Stocks & Stocks
Investing online is simple, inexpensive and can be done from your computer, tablet or phone when and where it’s convenient for you.
When it comes to choosing a DIY investment platform, Isa stocks and shares, or a general investment account, the range of options can seem overwhelming.
Each provider has a slightly different offering, charging more or less for trading or holding stocks and providing access to a different range of stocks, funds and investment trusts.
When choosing the one that’s right for you, it’s important to consider the service it offers, as well as the administration and trading fees, and any other additional costs.
To help you compare the best investment accounts, we’ve analyzed the facts and put together a comprehensive guide to choosing the best and cheapest investment account for you.
We highlight the major players in the table below, but advise you to 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 presented below are independently selected by This is Money’s specialist 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.
| Administration fees | Expense | fund trading | Standard Stock, Trust, ETF Trading | Regular investment | Reinvestment of dividends | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Bell* | 0.25% | Max £3.50 per month for stocks, trusts, ETFs. | £1.50 | £9.95 | £1.50 | £1.50 per transaction | More details |
| Bestinvest* | 0.40% (0.2% for out-of-the-box wallets) | Account maintenance fees reduced to 0.2% for ready-to-use investments | Free | £4.95 | Free for funds | Free for income funds | More details |
| Charles Stanley live | 0.35% | No stock platform fees if a trade is made that month and an annual maximum of £240 | Free | £11.50 | n / A | n / A | More details |
| Loyalty* | 0.35% on funds | Fees from £45 up to £7,500. Max £45 per year for stocks, trusts, ETFs | Free | £10 | Free funds £1.50 stocks, ETF trusts | £1.50 | More details |
| Hargreaves Lansdown* | 0.45% | Capped at £45 for stocks, trusts and ETFs | Free | £11.95 | £1.50 | 1% (minimum £1, maximum £10) | More details |
| Interactive Investor* | £9.99 per month, or £4.99 under £30,000, £12.99 for Sipp | £5.99 per month back in free trading credit (not applicable to £4.99 plan) | £5.99 | £5.99 | Free | €0.99 | More details |
| iWeb | £100 single | £5 | £5 | n / A | 2%, maximum £5 | More details | |
| Etoro* | Free but not Isa or Sipp | The investment account offers stocks and ETFs. Beware of high risk CFDs in the trading account | Not available | Free | n / A | n / A | More details |
| Free exchange* | Free for Basic account, £4.99 per month for Standard account with Isa | Freetrade Plus with more investments and Sipp is £9.99/month including tax. Isa Fee | no funds | Free | n / A | n / A | More details |
| Avant-garde | 0.15% | Only Vanguard funds | Free | Free Vanguard ETFs only | Free | n / A | More details |
| (Source: ThisisMoney.co.uk January 2023. A percentage administrative charge may be levied monthly or quarterly | |||||||
