Hoodless Brennan to close online share dealing

pete80

I don't know if any of you do any US share or ETF trades but this might be useful for you if you do.

After a couple of years out of the market due to having left the UK and travelling, I have just been looking into opening new account/s for buying both UK and US shares and also leveraged US based ETF's.

I will be looking at iii and TDW in the UK. I already have an account with TD Ameritrade in the US and they charge $9.99 per trade but have just found Noble Trading who have 3 levels of fees depending on equity held in account and number of trades per month. They are also open to negotiation on their charges and have quoted me $4 per trade which saves me quite a bit as I normally trade 2 to 4 times a day just on these leveraged ETF's.

Brokers in the US are getting commissions from wherever they place their trades through, hence the low commissions available and I was wondering if the same happens with brokers in the UK (maybe they are just a bit greedier)

tradetime

NotAnExpert wrote: »

Hey

When you say, for example, "£10 per trade", does that only refer to the buying cost? What would it cost to then sell (eg at iii)?

Yes, assuming it is a standard UK equities trade then it will cost £10 to sell also, £20 round trip.

tradetime

pete80 wrote: »

I don't know if any of you do any US share or ETF trades but this might be useful for you if you do.

After a couple of years out of the market due to having left the UK and travelling, I have just been looking into opening new account/s for buying both UK and US shares and also leveraged US based ETF's.

I will be looking at iii and TDW in the UK. I already have an account with TD Ameritrade in the US and they charge $9.99 per trade but have just found Noble Trading who have 3 levels of fees depending on equity held in account and number of trades per month. They are also open to negotiation on their charges and have quoted me $4 per trade which saves me quite a bit as I normally trade 2 to 4 times a day just on these leveraged ETF's.

Brokers in the US are getting commissions from wherever they place their trades through, hence the low commissions available and I was wondering if the same happens with brokers in the UK (maybe they are just a bit greedier)

Haven't come across Noble before which is unusual since I've probably come across most of them at one point or another, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does give me pause particularly in the current envoironment.
You might want to also take a look at Interactive Brokers for your activities, it's been around a little longer, and is a little better known.

pete80

tradetime wrote: »

Haven't come across Noble before which is unusual since I've probably come across most of them at one point or another, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does give me pause particularly in the current envoironment.
You might want to also take a look at Interactive Brokers for your activities, it's been around a little longer, and is a little better known.

Thanks for your reply, funnily enough I was on Intereactive Brokers site when your reply came through.
I would definitely do some research on Noble before sending any money, in the US the SIPC give $500,000 coverage on money held in brokerage accounts so I will check if they are members.

I went to the Trader's Expo in Vegas in November and there were a few brokers I had not heard of before, possibly some have gone to the wall already. Options House and Trade King also have low very fees but won't open Foreign accounts as I am presently residing in the Philippines.

Tis a shame that we cannot get £2 or £3 trades in the UK though.....

sabretoothtigger

You can but not in realtime afaik

tradetime

pete80 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, funnily enough I was on Intereactive Brokers site when your reply came through.
I would definitely do some research on Noble before sending any money, in the US the SIPC give $500,000 coverage on money held in brokerage accounts so I will check if they are members.

I went to the Trader's Expo in Vegas in November and there were a few brokers I had not heard of before, possibly some have gone to the wall already. Options House and Trade King also have low very fees but won't open Foreign accounts as I am presently residing in the Philippines.

Tis a shame that we cannot get £2 or £3 trades in the UK though.....

Hi pete80, yes it's the "going to the wall" that would concern me, given a lot of the big players have been under pressure lately. Not just for the loss of money, though obviously that would be a major concern, but also for the inconvenience. Since you are residing in the Philippines (lucky you) I don't know why you are even bothering with a UK broker, I have one purely for an ISA since no-one else provides this, they don't even make my shortlist for anything else, the technology is dated,circa 1990's and the fees are extortionate.

tradetime

Oh, one other thing, I might suggest, just for your consideration, I notice they offer the ability to negotiate a fee, and you mentioned $4, obviously you'll look at the maths on that for yourself, but I tend to prefer the "per share" fees over the "per ticket" fees. In my experience the money saved and made by scaling into and out of positions far outweighs anything you think you might gain from a low "per ticket fee" You could perhaps try negotiating a dual pricing model, say a flat fee for orders over 1000 shares and a per share fee for orders under this, since they're open to negotiation.

pete80

tradetime wrote: »

Hi pete80, yes it's the "going to the wall" that would concern me, given a lot of the big players have been under pressure lately. Not just for the loss of money, though obviously that would be a major concern, but also for the inconvenience. Since you are residing in the Philippines (lucky you) I don't know why you are even bothering with a UK broker, I have one purely for an ISA since no-one else provides this, they don't even make my shortlist for anything else, the technology is dated,circa 1990's and the fees are extortionate.

Hi tradetime,
my UK investing just really consists of regular monthly unit trust purchases (emerging markets and CF Junior Oils) along with holding just a few FTSE 100 stocks for medium term. I have had the spread betting bug for binary bets on FTSE 100 end of day for last 2 years but it doesn't do the blood pressure much good! Much the same with Direxion 3x leveraged day trades but I just look to pinch a profit of $50 to $100 a round trip after fees. Okay if I get the direction right but I have been caught a few times where market went the wrong way and I waited for a few days or cut my losses, leveraging can be nasty...

tradetime

pete80 wrote: »

Hi tradetime,
my UK investing just really consists of regular monthly unit trust purchases (emerging markets and CF Junior Oils) along with holding just a few FTSE 100 stocks for medium term. I have had the spread betting bug for binary bets on FTSE 100 end of day for last 2 years but it doesn't do the blood pressure much good! Much the same with Direxion 3x leveraged day trades but I just look to pinch a profit of $50 to $100 a round trip after fees. Okay if I get the direction right but I have been caught a few times where market went the wrong way and I waited for a few days or cut my losses, leveraging can be nasty...

LOL yes, leveraging is the proverbial "double edged sword" I haven't used the Direxion funds yet as I find if I trade etf's the proshares ultras (2x) are adequate for me.
For your regular monthly purchases, you might be able to put them through one of the portfolio builder plans at £1.50 per buy, I'm not sure if they extend to funds etc or just for equities, something to look at though.
Binary spreadbetting I don't know anything about, cfd's may be something else to look at, they have become quite popular, though I haven't looked at them in any detail.

pete80

tradetime wrote: »

LOL yes, leveraging is the proverbial "double edged sword" I haven't used the Direxion funds yet as I find if I trade etf's the proshares ultras (2x) are adequate for me.
For your regular monthly purchases, you might be able to put them through one of the portfolio builder plans at £1.50 per buy, I'm not sure if they extend to funds etc or just for equities, something to look at though.
Binary spreadbetting I don't know anything about, cfd's may be something else to look at, they have become quite popular, though I haven't looked at them in any detail.

I had a good look on the Interactive Brokers site but am not sure if I understand their fees and costs, it may be worth me giving them a call as they have been around a while.

I deal normally either 400 or 800 BGU or BGZ at a time, both presently priced at $34 to $35 each. IB quote for unbundled and bundled share deals, I take it unbundled may go through slightly quicker and exchange fees are mentioned. The Yanks do like to make things complicated, I love touring round the US but I couldn't live there and deal with tax on everything but the air you breathe - Obama might think about that yet!

Thanks again for all your info, it is much appreciated and now I am starting serious investing again I will be back reading the forum more frequently. :beer: