The Lemon Fool

A colleague of mine was just asking about buying some Stocks. Can anybody recommend a Provider that will not levy any ongoing fees and will allow him to buy both London and New York listed securities?

(Disc. I'm with HSBC InvestDirect+ which probably wouldn't work in this case as HSBC do levy a small quarterly charge which is fine in the context of my portfolio value but would be ridiculous for a small portfolio!)

I use iWeb - £25 opening fee. Then just £5 per transaction. So 5 transactions and you've made up the £25 opening fee compared to most other brokers. I've never done the foreign share buying thing though but this page seems to talk about it so they must. I don't know how that 1.5% currency charge compares to others so that may need comparing.

http://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/char ... harges.asp

One thing to note. From time to time I come across a fund that's not available in iWeb so I have a Hargreaves Lansdown account (non-ISA so no yearly charge unless I hold a fund) for those.

iWeb is fine for UK shares, UK bonds and a variety of funds. You can also trade overseas shares, but this is not economic because of the high foreign exchange fees, and because you cannot hold foreign currencies in the account. IG Index is better for overseas shares, but it has a custody fee, so it is not suitable for small investors.

Within other TLF threads X-O has been suggested as being 'fee lite' and worth a look. I've no experience myself.
http://www.x-o.co.uk/our_charges.htm

x-o is more expensive than iWeb (except for the SIPP, which is very cheap), and you cannot hold bonds or foreign shares in the account. With x-o, you are putting your money with a small broker rather than a large bank (Lloyds).

I presume iWeb charge a £2 set-up fee for each limit order (and amendment) as do HSDL. Most other providers seem to offer this for free. I have to say it puts me off using limit orders with HSDL even if they discount the fee value should a trade execute.

BobGe wrote:I presume iWeb charge a £2 set-up fee for each limit order (and amendment) as do HSDL. .

FYI, iWeb charge that for their normal dealing accounts, but not in their ISA's. From their website::
'For ISAs and SIPPs there is no charge to set-up a TradePlan and standard commission rates apply to a trade carried out under a TradePlan in a Stocks and Shares ISA or a SIPP.'

HTH
Maylix

Maylix wrote:iWeb... not in their ISA's. From their website::
'For ISAs and SIPPs there is no charge to set-up a TradePlan and standard commission rates apply to a trade carried out under a TradePlan in a Stocks and Shares ISA or a SIPP.

Given HSDL also levy a £12.50p.a. reoccuring fee for ISAs (iWeb don't) that makes HSDL seem lke a bit of a rip-off then!

Given HSDL also levy a £12.50p.a. reoccuring fee for ISAs (iWeb don't) that makes HSDL seem lke a bit of a rip-off then!

The Halifax branded accounts and iWeb are both HSDL, operated by the same staff. The Halifax branded accounts have some additional features, e.g. telephone dealing. If you do not need any of the additional features, iWeb is the best buy.

GeoffF100 wrote:The Halifax branded accounts and iWeb are both HSDL, operated by the same staff.

My point entirely.

GeoffF100 wrote:The Halifax branded accounts have some additional features, e.g. telephone dealing.

Yes, at £25 per trade, whereas iWeb is still a fiver, isn't it? (It used to be so.)

GeoffF100 wrote:
The Halifax branded accounts have some additional features, e.g. telephone dealing.
Yes, at £25 per trade, whereas iWeb is still a fiver, isn't it? (It used to be so.)

Yes, but some people are scared of the Internet. Others cannot cope with it. iWeb is no use to them. iWeb has other restrictions too.

For most people, iWeb is much the better deal, but you have to be savvy enough to find it, find out that it is part of HSDL, and that HSDL is owned by Lloyds Bank. Lots of people cannot manage that, and as with lots of things, there is cheap version if you shop around, and a heavily advertised expensive version with a fancy brand name.

If you have an iWeb account, be thankful that you are being subsidised by the people with Halifax branded accounts, and hope that you never need one of the features that iWeb does not have.