Question
I have some money I want to invest and wondered how do I find a broker?
My husband has invested in shares for years but he uses Nat West share buying service and I'm not a Nat West client. I went to my own bank Llloyds and asked to buy a share isa but they said they wouldn't let me because I am not retired and they say it is too risky since I am living off my savings but I feel if I should want to go down that route they should let me, however the bank advisor refused to do it.Answer
It really depends on what sort of service you want.
If you're happy choosing shares yourself and just want a stockbroker to buy them for you, then your cheapest route will be an 'execution only' online stockbroker. With a bit of shopping around you can buy and sell shares for around £10 or less per deal with no charge for an ISA 'wrapper'. Take a look at my answer to earlier question for some examples.
If you want advice on which shares to buy then you'll need to use an advisory stockbroker, examples include Charles Stanley and Redmayne Bentley. You'll probably find there's a minimum investment level of around £50,000 and expect dealing fees to potentially run into hundreds of pounds with an annual charge on top. Whether or not an advisory stockbroker's advice is any good you'll have to judge yourself - as I've never used one.
As an alternative, you might consider using an investment fund, such as a unit trust. This could potentially reduce risk by spreading your money across a number of shares, perhaps 50 or more.
Choosing a decent fund is a challenge in itself, although if you stick to a low cost tracker fund (e.g. which tries to mirror the FTSE All Share Index) you probably won't go too far wrong longer term. Fidelity and HSBC both have examples which charge less than 0.3% a year. Or, if you require an income then maybe consider a UK equity income fund.
Whichever route you decide to pursue, please do think carefully about the risks of stockmarklet investing before taking the plunge. The markets seem especially volatile these days and I don't think it's out of the question they could fall by 10% or more if we slide back into recession (which, of course, may or may not happen).
If you can tie up the cash for 10 years or more then I think there's a good chance you'll earn more money via some sensible stockmarket investments than a savings account. And with any luck you'll make a decent return sooner than this. But you can't rule out losses and if losing money will give you sleepless nights or cause a big financial problem I'd be inclined to steer clear and stick to a high interest savings account.
Also, I'd avoid bank financial advisers. They're seldom independent or good value for money.
I have some money I want to invest and wondered how do I find a broker?
My husband has invested in shares for years but he uses Nat West share buying service and I'm not a Nat West client. I went to my own bank Llloyds and asked to buy a share isa but they said they wouldn't let me because I am not retired and they say it is too risky since I am living off my savings but I feel if I should want to go down that route they should let me, however the bank advisor refused to do it.Answer
It really depends on what sort of service you want.
If you're happy choosing shares yourself and just want a stockbroker to buy them for you, then your cheapest route will be an 'execution only' online stockbroker. With a bit of shopping around you can buy and sell shares for around £10 or less per deal with no charge for an ISA 'wrapper'. Take a look at my answer to earlier question for some examples.
If you want advice on which shares to buy then you'll need to use an advisory stockbroker, examples include Charles Stanley and Redmayne Bentley. You'll probably find there's a minimum investment level of around £50,000 and expect dealing fees to potentially run into hundreds of pounds with an annual charge on top. Whether or not an advisory stockbroker's advice is any good you'll have to judge yourself - as I've never used one.
As an alternative, you might consider using an investment fund, such as a unit trust. This could potentially reduce risk by spreading your money across a number of shares, perhaps 50 or more.
Choosing a decent fund is a challenge in itself, although if you stick to a low cost tracker fund (e.g. which tries to mirror the FTSE All Share Index) you probably won't go too far wrong longer term. Fidelity and HSBC both have examples which charge less than 0.3% a year. Or, if you require an income then maybe consider a UK equity income fund.
Whichever route you decide to pursue, please do think carefully about the risks of stockmarklet investing before taking the plunge. The markets seem especially volatile these days and I don't think it's out of the question they could fall by 10% or more if we slide back into recession (which, of course, may or may not happen).
If you can tie up the cash for 10 years or more then I think there's a good chance you'll earn more money via some sensible stockmarket investments than a savings account. And with any luck you'll make a decent return sooner than this. But you can't rule out losses and if losing money will give you sleepless nights or cause a big financial problem I'd be inclined to steer clear and stick to a high interest savings account.
Also, I'd avoid bank financial advisers. They're seldom independent or good value for money.
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