X - 0 Share Dealing - Good broker?

Gordon_Gekko_2

I've been looking for an online execution only broker and have come across X - 0 Share dealing.

They charge £5.95 per trade which sounds very competitive, but also a £15.00 to withdraw or transfer shares. Can someone explain what the second part means? I.e. does it mean that I have to pay to cash in my shares?

I am a true beginner with my only practice being virtual portfolios with some success in the FTSE 100.

Does this broker sound good, or is there any alternatives I should consider? I have looked at iii.co.uk, but with the 4 monthly trade dates sounds a bit restrictive to what I am looking for.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have!

sabretoothtigger

Withdrawing cash is free looks like so to cash in the shares would be 5.95

I did wonder what the downside was myself. UK only

ses6jwg

I dont really think III is restrictive if you are building up a portfolio for the long term.

If it short term trading you are wanting to do then a spreadbetting account would be more suitable really.

sabretoothtigger

I dont really advise beginners hold stocks overnight with a spreadbet, though in theory things are calmer now

turbobob

I would guess the £15 to transfer is the fee they'll charge you if you want to move them to another broker. Most/all companies charge a fee to transfer out. Most don't charge to transfer in.

Gordon_Gekko_2

So do they look to be a competitive broker? Do you have any other recommendations to who else I could use?

turbobob

The pricing looks competitive yes. Every little helps. You should also think about whether they offer all the facilities you want. E.g. do they support all of the order types you want to use? Do they operate in all of the markets that you want to trade?

I can't find much feedback on them anywhere so I assume they are new. At the end of the day you can always go to another company if they don't turn out to be any good.

gizz_mo

I am in a smilar position to Gordon_Gekko, having played with a virtual portfolio for the last 6 months and increased it from 100k to 170k, I am now quite keen to have a go with some real dosh.
I am also looking for a good value broker, bearing in mind that I am going to start out small. This price from X-O does look like the cheapest I have seen too. However since it is not a very well known broker, how safe is my investment? Would it be protected by the FSA if for instance the broker goes under? How can I be sure a broker I choose is legitimate? (Aside from sticking to the well-known more expensive names?)
Thanks for your help?

Lokolo

They're new which is most probably why they are cheap. Market penetration

As for protection it says on their website.... http://www.x-o.co.uk/important-information/investor-protection

purch

When it comes to Online Brokers, you usually get what you pay for.

mentar

I've been looking for an execution broker too and was looking into their charges in more detail.
Asked them about charges if I were to transfer my ISA out and got:

To transfer your ISA account in the future you would be required to pay £50 + VAT account closure fee and a transfer fee of £15 + VAT per line of stock.

Which is higher than normal, but understandable given their trade low commission.
Also asked on the forums about the daily reset of stop losses. Was told that they are working on providing the functionality on the online interface, but for now you can just email them them asking to put a stop loss for a longer period.

Also looked into FSA involvement in T&Cs and if they change the terms you should be able to transfer for free, so in a way you are protected from them suddenly hiking the prices up!

"25.3 If we amend these terms and conditions for valid reasons that are not specified in this agreement and you are not happy with those changes, we will waive the existing Account Transfer/Closure fee should you wish to transfer or close your Account."

Going to open in account with them and give them a go.