Central Securities Depository Regulation
What is the CSDR?
The Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR) is an EU regulation that governs how Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) and their participants operate. We use CREST (Euroclear) as our CSD, who hold most of our clients’ listed assets. Article 38 of the CSDR requires us to offer clients the choice between holding their qualifying assets in a segregated individual account, as opposed to grouped together with all other clients in an omnibus account, which is our default option for all clients.
How does it work? (omnibus vs segregated)
As default, we group clients’ assets together in nominee omnibus accounts in the name of Hargreaves Lansdown Nominees Limited and maintain detailed records of who the beneficial owners of each investment and asset within the omnibus accounts are. You now have the option to hold any eligible assets (those listed on a stock exchange and held by CREST) in an individual account, still in the name of Hargreaves Lansdown Nominees Limited, which isn’t shared with any other clients’ assets. Aside from no other client’s assets being held in the same account as yours are, there is no difference to how we would continue to manage and look after your investments.
We are subject to the client asset rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (CASS Rules), which contain strict and detailed requirements as to the maintenance of accurate books and records and the reconciliation of our records against those of the Central Securities Depositories with which accounts are held. We are also subject to regular audits in respect of our compliance with those rules. As long as books and records are maintained in accordance with the CASS Rules, clients should receive the same level of protection from both segregated accounts and omnibus accounts.
What assets can I segregate?
It is only possible to segregate listed assets that settle in CREST, the UK settlement system. It is not possible to segregate open-ended funds (Unit Trusts or OEICs).
For more information about which of your assets are eligible to be segregated, please contact our Helpdesk on 0117 900 9000, or send us a secure message.
What does it cost?
If you decide you would like to have your assets held in an individual segregated account, there will be an additional charge of £7,500 per year, per account that you would like segregated (e.g. Stocks and Shares ISA, SIPP etc.), on top of our usual account charges. This is to reflect the additional operating costs of an individual segregated account. The charge is collected on a monthly basis at the same time we collect our other account charges and will be applied pro rata based upon the amount of days in the previous month that the account has been open.
If you set up a segregated account, you will be charged for the account even if you do not currently hold any eligible assets.
How to apply
Before applying please ensure you have read our terms and conditions for the service and our Article 38(6) CSDR disclosure document, which sets out how segregation of assets interacts with English Insolvency Law.
If you would like to apply for your account(s) to be segregated, please print this form and send it to our office address. You will need to complete the details of all of your accounts that you would like to be segregated. Our address is 'Hargreaves Lansdown, One College Square South, Anchor Road, Bristol, BS1 5HL'.
If you would like any more information about this service, or to find out which assets you hold are eligible for this service, please call our Helpdesk on 0117 900 9000 or send us a secure message.
What if I no longer want a segregated account?
If you have previously set up a segregated account and you no longer want to have your assets segregated, please call our Helpdesk on 0117 900 9000, send a message via our secure message centre online, or write to our postal address.