Fidelity index funds getting cheaper

[hiriskpaul]

For the last couple of days I have not had a price for a Fidelity Japan Index tracker fund I hold at iWeb. I asked about this and was told it was because Fidelity were merging share classes. After a bit of googling, it transpires that Fidelity are replacing their cheap W class shares with the even cheaper, by 2bps, P class shares. Useful link on it here:

https://www.zurichintermediary.co.uk/en ... hare-class

These funds are now undercutting their rivals Vanguard, iShares, etc. My Japanese index tracker will now charge just 0.1%, significantly under the 0.23% charged by Vanguard. The Developed World fund is also really cheap at just 0.13%.

[TimR]

I think previously the Fidelity P class tracker funds were only available on Fidelity Funds network which has higher %charges than most platforms.

At the moment I am using ETFs because my current platform has a similar charging to H-L and is capped for shares/ITs/ETfs only

What is the cheapest platform to hold OEICs / tracker funds (as well as shares if possible) ?

TimR

[hiriskpaul]

The cheapest depends on how the account is used. I use iWeb, which is just a different labelled version of Halifax. No charge for holding OEICs, but £5 charge to trade them. No annual charge for ISAs or dealing accounts. Someone with a small portfolio which is regularly added to might be better off elsewhere. e.g. For someone investing monthly, £5 per trade can quickly add up, especially if done across multiple OEICs.

I think you are right about the P funds. So Fidelity are no longer going to offer lower ongoing charges for Funds Network investors.

[hiriskpaul]

I have finally received corporate action notifications for the fund mergers, allowing with some prices for the P funds, but when I try to either buy or sell, I am told the code does not exist! I cannot find the P funds in the lookup either.

No doubt iWeb/Halifax will sort this out in their own good time.

[JohnB]

Cheers for that. I got the iweb notification too for my Japan and Europe trackers, but wondered if there was a secret downside, and that fund manager letter is reassuring.

[JohnB]

Just updated my spreadsheet with the 4 holdings, 2 in ISA, 2 without, and the fund/unit number conversion has made my head spin, and will really confuse my record keeping for capital gains, especially as they are acc units. I'll be getting them inside my ISA ASAP to avoid the muddle Fidelity have introduced,

"I bought X units at Y, then will sell A units at B, which is really the same quantity as I had a forced transfer inbetween when X*Y1=A*B1, but the gain is less because of history of implicit dividends X*(D1+D2+D3) and A*(D4+D5+D6)"

Arrrgh!