Is Hargreaves Lansdown Safe?

Company size:

Founded in 1981, Hargreaves Lansdown is a publicly-traded financial services company. Initially focused on tax planning, this firm, which describes itself as an ‘investments supermarket’, now provides numerous financial products, including of course currecy transfers.

As of 2019, they have 1,200 employees, all of whom work at Hargreaves Lansdown’s sole office in Bristol, UK. They took in £450 million in revenues in 2018 and turned a profit of just under £300 million before taxes.

Regulated By:

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Awards:

– Britain’s Most Admired Companies – Management Today (2017 & 2018)

– Best Direct Platform: Digital Experience – Platforum Awards 2018

– Best Platform for D2C – Professional Adviser Awards 2018

Conclusion:

Hargreaves Lansdown has come a long way from its humble beginnings. In 1981, co-founders Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown brought on their first client whilst living in a dorm room. Today, their company offers a comprehensive suite of investment products.

From SIPPs to ETFs and ISAs, Hargreaves Lansdown has become one of Britain’s most prominent investment giants. In 2018, they managed £91.6 billion in investments for more than a million clients.

Hargreaves Lansdown offers currency exchange as an ancillary service. However, like its other offerings, it does appear to be professionally managed, by a well-known and highly respect firm.

Hargreaves Lansdown Customer Reviews

Research:

We found most Hargreaves Lansdown reviews on two sites – Feefo and Trustpilot. As of April 2019, reviewers left 2,100 comments for Hargreaves Lansdown on Feefo, and 400 on Trustpilot.

Feefo respondents were generally satisfied, leaving an average score of 4.6/5. Trustpilot users were not as impressed, offering a grade of 3.9/10.

It’s important to mention the vast majority of these reviews on the two platforms hardly ever specify usage of the HL money transfer service. These are general opinions of the company’s service by its customers, not necessarily related to transferring money internationally through their service.

Conclusion:

HL Money transfer has overall good reviews by its customers but on TrustPilot there are hundreds of serious complaints to be found. We haven’t seen many comments relate specifically to its international currency services.

Hargreaves Lansdown Exchange Rates & Fees

Fees: £5 for online orders under £3,500, £10 for telephone orders under £7,500, and £7 for direct debits for orders under £500. However, Hargreaves Lansdown charges no fees for orders above the aforementioned thresholds.

Exchange Rates: Hargreaves Lansdown does not publicly disclose their exchange rates. However, they did provide a recent comparison between them and a ‘typical High Street bank’. As of 1 April 2019, they claimed to offer 11,499 EUR for 10,000 GBP. This transaction equates to a rate of 1.1499. That day, the interbank rate for GBP/EUR was 1.1602 – this means Hargreaves Lansdown had a margin of 0.8% in this example.

Limits: Direct debits are subject to a £250 minimum. Online and telephone-initiated currency transfers have no minimum threshold. Hargreaves Lansdown has no stated maximum limit for the currency transfer services they offer.

Conclusion:

Hargreaves Lansdown is an excellent option for sending large amounts of money abroad. However, better options exist for those looking to send amounts smaller than £3,500. They are a particularly poor choice for smaller businesses – unless you send direct debits consistently higher than £500, fees can add up quickly.

Hargreaves Lansdown Global Reach & Service

Research:

• Dedicated Dealer: Yes
• Offices: Bristol, UK
• Ways to approach: Phone, e-mail, physical mail
• Translations: English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
• Accepts clients: Accepts domestic and international clients. Restrictions, if any, are not specified.
• Currencies Handled: 21
• Client reviews: 4.6/5 on Feefo (2,100 reviews), 3.9/10 on Trustpilot (200 reviews)

Conclusion:

Hargreaves Lansdown only have one office (Bristol), and they accept clients from the UK and Europe, and their currency exchange business focuses on major world currencies, hence presenting a limited selection.

At present, representatives are proficient in five languages: English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish which is a nice advantage but a firm can hardly be considered international with one office in the UK and as little as 21 currencies handled.

Additional Functionalities

Currency exchange is just one of many financial services that Hargreaves Lansdown provides. This corporation also offers clients:

• ISAs
• Various pension structures (SIPP, annuities, drawdowns)
• Numerous investment vehicles (everything from ETFs to Spread Betting)
• Savings accounts

Conclusion:

This company grew to the behemoth it is today by offering investment services. If you need to move cash but want to get involved in trading, Hargreaves Lansdown is worth a look. Similarly if you’re already using Hargreaves Lansdown for some of their other financial services then using HL money transfer could be a good fit for you too.