FTSE 100 Oil Exposure in 2026: How Much Crude Do You Own?
[…]
Nutmeg vs Hargreaves Lansdown: Which Is Better for UK Investors in 2026?
One runs your portfolio for you, the other hands you the keys. We compare Nutmeg, now J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, against Hargreaves Lansdown on fees, accounts, choice and who each one actually suits. Fees and product details checked August 2026.
☆☆☆☆☆ Rated 4.2 out of 5
Nutmeg (J.P. Morgan)
Managed portfolios from 0.45%
Capital at risk.
☆☆☆☆☆ Rated 4.4 out of 5
Hargreaves Lansdown
DIY platform, 0.35% a year
Capital at risk.
Managed portfolios from 0.45%
DIY platform, 0.35% a year
Brief overview
Nutmeg launched in the UK in 2011 and was bought by J.P. Morgan in 2021. In November 2025 it was rebranded J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, though most people still search for it as Nutmeg. It is a discretionary manager rather than a broker: you answer questions about your goal and risk appetite, pick one of six investment styles, and a professional team builds and rebalances an ETF portfolio for you. You never choose an individual investment.
Hargreaves Lansdown has been running since 1981 and is the largest direct to consumer investment platform in the UK, with more than two million clients. It is a DIY platform: you choose what to buy from roughly 3,000 funds plus UK and overseas shares, investment trusts, ETFs, gilts and bonds. It also sells ready made portfolios and a paid advice service for people who would rather not choose.
Nutmeg vs Hargreaves Lansdown at a glance
| Criteria | Nutmeg (J.P. Morgan) |
Hargreaves Lansdown |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | ||
| Best for | People who want a portfolio managed for them | DIY investors who want choice and research |
| Regulator | FCA (J.P. Morgan Personal Investing Ltd, FRN 552016) | FCA (Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Ltd, FRN 115248) |
| Platform or account fee | Included in the management fee | 0.35% on funds to £250,000 |
| Managed portfolio fee | 0.75% to £100,000, then 0.35% | Not applicable on the DIY platform |
| Cheapest managed option | Fixed Allocation at 0.45% to £100,000 | Ready-Made Investments, fund charges apply |
| Shares and ETF holding charge | Not applicable | 0.35%, capped at £150 a year |
| Fund dealing | No dealing charges | £1.95 per one-off trade |
| Share and ETF dealing | No dealing charges | £6.95, or £3.95 above 20 trades a month |
| Regular monthly investing | Included | Free by direct debit |
| Minimum investment | £500 ISA, GIA and pension; £100 LISA and Junior ISA | £100 lump sum or £25 a month |
| Stocks and Shares ISA | Yes | Yes |
| Lifetime ISA | Yes | Yes, 0.25% capped at £3.75 a month |
| Junior ISA | Yes, standard fee applies | Yes, no account charge |
| Pension or SIPP | Personal Pension, managed | SIPP and Junior SIPP, self invested |
| General investment account | Yes | Fund and Share Account |
| Cash ISA or savings | No | Cash ISA and Active Savings |
| Individual shares | No | UK and overseas shares |
| Funds and ETFs | ETFs chosen by the investment team | Around 3,000 funds plus listed ETFs |
| Ready made portfolios | Six investment styles by risk level | Ready-Made Investments and Wealth Shortlist |
| Automatic rebalancing | Yes | No |
| Exit or transfer fee | None in cash, £20 per line in specie | None |
| FSCS protection | Up to £85,000 on investments | Up to £85,000 on investments |
| Customer support | Phone, email, chat and in-app messaging | UK helpdesk by phone, email and message |
| Mobile app | App first, simple by design | Full dealing and research app |
Fees and product details checked August 2026. Always confirm current terms on the provider’s own site.
Fees and charges
1. What you are actually paying for
Nutmeg
The annual management fee covers everything: portfolio construction, rebalancing and the platform itself. Managed styles cost 0.75% a year on the first £100,000 and 0.35% above that. Fixed Allocation, the cheaper hands off option, costs 0.45% on the first £100,000 and 0.25% above. Both figures include VAT, and the fee is calculated daily and collected monthly.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown charges a platform fee only; the cost of the investments sits on top and you choose it. Funds are charged 0.35% a year up to £250,000, then 0.25% to £1m and 0.10% to £2m. Shares, ETFs, investment trusts, gilts and bonds are charged 0.35% but capped at £12.50 a month, which works out at £150 a year.
2. The headline annual charge
Nutmeg
For most people the headline is 0.75%. On a £20,000 ISA in a Fully Managed portfolio that is £150 a year before the underlying ETF charges. Choosing Fixed Allocation instead brings it down to £90. The fee is not negotiable and there is no cap, so it keeps rising with your balance until you pass £100,000.
Hargreaves Lansdown
The cap is what makes Hargreaves Lansdown cheaper than it first looks. Because the share and ETF charge stops at £150 a year, the effective percentage falls as your holdings grow. Above roughly £42,900 held in ETFs you pay a flat £150 however large the portfolio gets. Our Broker Fees Calculator will work the crossover out on your own numbers. Funds have no cap within the 0.35% tier, so a fund only portfolio behaves differently.
3. Dealing and other charges
Nutmeg
There are no dealing charges, because you do not deal. Two other costs apply. Underlying ETF charges are taken inside the funds and reflected in performance rather than billed separately, and a small market spread applies whenever trades are placed. Moving investments out in specie costs £20 per line of stock, though a cash transfer carries no exit fee.
Hargreaves Lansdown
One-off fund trades cost £1.95. Share, ETF and investment trust trades cost £6.95 online, dropping to £3.95 if you placed 20 or more trades in the previous month. Regular monthly investing by direct debit is free for both funds and shares. Dealing by phone or post costs £29. There are no exit fees, and government stamp duty of 0.5% applies to UK share purchases.
Work out what you would actually pay
Run both platforms through our calculators before you decide.
Account types and minimums
1. Available account types
Nutmeg
A Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, Personal Pension and General Investment Account. Alongside these sit free financial guidance calls and a separately priced regulated advice service, charged at £450 for an advice review, £900 for core planning and £1,350 for enhanced planning, all including VAT. See how the ISA stacks up in our best stocks and shares ISAs guide.
Hargreaves Lansdown
A Stocks and Shares ISA, Fund and Share Account, Lifetime ISA, Junior Stocks and Shares ISA, Bare Trust Account, SIPP and Junior SIPP. Hargreaves Lansdown also runs a Cash ISA and Active Savings, which lets you hold savings products from a panel of banks in the same login, plus its own regulated advice service.
2. Minimum investment
Nutmeg
£500 to open a Stocks and Shares ISA, General Investment Account or Personal Pension. The Lifetime ISA and Junior ISA both start at £100. That £500 entry point is the higher of the two platforms here, so it is worth knowing about if you are starting small or testing the service before committing.
Hargreaves Lansdown
You can open an account with a £100 lump sum or start a monthly direct debit from £25. There is no minimum for holding cash and no charge for an empty account, so it is straightforward to open one and fund it later.
Platform and app experience
1. Interface and ease of use
Nutmeg
The website and app are clean and deliberately uncluttered, because there is very little for you to do. You set a goal, choose a risk level and a style, then leave it alone. The projection tools are among the clearer examples in UK investing apps: they show how contribution size and risk level change the likely outcome over time.
Hargreaves Lansdown
The site is large and shows its age in places, because it carries decades of research, factsheets and tools. Everything is there, but reaching a specific screen can take a few clicks. Once you know your way around, that depth is the point: fund factsheets, charting, dividend histories and the research team notes all sit in one place.
2. Mobile app
Nutmeg
The app is how most customers use the service and covers everything they need: contributions, withdrawals, pot management, performance and secure messaging. Because the portfolio is managed for you, there is no order ticket or watchlist to learn.
Hargreaves Lansdown
The app handles dealing, research, live prices, watchlists and account admin, and it is rated well in both app stores. It is a genuine trading and research tool rather than a companion to the website.
3. Tools and automation
Nutmeg
Automation is the product. Monthly direct debits, rebalancing and dividend reinvestment all happen without input from you. Pots let you run several goals side by side inside one wrapper, each with its own risk level and time horizon.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free regular monthly investing by direct debit is the main piece of automation. Income and dividend reinvestment runs automatically once income reaches £10 per holding, at no charge. Beyond that you drive: there is no automatic rebalancing, so holding a target allocation over time is your job.
Investment choice
1. Individual shares
Nutmeg
None. You cannot buy an individual company share through Nutmeg. Portfolios are built from ETFs selected by the investment team. J.P. Morgan has said a full DIY platform allowing share dealing is planned, but at the time of writing it is not live.
Hargreaves Lansdown
UK and overseas shares across the major markets, plus investment trusts, gilts, corporate bonds, Venture Capital Trusts and Long-Term Asset Funds. If you want to hold a single company directly, this is the side of the comparison that allows it.
2. ETFs and funds
Nutmeg
Six investment styles: Fully Managed, Smart Alpha, Socially Responsible Investing, Thematic Investing, Income Investing and Fixed Allocation. Each comes in a range of risk levels. You choose the style and the risk level; the investment team chooses the ETFs inside it and changes them when they judge it necessary.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Roughly 3,000 funds from most major managers, plus the full range of London listed ETFs. Hargreaves Lansdown negotiates discounts on more than 500 funds, publishes the Wealth Shortlist of researched picks, and offers Ready-Made Investments and HL Building Blocks for people who want a starting point rather than a blank page.
3. What else is available
Nutmeg
Nothing outside the managed portfolios. There is no share dealing, no cash savings marketplace, no crypto and no leverage. Uninvested money sits in a cash pot, which carries no management fee.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Active Savings gives access to fixed term and easy access savings products from a panel of banks, and there is a separate Cash ISA. Uninvested cash inside the investment accounts earns tiered interest and carries no holding charge.
Safety and regulation
1. Regulation
Nutmeg
J.P. Morgan Personal Investing is a trading name of J.P. Morgan Personal Investing Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 552016. The company is registered in England and Wales, number 07503666, at 25 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown is a trading name of Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 115248. It is registered in England and Wales, number 01896481, at 1 College Square South, Anchor Road, Bristol.
2. How your money is protected
Nutmeg
Investments are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000 per eligible person if the firm fails. That protection covers firm failure, not investment losses: a portfolio that falls in value is not a compensation event, however far it falls.
Hargreaves Lansdown
The same £85,000 investment limit applies. Client cash is held separately at a panel of UK banks, and cash deposits carry their own FSCS limit of £120,000 per banking licence, which is why balances are spread across several banks. These are two different protections covering different things and should never be added together.
Customer support
1. How to get in touch
Nutmeg
Phone, email, live chat and in-app secure messaging, available on weekdays. Clients can also arrange to meet a member of the team in person at the London office, which is unusual for a managed service at this price point.
Hargreaves Lansdown
A UK-based helpdesk reachable by phone, email and secure message, backed by a large support operation. Hargreaves Lansdown has won repeated awards for client service, and it is one of the reasons long-standing clients stay put despite higher costs than newer rivals.
2. What to expect
Nutmeg
Because the relationship is managed rather than transactional, most queries concern contributions, transfers and tax wrappers rather than trades. Live chat is usually answered the same day; secure messages can take longer.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Volume is far higher, so waiting times around peak periods such as the run up to the April tax year end can stretch. Outside those windows the helpdesk is generally quick, and telephone contact is genuinely available rather than buried behind a chatbot.
Learning resources
1. Guides and research
Nutmeg
A large library of insights and guides covering ISAs, pensions, property, tax year end and investing principles, plus calculators for ISAs, pensions, compound returns, capital gains tax and self-employed tax. The material is written for people who are delegating, so it explains concepts rather than teaching fund selection.
Hargreaves Lansdown
An in-house research department producing fund and share notes, market reports, the Wealth Shortlist and a substantial learn section. The depth is aimed squarely at people making their own decisions, and it is one of the stronger research offerings among UK direct to consumer platforms.
2. Advice and guidance
Nutmeg
Free financial guidance calls are open to all clients, and regulated advice can be bought separately at fixed prices. Guidance is not advice: it explains the options available without recommending a course of action, which is a distinction worth understanding before booking.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Regulated financial advice is available through Hargreaves Lansdown advisers, typically charged as a percentage of the assets advised on rather than a flat fee. There is also a Portfolio Management Service for clients who want discretionary management, which moves the offer closer to what Nutmeg does by default.
3. Who it suits
Nutmeg
Best for someone who wants investing to happen without their involvement. If choosing funds feels like a chore or a risk, paying a professional to run the portfolio is a legitimate trade. The fee buys a decision you would otherwise have to make, and keep making, every year.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Best for someone who wants choice and will actually use it. The platform fee is lower, but you are buying access rather than management, and the value depends entirely on whether the research and the range get used.
Which platform suits which investor
1. Best for
Nutmeg
People consolidating several old pensions into one managed pot, parents opening a Junior ISA they have no intention of managing, and anyone who wants a recognisable institution behind the portfolio. If the pension is the main goal, compare it against our best SIPP providers guide first.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Investors who hold individual shares or investment trusts, people with larger ETF holdings who benefit from the £150 cap, and anyone who wants a Cash ISA, a savings marketplace and their investments behind one login. Hargreaves Lansdown also appears in our Hargreaves Lansdown vs Interactive Investor comparison.
2. Less suited to
Nutmeg
Anyone who wants to hold a specific share or fund, cost-focused investors who would rather pay a platform fee and pick a cheap global tracker themselves, parents opening a Junior ISA, since Hargreaves Lansdown charges nothing at all to hold one, and anyone starting with less than £500, which is the minimum on the ISA, General Investment Account and pension.
Hargreaves Lansdown
People who do not want to choose investments at all, and small share portfolios where £6.95 per one-off trade is a meaningful percentage of the amount being invested. Free regular monthly investing removes that second problem for anyone able to work to a schedule.
3. A note on costs
Nutmeg
The 0.75% is not directly comparable with a platform fee, because it includes management you would otherwise do yourself. Set against a traditional wealth manager it is inexpensive. Set against a DIY platform plus a cheap index fund it is not, and that is the comparison most readers are actually making. Run both through the fees calculator before deciding.
Hargreaves Lansdown
The 0.35% is only part of the bill. Add the ongoing charge of whatever you buy, plus dealing costs if you trade outside the free monthly direct debit. A portfolio of expensive active funds held at Hargreaves Lansdown can quite easily cost more in total than a Fixed Allocation portfolio at Nutmeg.
Pros and cons
Nutmeg (J.P. Morgan Personal Investing)
Cons
Pros
Hargreaves Lansdown
Cons
Pros
Verdict
1. The short answer
Nutmeg
Nutmeg wins on simplicity, and on the quality of the decision it takes off your hands. If you know you will not rebalance, will not review, and would rather not think about asset allocation at all, a managed portfolio that genuinely gets managed is worth paying for. Read our full Nutmeg review for the detail.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown wins on range, research, account types and, at most portfolio sizes, on cost. The £150 share and ETF cap in particular makes it progressively cheaper as balances grow, at exactly the point where Nutmeg is still charging 0.75%. Our full Hargreaves Lansdown review covers the rest.
2. Who should choose it
Nutmeg
You want a professionally managed portfolio, you would rather delegate than decide, you value clear goal projection tools, or you want the option of fixed price advice sitting alongside your investments.
Hargreaves Lansdown
You want to choose your own investments, you hold or plan to hold individual shares or investment trusts, you want a Junior ISA with no account charge, or you want investments and cash savings on a single platform. Still undecided? Try Find My Broker or browse every head to head comparison.
Risk disclaimer
This article is for general information and education. It is not personal financial advice and does not take account of your circumstances. When you invest, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than you put in. Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and ISA and pension rules may change. If you are unsure whether a product is right for you, seek advice from an FCA authorised adviser.
Fees and product details were checked in July 2026 and may have changed since. Always confirm current terms on the provider's own website.
Ready to start investing?
☆☆☆☆☆ Rated 4.2 out of 5
Nutmeg (J.P. Morgan)
Managed from 0.45% | Six investment styles
Capital at risk.
☆☆☆☆☆ Rated 4.4 out of 5
Hargreaves Lansdown
0.35% a year | Shares capped at £150
Capital at risk.
Nutmeg vs Hargreaves Lansdown FAQ
Not sure either one fits?
Compare the best UK brokers side by side.
