iii introducing quarterly £20 charge

sabretoothtigger

iii changed a few things as of last autumn. I dont think this can affect cash dividends . It was not like this previously

The santander deal is scrip shares which in theory you can choose to take cash instead, iii classifies this as something they dont need to give any cash change on.
Cairn energy did something similar in February and Lloyds has also done this in the past, its not quite as bad as I thought as most divs are pure cash with no option for iii to say otherwise

DRIP means you received cash first where as scrip is a pure share, its often better on tax to take a capital gain instead of income but not when iii levy their own 'tax' of upto 50% every few months. Just a heads up

Wardy7

Bit late in the day, just realised tomorrow is the cut off date for requesting a move from iii.co.uk with their charges.

What is the best online platform to switch to? I have a Stocks & Shares ISA plus standard shares.

deadpeasant

Tomorrow's the last day for me to initiate closure of my UNwrapped iii account. In the year I've had it, my Edin IT and my IWDP property ETF have gained the same amount that my Templeton EM IT has lost, almost to the penny. Seems like an appropriate moment to go.

My default plan is to buy the same or similar holdings in my HL account. But the last time I shifted things around due to new charges (HL's platform fees), I lost a lot being out of the market during the early 2012 rally, so I'm wary. However these iii charges seem crazy for a buy-and-hold Tim-Hale-ish type.

Any opinions on the extent to which iii are being egregious - are all their competitors on the point of introducing such fees? Any replies gratefully received.

grey_gym_sock

it's probably too late. i think iii need to receive the transfer request from your new provider by tomorrow to avoid exit charges. so before that your new provider needs to receive your application.

who is best depends on what kind of investments you have (shares or funds; if funds, with ones with low/high/nil trail/platform commissions) and how much of each.

it also depends on how other providers' charges are going to change, which is mostly guesswork.

and iii's new charges are good for some ppl.

grey_gym_sock

deadpeasant: if you have time to initiate the process (doubtful - perhaps ring HL and ask), you could transfer to HL in specie, so you're not out of the market. iii will waive their usual £15 per line transfer out charge if you meet the deadline.

if you can't meet that deadline, you have to weigh up paying £45 to transfer out 3 lines, versus the risk of being out of the market.

deadpeasant

I don't think it's too late: "Any customers wishing to close their account should contact us by 5 pm on 31 July 2012 with their intention to close their account."

I said what kind of investments I have: Edinburgh IT, IWDP property ETF, Templeton EM IT.

I indicated what kind of investor I am: "buy-and-hold Tim-Hale-ish type." Surely the iii charges don't make sense if I can avoid them elsewhere. (I was wondering whether everyone else is about to introduce the same things.)

I thought transfers were for wrapped holdings, so that you don't lose the wrapper. As I said, I'm unwrapped. But if I'm wrong, and "transfers" mean avoiding selling and re-buying charges on these holdings, I should definitely take your advice. I have a/c's with HL and Alliance Trust; not sure which of them would be a better home. And I could probably switch to someone else altogether.

Pound

I left, closing my account very last minute and as a result I couldn't close my account because of pending trades. I contacted customer services and they said I wouldn't be charged, yet I did.

So I asked them if I could have a refund and they told me it would be in my account, I never received it and they seem to be ignoring my emails now.

On the other hand I realised that I did actually save myself £20 because I had to make two sell trades which would have cost £40 if I'd done them in time but they were actually free as per the new rules.

Still they said I would get my £20 back so I'll chase it.

grey_gym_sock

deadpeasant wrote: »

I said what kind of investments I have: Edinburgh IT, IWDP property ETF, Templeton EM IT.

yes ... that question was meant for Wardy7 ... agreed that iii's new charging structure doesn't look good for you.

I thought transfers were for wrapped holdings, so that you don't lose the wrapper. As I said, I'm unwrapped. But if I'm wrong, and "transfers" mean avoiding selling and re-buying charges on these holdings, I should definitely take your advice. I have a/c's with HL and Alliance Trust; not sure which of them would be a better home. And I could probably switch to someone else altogether.

yes, transfers avoid selling and re-buying for unwrapped. (with wrapped, they are also necessary in order to keep the wrapper.)

not sure about the timing issue - i'd check if i were you.

HL are not currently charging for holding unwrapped ITs/ETFs (but who knows if that will change?). ATS are now going to charge £30 per year per account (including for unwrapped).

other options? ... well, 1 is to ask iii to convert your shares into paper share certificates - at least for the ITs ... actually, i'm not sure if that can be done for ETFs - anybody know?

cloud_dog

deadpeasant wrote: »

I don't think it's too late: "Any customers wishing to close their account should contact us by 5 pm on 31 July 2012 with their intention to close their account."

I know thats what it says but I think you'll find its notified by the new broker. Unless all us MSErs have worn them down

The other thing to be mindful of, as others on here have said, is if you are going to transfer make sure it is a RDR compliant service you are transferring in to otherwise you're not comparing apples with apples.

grey_gym_sock

cloud_dog wrote: »

I know thats what it says but I think you'll find its notified by the new broker.

however, if you want to either
(a) sell investments and withdraw as cash
or
(b) have investments transferred out into paper share certificates in your own name (for investments for which this is possible)
then there is no new broker involved in the process, so there's perhaps more chance that contacting iii before the deadline will be sufficient.