Author’s Note

As a child I never had aspirations to be an author. Indeed if I had shown any early ability in that sphere, the education system certainly missed it! I was informed in 1963 that my school would not pay the entry fee for me to take O Level (now called GCSE) English literature, a decision they only reversed when I offered to pay the fee myself. Their embarrassment was acute when only four boys in my form passed English literature, yours truly being amongst that quartet.

I suppose writing much of the content for the company’s newsletters over the years caused me to reappraise my literary skills, during which time I was flatteringly informed that I wasn’t a bad storyteller. When I put pen to paper in 2008, my initial plan was simply to write the story of Hargreaves Lansdown, from its modest beginning in my spare room in 1981 to the present day. Stephen Lansdown and I have enjoyed a great business adventure, and my hope was that others might find reading the story as interesting as we have found living it.

Now that the book is finished, there are two other things that I hope readers will take from the book. The parts that I have enjoyed writing the most are the ones that describe the business lessons that we have learnt over the years. I hope that some of these ideas will help others to establish successful businesses, as we have done. I have no wish to be a management guru, but I do know that all the tips you will find here are ones that have worked for us.

It would have been impossible to write a book about Hargreaves Lansdown without also venturing into the minefield of investment. My hope is that readers will gain some insights into the pitfalls that many investors face, and how they can avoid them in future. From very early on in our business, Stephen and I set out our stall by saying our aim was to provide the best information, the best prices and the best service to our clients. That ambition has never changed. Investors need all the help they can get.

This book describes the story of Hargreaves Lansdown and provides readers with information to help them when investing. However the book is not published by Hargreaves Lansdown and Hargreaves Lansdown has no financial interest. The story and the views are solely mine, the author’s.