Author Topic: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)  (Read 3606 times)

shelivesthedream

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Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« on: March 24, 2015, 12:49:14 PM »
I first started investing in stocks for myself about two years ago. I just plunged in and signed up for a Hargreaves Lansdown account online because it was the only one I had heard of and I knew if I didn't do it then, I'd never do it, and I could always optimise later but I couldn't get back that lost time.

Now I'm actually feeling a bit better about investing generally, and it's time to look at the fees I'm paying. I have some money in individual stocks (~5%, because I thought it might be fun, am going to sell these at some point but one step at a time) but the vast majority is in a low-cost total market index fund and a FTSE100 index fund. (Because reasons.) The fees on these are very low, but HL itself *also* charges a fee, which sucks.

Is there a better/cheaper investment platform out there? I don't mind paying fixed transaction fees as I make very few transactions (at most adding money once a month) but I really want to minimise/obliterate my ongoing fees. It's not as if HL is even doing anything for me! Just existing! Is there another way to buy stocks/index funds?

(If it makes a difference, it's all in an ISA with HL so I need somewhere with an ISA that will accept a transfer in.)

Edit: Realised I forgot to say what the fee is! 0.45%
« Last Edit: March 24, 2015, 12:51:19 PM by shelivesthedream »

mohawkbrah

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2015, 02:34:52 AM »
honestly hargreaves lansdown is one of the best out there for uk.


i personally am using "Bestinvest" only because there annual fee's are slightly lower and i feel they have a much larger selection of funds to pick from(they do allow indiviudal UK stocks such as from the ftse 100, 250, 350 and AIM)

copy and pasted from best invest charge breakdown

From £0-£250,000   0.40% pa
£250,000-£1,000,000   0.20% pa
Over £1m   No charge

most funds don't charge any transnational fee's, I've started investing in vangaurd uk equity income fund, it seems like a good index fund.

they charge £7.50 per transaction when buying individual stocks.

To be honest their charts and information is limited i feel Hargreaves does better in this area.

kvaruni

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2015, 06:24:46 AM »
I have been contemplating Halifax, as their ISA costs seem very reasonable. Instead of a %, you have a fixed annual cost of £12.50 a year. Compared to HL and BI, you would be better off if you have £3125 or more in your ISA. Online trades are a bit more costly, at £12.50 each, but for scheduled regular investments those drop to £2.

All in all, it looks like Halifax is a very good option, no?

MarcherLady

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2015, 06:41:16 AM »
I use Halifax too.  One sneaky trick, there are about four 'regular transaction' days a month, if you can schedule your purchase for one of those days you get the regular trade discount of £2 commission, even if you then suspend your regular trades and don't ever make another.  Sales don't get the regular trade discount. 

Pretty much all providers will take transfers, no one wants to turn away custom.  By the same logic (to keep custom) HL may charge an exit fee, either on the account or by holding.  So don't forget to include that in your calculations.

Hi mohawkbrah! <waves>

Oh, and, Halfax do nothing by way of charts of your holdings, or even of your over all account.  My biggest gripe with them.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2015, 06:45:38 AM by MarcherLady »

Kickinski

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2015, 08:11:41 AM »
There are a lot of brokers which are cheaper than HL. Here's a link to a website that compares a lot of brokers and their charges (http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/). Personally, I'm with AJ Bell as their charges worked out to be the best deal for me given what I wanted to do.

kvaruni

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2015, 09:57:22 AM »
I think it very strongly depends on your needs. For me, I would like to max out an ISA (or get very close to it). Just to have an account of £15,000 would cost me £30 a year with AJ just for holding on to them, whereas it would only be £12.50 with Halifax. Not saying that either one is better, but it really seems to depend on your own investment profile.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2015, 02:27:27 AM »
Thanks for all the replies! I'm a bit miffed that Halifax seems to be the best option as I have had TERRIBLE customer service from them in the past (trying to close a savings account - I think I gave up in the end and it's still open with about 3p in it!) and vowed never to have dealings with them again!

MarcherLady

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Re: Low/no-fee investment platforms (UK)
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2016, 12:42:53 PM »
Bump.

Since we're coming up (ish) to ISA time again, I've found a new comparison tool:

here