How to sell investments on Hargreaves Lansdown

Have investments with Hargreaves Lansdown? If you’re ready to sell - whether it’s to rebalance your portfolio or reap the rewards of well-performing shares - you’ll need to know how to do it.

In this helpful guide, we’ll show you how to sell investments on Hargreaves Lansdown in the UK.

This includes a step-by-step look at the process of selling shares or funds, along with trading fees, tax implications and how to receive the funds from sold investments.

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When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to future change. The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of personal advice.

Investments in a currency other than GBP are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing, which may affect the value of the investment in GBP terms. You could lose money in GBP even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.

Understanding Hargreaves Lansdown

If you’re new to the platform or haven’t yet signed up, here’s some background on Hargreaves Lansdown.

It's a British financial services company and investment platform, which offers investment accounts, shares and funds trading, ISAs, savings , pensions and more. It’s a popular choice among private investors, and is one of the largest direct-to-consumer investment platforms in the UK.

You can read more about it in our handy Hargreaves Lansdown review below.

📚 Hargreaves Lansdown review

You can start using the platform by opening one of these accounts:

• Fund and Share Account (a general investment account)
• Stocks and Shares ISA
• Lifetime ISA
• Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).

Everything can be managed online, or via the HL mobile app.

What is Hargreaves Lansdown and how does it manage investments?

Before you start buying and selling investments with Hargreaves Lansdown, it’s useful to know a little more about what the platform is and how it works.

The first thing to know is that it is a self-directed investment platform. You open an account, choose your own investments and place trades online. There are also ‘ready-made’ portfolios available for less experienced investors, and these are managed by HL experts on their behalf.

Hargreaves Lansdown offers access to global markets, where you can buy, sell and hold UK and overseas shares as well as ETFs, bonds and investment trusts. If you open a Fund and Share Account, there are no minimum or maximum limits on how much you can invest.

Like other investment platforms, Hargreaves Lansdown does charge fees for its services. However, these are competitive and the pricing structure is relatively straightforward. We’ll look at that in more detail shortly.

Reasons to sell investments

There are a few different reasons you may want to sell your investments, such as:

• You’ve reached a long-term investment goal or a major life change (i.e. retirement)
• Profit-taking - your shares reach the ideal price and it’s time to sell up to achieve the desired returns
• It’s time to cut your losses - if your investments have deteriorated in value due to poor performance over a long period, it might be time to sell up and invest elsewhere
• Balancing out your portfolio - you can use the funds from the sale of one investment to fund others, to diversify your portfolio and reduce risk.
• Account closure - you might decide to move to a different investment platform, and it’s not possible to transfer your investments across.

📚 How to sell shares

How to sell on Hargreaves Lansdown: Step-by-step guide

Now, let’s take a look at how you’ll actually sell investments on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform, walking through it step-by-step:¹

Step 1: Log in to your account

The first step is to log in, which you can do either online here or via the Hargreaves Lansdown mobile app. This will either ask for your unique passcode, or biometrics (such as face ID or your fingerprint).

Step 2: Navigate to holdings

Once you’ve logged in, select the account you’d like to trade from. Then, click ‘Deal now’ from the ‘Actions’ list.

Step 3: Select the specific asset

To sell an investment, select ‘Sell’ from the list of options next to the specific asset (shares or fund) you wish to trade.

You’ll also need to choose between selling a specific number of shares, specific amount, or your entire holding.

Step 4: Choose order type

At this stage, you may be prompted to choose the order type:

• Market order - an order to sell immediately at the best available price
• Limit order - an order to sell shares only when the price hits a specific value set by you

Next, you’ll select either the number of units you’d like to sell or the total value of shares you want to sell.

Step 5: Execute the sale

Check all of the details carefully, and make sure you understand any implications (for example, tax) of selling investments. Once you’re happy, select ‘Place a deal now’ to confirm and execute the trade.

Receiving your money from Hargreaves Lansdown

So, once you’ve sold your investments on HL - how do you receive your money, and how long does it typically take? This could be important to know if you’re planning to use the funds for something else.

Once your trade is complete, Hargreaves Lansdown will send the money to your Capital Account.

From there, you can withdraw it to your nominated bank account. So, you’ll need to make sure you’ve added your bank details and get this set up before buying or selling any investments.

How long will it take?

Withdrawals with Hargreaves Lansdown are pretty quick. The money should arrive in your nominated bank account either the same day, or the next working day (depending when you initiate the withdrawal).²

📚 Hargreaves Lansdown withdrawals

Hargreaves Lansdown fees and charges

Another important thing you’ll need to know is how much it costs to sell investments and withdraw money using the HL platform.

Here are the main Hargreaves Lansdown fees and charges you need to know about, including costs for selling investments, withdrawing funds and foreign exchange costs:³

Type	Stocks & Shares ISA fees
Account fees - funds	0.01% to 0.45% depending on total investment amount (no fees over £2m)
Account fees - shares	Free for Fund & Share Account 0.45% (max. £45 a year) for Stocks & Shares ISA
Buying/selling shares online/app	£5.95 to £11.95 per trade (based on no. of trades in previous month)
Buying/selling funds online/app	No fees
Buying/selling investments by phone or post	No fees for funds 1% for other investments
Withdrawing money from your account	No fees
Foreign exchange fees - for converting currency when you buy/sell international shares	1% for first £5,000 0.75% for next £5,000 0.5% for next £10,000 0.25% for over £20,0004

📚 Hargreaves Lansdown fees

Moving cash to your account

Once you’ve sold your investments, there are no fees to move cash to your Hargreaves Lansdown Capital Account, or to send it to your nominated bank account.

This means you can withdraw from the platform whenever you want, although you will have to wait for the money to ‘settle’ in your account first. This can take around 2 working days for shares, and 4 working days for funds.⁵

Just bear in mind though that if you have a Stocks & Shares ISA, you may lose the tax-free benefits if you withdraw money.

Can you receive your money into your Wise account?

Yes, it’s easy to receive money from Hargreaves Lansdown into your Wise account - and there are some very good reasons to do so.

With Wise, you can get local account details so you can receive multiple currencies. All you need to do is enter these account details when setting up your nominated account on Hargreaves Lansdown.

This is particularly useful if you’re investing in international assets, as it means that you can receive money directly in that currency without the platform or your bank carrying out a currency conversion and charging you a foreign exchange fee. You can use Wise to convert the currency instead, as it always gives you the mid-market exchange rate (with no mark-ups) and low, transparent fees*.

With Hargreaves Lansdown, you may not be able to avoid the FX fee as it is charged when you sell the investment, rather than when you withdraw the money from your account.

But you can still add Wise GBP account details and use this as your nominated account for withdrawals. The funds will then be ready to convert into other currencies (for low fees* and great FX rates), which could be handy if you plan to make other international investments.

Other important factors to consider

There are a few other factors to consider when selling investments, such as tax implications and platform restrictions.

Tax implications

If you sell investments and make a profit, you may have to pay UK Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Everyone gets an annual CGT allowance of £3,000 per tax year, so any profits above this may be subject to CGT.⁶

It should also be noted that CGT doesn’t affect investments and money held in ISAs, as these are protected by a tax-free wrapper. It’s worth thinking about this before withdrawing money from a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA.

📚 How tax on shares transferred overseas works

Dealing with restrictions

Some investment platforms have restrictions which may affect how and when you can sell investments.

The good news is that there aren’t really any with Hargreaves Lansdown, as long as you use the platform in line with its policies, terms and conditions.

Save money when selling investments with Wise

After reading this, you should have a better idea of how to sell investments on Hargreaves Lansdown. The good news is that it’s pretty straightforward, and withdrawing cash is typically quick. Importantly though, make sure you check your balance after any settlement or sale.

You may also want to consider using Wise as your nominated account with Hargreaves Lansdown. If you trade international shares - or are interested in doing so in the future - then having a multi-currency account could be extremely useful indeed.

Wise gives you full control of currency conversions, so you don’t get stung by high FX fees and can save money whenever you trade.

Looking for an alternative way to help grow your income? Check out Wise Interest.

Simply open a Wise account online and switch on Interest to help earn returns - while still having easy access to your money.

Investments can fluctuate, and your capital is at risk. Interest is offered by Wise Assets UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Wise Payments Ltd. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you're uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.

What’s more, you can use your Wise account to manage your money in 40+ currencies and send worldwide transfers with low fees* and at the mid-market exchange rate with no mark-ups.

🌍 Open your Wise account

Additional FAQs on selling shares with Hargreaves Lansdown

How long does it take for money to clear after selling shares on Hargreaves Lansdown?

It takes around 2 working days for shares to ‘settle’ in your account after a sale.⁵ Once you withdraw cash, it should arrive the same or next working day.²

What is a 'Bed & ISA' and can I do it on the app?

A 'Bed & ISA' with Hargreaves Lansdown is where you sell investments held in a taxable Fund and Share Account (which is taxable) and instantly buy them back within a tax-efficient ISA. This can protect future gains from Capital Gains Tax and income tax. The good news is that yes, it can be done on the HL app.

Why is the price I received different from the quote on Hargreaves Lansdown?

Markets move fast, and sometimes there’s a delay of a few minutes in the updating of share prices on investment platform websites. This can lead to a difference in displayed or quoted prices, and the price you actually receive.

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Sources used:

1. Hargreaves Lansdown - steps to sell
2. Hargreaves Lansdown - how long withdrawals take
3. Hargreaves Lansdown - charges and fees
4. Hargreaves Lansdown - FX fees
5. Hargreaves Lansdown - settlement times
6. Fidelity - Capital Gains Tax allowance

Sources last checked on date: 11-Feb-2026