For many of its more than 2 million clients, cash is where that journey begins, with 1 in 5 people who come to HL for a Cash ISA going on to open an HL investment account within six months.
HL wrote to the new Chancellor last week to make the case for revisiting the reduction in the Cash ISA allowance, resharing the opinion that penalising prudent savers will not create investors. The better route, it says, is reforms like targeted support which provide people with tailored guidance to help build confidence and understanding in investing.
Alice Haine, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said:
"We completely support the Government’s ambition to get more people investing, but we aren’t convinced these proposals will deliver that outcome. The ISA has worked for decades precisely because it is simple and trusted, and these changes risk adding complexity that could make people more hesitant, not less. A Cash ISA is often the first step on a longer investment journey and the way to build a nation of investors is through confidence and clarity, not additional restriction.
People make long-term financial decisions on the basis that the rules will not keep shifting, and frequent change to something as widely used as the ISA risks unsettling the very savers the Government wants to turn into investors. There are also practical questions about the implementation timeline that do not appear to have been fully worked through, and our two million clients need clarity well ahead of any changes taking effect."
Notes to Editors
HL is the UK’s largest investment and savings platform for private investors and more than 2.2 million clients trust us with £205 billion (as of June 2026).
We help Britain build wealth, with confidence. Our promise is simple: to provide the best products, the best support and the best value. Founded in 1981, we’ve been helping people save and invest for a better financial future for more than four decades. We offer a lifelong, secure home for our clients’ investments and savings, combining great value with outstanding service, to make managing your money easier at every stage of life.
Our award-winning Savings & Resilience Barometer measures the nation’s financial resilience across our 5 to Thrive pillars, equipping people with the tools they need to strengthen their financial futures.
Saving and investing is for the whole family, and to support intergenerational wealth transfer, we’ve removed all platform charges and share dealing fees on our Junior ISA, meaning kids go free, and we’ve reduced the platform fee on our Lifetime ISA to 0.25%, supporting those savings for their first home or for retirement.
Regular saving into all funds, FTSE 350 shares, and selected investment trusts and ETFs is free.
Our clients also have access to the most comprehensive pension and retirement solution, including SIPP accounts, SIPP Income Drawdown, UFPLS payments and annuities, as well as over 14,000 investment options across funds, shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts.
HL Active Savings is the UK's largest retail cash savings platform that lets savers easily make more of their money and the HL Cash ISA allows savers to manage their Cash ISA portfolio across multiple banks, all within one account.