Competition alert is blow for Hargreaves Lansdown | Business

Hargreaves Lansdown has been one of the big winners from the wild swings that have roiled markets on and off since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Big swings, however, can go both ways. Despite a sudden return of volatility with the emergence of the Omicron Covid variant, Britain’s largest DIY investment platform was the heaviest faller in the FTSE 100 on Monday after an influential broker turned negative on its prospects.

Shares in the group dropped by 80p, or 5.6 per cent, to £13.41½ on a downgrade to “underweight” from “equalweight” by Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street investment bank, citing the mounting competition it faces.

Hargreaves runs a platform that allows its customers to trade shares and funds, as well as to manage Isas