Hargreaves Lansdown shares fall as rivals cut prices

27th Jan 2014 16:31

Shares in stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown took a hit as it came under pressure from price-cutting by rival brokers.The stock dropped 5.5% to 1,426p as Barclays unveiled a new platform pricing regime for fund investments said to be in line with rival Fidelity, but undercutting Hargreaves by 10 basis points for smaller investors.Barclays will offer capped charging with a minimum fee of £35 per account a year and a maximum of £1,750, with no charges for fund transactions.Earlier this month, Fidelity announced it would introduce service charges per customer next month of 0.35% for assets up to £250,000 and 0.2% for assets above that level, with no charge for assets of more than £1m.Hargreaves also announced its own price review, setting a 0.45% per year charge for fund investments up to £250,000, 0.25% a year for investments between £250,000 and £1m and 0.1% per year for amounts between £1m and £2m.Chief Executive Ian Gorham said at the time: "We are now reducing the cost of investing in funds, saving our clients an estimated £8m per annum. As a result, most clients will be paying even less when investing through Hargreaves Lansdown."In September, Hargreaves boosted annual pre-tax profit by 28% to £195.2m as it cashed in on people switching from banks and financial advisers to stand-alone brokers.PW