Question
This is a follow up to a question about Hargreaves Lansdown. I've decided to invest DIY and not appoint an adviser. From your experiences which is the best discount broker from a point of cost and service?
I'm initially dealing with funds, maybe in the future I might deal in shares. Briefly the plan is to leave 50% in cash building society fixed interest bond, 10% in strategic bonds and 40% in medium to high risk funds. Also I am using my maximum stocks and shares ISA allowance. All suggestions gratefully received. Thanks.Answer
You can view a comprehensive list of the various discount brokers (including services and discounts) via our ISA Discounts Action Plan. I know it refers to ISAs but the discounts are usually the same for funds held outside of ISAs too.
I believe the cheapest discount broker for funds (excluding pensions) is currently Cavendish Online, who charge a one-off £25 fee and rebate all initial and trail commissions provided the funds are held via the Cofunds or FundsNetwork fund supermarkets. Their service extends to processing your investment application(s) and ensuring the correct funds are purchased. Once set up you can manage the investments yourself, online, via your chosen fund supermarket.
Fund platform Alliance Trust Savings i.nvest also rebates all commissions and allows shares to be held, but charges £12.50 per deal (for funds and shares), so a little less attractive if you'll only hold funds but a very competitive all-round deal.
If you're seeking more in the way of information and research then Hargreaves Lansdown might fit the bill. They rebate about the half the annual trail commission and also allow shares to be held (although their stockbroking dealing charges can be a bit on the high side compared to other low cost stockbrokers). Like Alliance Trust, Hargreaves Lansdown runs their own fund supermarket (or 'platform' as it's sometimes called) which means you'll also deal with them directly should there be any administration issues, rather than a third party.
If you want very thorough fund research with low cost advice then Bestinvest offers a fund investment advice service in return for the annual trail commission (typically 0.5%) on portfolios of £50,000+. So more expensive than the above options but you might find the advice worthwhile and they still rebate initial commission in full.
Finally for shares only x-o.co.uk is currently the deal to beat, at just £5.95 per trade with an ISA wrapper thrown in for free if you want it.
Although in theory it's simpler to hold everything on one platform, in your case I think there's an argument for using a few routes in the first instance to help gauge which is the best for you longer term.
For example, you could split some money between Cavendish Online, Hargreaves Lansdown and Bestinvest (or, obviously, whoever else you want) for a year or so and see how you get on. You might decide research and/or advice is invaluable or a waste of time, but at least you'll then know which option will likely work best for you moving forwards. And if you decide to buy shares in future you could simply add a low cost account like x-o.co.uk alongside.
You can look at reader reviews on some of these companeis in our User Reveiws section and if any readers have other suggestions please post them below, thanks.
Good luck.
This is a follow up to a question about Hargreaves Lansdown. I've decided to invest DIY and not appoint an adviser. From your experiences which is the best discount broker from a point of cost and service?
I'm initially dealing with funds, maybe in the future I might deal in shares. Briefly the plan is to leave 50% in cash building society fixed interest bond, 10% in strategic bonds and 40% in medium to high risk funds. Also I am using my maximum stocks and shares ISA allowance. All suggestions gratefully received. Thanks.Answer
You can view a comprehensive list of the various discount brokers (including services and discounts) via our ISA Discounts Action Plan. I know it refers to ISAs but the discounts are usually the same for funds held outside of ISAs too.
I believe the cheapest discount broker for funds (excluding pensions) is currently Cavendish Online, who charge a one-off £25 fee and rebate all initial and trail commissions provided the funds are held via the Cofunds or FundsNetwork fund supermarkets. Their service extends to processing your investment application(s) and ensuring the correct funds are purchased. Once set up you can manage the investments yourself, online, via your chosen fund supermarket.
Fund platform Alliance Trust Savings i.nvest also rebates all commissions and allows shares to be held, but charges £12.50 per deal (for funds and shares), so a little less attractive if you'll only hold funds but a very competitive all-round deal.
If you're seeking more in the way of information and research then Hargreaves Lansdown might fit the bill. They rebate about the half the annual trail commission and also allow shares to be held (although their stockbroking dealing charges can be a bit on the high side compared to other low cost stockbrokers). Like Alliance Trust, Hargreaves Lansdown runs their own fund supermarket (or 'platform' as it's sometimes called) which means you'll also deal with them directly should there be any administration issues, rather than a third party.
If you want very thorough fund research with low cost advice then Bestinvest offers a fund investment advice service in return for the annual trail commission (typically 0.5%) on portfolios of £50,000+. So more expensive than the above options but you might find the advice worthwhile and they still rebate initial commission in full.
Finally for shares only x-o.co.uk is currently the deal to beat, at just £5.95 per trade with an ISA wrapper thrown in for free if you want it.
Although in theory it's simpler to hold everything on one platform, in your case I think there's an argument for using a few routes in the first instance to help gauge which is the best for you longer term.
For example, you could split some money between Cavendish Online, Hargreaves Lansdown and Bestinvest (or, obviously, whoever else you want) for a year or so and see how you get on. You might decide research and/or advice is invaluable or a waste of time, but at least you'll then know which option will likely work best for you moving forwards. And if you decide to buy shares in future you could simply add a low cost account like x-o.co.uk alongside.
You can look at reader reviews on some of these companeis in our User Reveiws section and if any readers have other suggestions please post them below, thanks.
Good luck.
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