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Book Description

Plain speaking has never held Peter Hargreaves back. In this candid and outspoken book, the multi-millionaire founder of investment company Hargreaves Lansdown tells the story behind its extraordinary success and gives his forthright views on what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur and as an investor. Starting from his spare bedroom with a single phone and borrowed office equipment, Peter and his business partner Stephen Lansdown set out to build a business that would consciously be different from that of all their competitors. They have held fast to their unconventional ways ever since, regularly turning the company's strategy and business model upside down in their relentless effort to give their clients the best information, the best prices and the best service. Widely recognised as the number one firm in their business, Hargreaves Lansdown was floated on the London stock market in 2007, valued at £800 million. In For A Penny is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how the investment business works, what's wrong with conventional management wisdom and what's right about the true meaning of entrepreneurship.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Publishing details
  3. Author’s Note
  4. Preface
  5. Prologue: The Little Man In Times Square (Or The Best $100 I Ever Spent)
  6. PART ONE: The Making of a Business
    1. Chapter 1: The Bake House and Beyond
      1. A Father’s Son
      2. Learning The Ropes
      3. Meeting The Other Half
    2. Chapter 2: The Money’s in the Post
      1. A Short Journey to Work
      2. Beginner’s Luck?
      3. The Joys Of Word Processing
      4. Business Takes Off
    3. Chapter 3: Enter the Rochdale Cowboy
      1. A Tough Choice
      2. A Brief Digression; And Learning From Our Mistakes
      3. Playing The PR Game
      4. Unwanted Visitors And An Interesting Lunch
      5. The Rochdale Cowboy
      6. An Early Bombshell
    4. Chapter 4: Where are the Customers’ Yachts?
      1. Unit Trusts Or Investment Bonds?
      2. Royal York Crescent
      3. Remembering The Little Man In Times Square – Again!
      4. Moving into insurance
    5. Chapter 5: The Crash of ‘87 and Other Headaches
      1. Broadening the Income Base
      2. The Mid-1980s
      3. The Lean Years
      4. Changing Our Business Model
    6. Chapter 6: Fighting the PEP Wars
      1. The Investment Trust Bonanza
      2. The Privatisation Gravy Train
      3. Moving Into Stockbroking
      4. The Thorn In My Side
      5. The PEP Wars
      6. The PEP wars timeline
    7. Chapter 7: The Tesco of the Retail Investment World
      1. Developing Vantage
      2. Refining The Concept
      3. Our Goal: To Be “The Tesco Of The Retail Investment World”
    8. Chapter 8: Fearlessly to Market
      1. The Golden Years
      2. The Equitable Life Shock
      3. Continuous Development And Improvement
      4. Deciding on flotation
      5. Making The Flotation Happen
  7. PART TWO: What I Have Learned (so far)
    1. A Brief Introduction To Part Two
    2. Chapter 9: Finding Your Customers
      1. Marketing
      2. Innovation; the value of great ideas
      3. My Golden Rules Of Advertising
      4. Reflections on Sales and Competition
      5. PR – Is It Useful?
    3. Chapter 10: Making Your Organisation Work
      1. Avoid Meetings Like the Plague
      2. Getting The Best Out Of Employees
      3. The Importance Of Company Culture
      4. Making the best use of your time
      5. How To Recruit Good Staff
      6. Dealing with customers
      7. Keeping Costs Down
      8. Management Consultants – A Waste Of Time?
      9. Making the Most of Your Assets
      10. The Ingredients of Business Success
    4. Chapter 11: Making Sense of Investment
      1. Investment Success and Wealth
      2. My Investment Philosophy
      3. The magic of 10%
      4. One example which rewarded investors …
      5. … And Two Poor Ones
      6. One That Disappointed
      7. Precipice bonds
      8. Choosing The Right Investments
      9. Glossary
      10. Internet Stocks – and Other Sources of Grief
      11. How To Build Your Wealth
  8. Epilogue: The Simple Pleasures In Life
  9. Acknowledgements
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