Hargreaves Lansdown has postponed controversial fee increases for some customers after rival platforms reported a surge in transfer requests. The UK's largest investment platform, with 2 million clients, wrote to certain customers to delay a planned increase that would have more than tripled their maximum annual charge from £45 to £150 for holding shares, investment trusts, ETFs, and bonds.

This fee hike, announced in January, triggered a wave of departures from wealthier clients with larger portfolios. AJ Bell, IG, Interactive Investor, and Freetrade all reported increased applications from Hargreaves Lansdown customers seeking to avoid the price rise. The transfer requests were most acute among clients hit hardest by the jump in the price cap, which took effect March 1.

The fee increase was part of a broader revamp of Hargreaves Lansdown's charges, the first in a decade, which the company said would benefit 80% of customers through lower fees or unchanged charges. The move comes after private equity firms acquired Hargreaves Lansdown in a £5.4 billion deal last year.