Old hands vs new kids on the block: Investment platforms battle for customers Investing Last year marked a significant change in attitudes towards retail investing in the UK, after the Treasury made tearing consumers away from the safety of their cash savings a firm ambition. In the government’s bid to revitalise London’s flagship index, Rachel Reeves slashed the cash ISA allowance from £20,000 to £12,000, introduced a three year [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown overhauls fees in face of rising competition Business The UK’s largest DIY investment platform is reducing fees for roughly half of its 2m-plus customers as it continues to face escalating competition within the industry. Hargreaves Lansdown said it will cut its annual account and share dealing fees, but add a charge for fund trading in its first overhaul of pricing in more than [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown swipes new chief executive from Vanguard Investing Britain’s biggest investment platform has poached a senior member of tracker funds giant Vanguard to be its new chief executive. Hargreaves Lansdown has appointed Matt Benchener as chief executive officer from July 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Benchener runs Vanguard’s personal investment business in the US, which has several million clients, and will join the [...]
Former Hargreaves Lansdown head of money Susannah Streeter to join Wealth Club January 8, 2026 One of the City’s best-known market commentators has jumped ship to Wealth Club to become the firm’s new chief investment strategist. Susannah Streeter, who previously worked at Hargreaves Lansdown for five years, will take up her position at the investment service, which is aimed at assisting high net worth individuals from 12 January. Streeter will lead [...]
Shares down as Tesco hits 10-year UK market share high amid festive boom January 8, 2026 After a “strong Christmas” period, Tesco now anticipates its full-year adjusted operating profit will reach the upper end of its £2.9bn to £3.1bn forecast range. In its Q3 update, the FTSE 100 giant revealed its total group sales reached £24.9bn for the 19-week period. It was the Republic of Ireland that had a strong food [...]
Next shares rise after Christmas shopping frenzy January 6, 2026 Next shares jumped on Tuesday after the high street staple toasted another frenzied Christmas shopping period. The FTSE 100 group’s stock soared as much as 5 per cent to 14,265 pence, with shares now up by almost a fifth over the past six months after it hailed a 10.6 per cent jump in fourth-quarter full [...]
Active, passive, or robot? Choosing your ISA management style December 9, 2025 Deciding to open a Stocks and Shares ISA is only the first step. The more critical decision—and the one that will determine your fees, stress levels, and potential returns—is how that money is managed. There are several distinct management styles, ranging from AI-driven algorithms to traditional human expertise. Understanding the difference between robo, self-managed, discretionary, [...]
Budget: Blow to investors and startups ‘hidden’ in small print November 26, 2025 A blow to investors and early-stage businesses has been revealed in the small print of Rachel Reeves‘ Budget. The tax relief available on venture capital trusts has been slashed, according to the full Budget document released by the Treasury following Reeves’s speech in the House of Commons. While the venture capital trusts’ annual and lifetime [...]
Reeves plans stamp duty holiday in Budget to boost London listings November 25, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a stamp duty holiday for new listings on the London Stock Exchange in Wednesday’s Budget as the government ramps up efforts to revive the index. The move will wipe out the 0.5 per cent stamp duty tax investors are forced to pay upon buying shares that are newly [...]
Autumn Budget: What does the income tax U-turn mean for your salary? November 14, 2025 In a major U-turn, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ is understood to have ripped up plans to hike income tax in the looming Autumn Budget. Reeves was poised to hitch up income tax by 2p at the end of the month, whilst cutting national insurance – for lower earners – by the same amount. While the decision [...]