Site access
Recommendations 
Q&A forum 
Events
Seeking security
Q:
My wife and I have transferred ISAs, shares and unit trusts totalling around £135k to the Hargreaves Lansdown Vantage Service. The investments are held in the name of Hargreaves Lansdown Nominees, but we remain the beneficial owners.
In view of the recent problems in the banking sector I am wondering what our position
would be if Hargreaves Lansdown became insolvent. Would the full value of our investments be returned to us, and how straightforward would this be to arrange?
Many thanks.
Mr R Taylor, via email
A:
Anna Bowes replies:
Hargreaves Lansdown’s financial situation has absolutely no link to the situation in the banking sector – HL is an independent financial adviser (IFA).
Within the Vantage Service, the underlying investments remain invested into the underlying investment companies and, even then, are ringfenced should there be problems with these underlying companies. So your money is secure, although not guaranteed.
In the unlikely event that HL were to become insolvent, you would still be able to access the money invested in the underlying funds by simply writing to the companies and asking for the money to be encashed. However, there would be no reason to do this unless you need the money, as encashing your ISAs would mean that you lose the allowances forever.
HL has a section on its website entitled ‘How safe is your investment?’, which may help put your mind at ease.
There are currently no comments on this post.
Advertisement
More Q&A forum
Ask a question
Suspended animation
22 August 2008 [0 comments]Q:
I currently hold shares in an AIM-listed company and was about to sell these to realise losses (to offset against gains elsewhere), but the shares have since been suspended and I think the company is now in administration.
The current value based on the suspended price is around £1,400, and the realised losses based on that value would be around £12,000.
The losses are more valuable to me at the moment than the actual value of the shares themselves, and I need those available by the end of this tax year. I assume it’s not possible to roll gains forward?
Is there any way that I can now realise these losses given that I cannot sell the shares? I am wondering if gifting them might be a way of releasing the losses? I’m thinking perhaps either to my brother (but am not sure what tax implications this might have for him) or to charity (and whether I could then claim tax relief on the value gifted)?
Is any of this possible, or are there any better alternative routes? Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Mrs K Hall
Kent
- Disappearing trust 15 August 2008 [0 comments]
- The limitations of nominees 8 August 2008 [0 comments]
- Further information 1 August 2008 [0 comments]
- Downsizing option 25 July 2008 [0 comments]
- Taxing questions 18 July 2008 [0 comments]
More Q&A forum
Recommendations
Investors' blog
Brighter later
26 August 2008 [0 comments]Andy Parson, fund manager at The Share Centre, suggests that the financial arena will get much worse before it gets better, in his latest blog for www.whatinvestment.co.uk
The Money Doctor
22 August 2008 [0 comments]Andrew Merricks considers how investing in growth stocks can ease your IHT liability
There’s no time like the present
20 August 2008 [0 comments]Keiron Root reminds readers of one of the fundamental rules of successful investing
Events
Top 10 Inv Trusts, 1yr%
| F&C Private Equit... | +130.0 | ||
| Lazard Egypt Trust | +53.4 | ||
| European Utilitie... | +33.7 | ||
| BlackRock Latin A... | +29.9 | ||
| Close Enhanced Co... | +27.1 | ||
| 3i Infrastructure | +25.8 | ||
| Mithras Investmen... | +23.2 | ||
| M & G Equity Inve... | +21.3 | ||
| HSBC Infrastructure | +21.1 | ||
| BlackRock Commodi... | +17.8 | ||