iii introducing quarterly £20 charge

mulronie

Financially their pricing made little impact on my life, given my trading volumes, but I left III as I have no desire to give my hardearned to a company so eager to treat its client base with such contempt.

Don't forget that for the first few days after publishing their new prices (which they didn't give enough notice for), they stuck to the line that no-one would get a fee-free exit. Only after a tidal wave of MSE users promising expensive FOS cases did they relent.

The recent dodgy service suggests they aren't staffed properly in Glasgow, and have been hemorrhaging customers this summer. I've got an oustanding FOS case with III on late crediting of dividends, after which I'll be shot of these cowboys forever.

afwone

The imposition of new fees by iii was appallingly handled.

Just a few months previously the policy of this company had been to attract small investors unfamiliar with share trading, and inducements like occasional commission-free trading days will have had the effect of encouraging purchases of modest quantities of individual shares. The new fee structure could have hit these people hard had they stayed on as customers or had to pay exit fees.

I held shares with iii and funds with HL. I seized the opportunity to exit my iii account free of charge and transfer shares to the cheap and cheerful service provided by X-O. This process is now mostly, but not wholly complete.

For my share holdings I am better off away from iii, though I have missed the familiar computer interface, and the also ability to participate in certain IPOs (a facility not provided by X-O). It is the expense of holding funds with HL that bothers me now. My direct charges including platform charges exceed what I would pay with iii.

Unprincipled as it may seem, I am now on the point of transferring my HL fund account over to iii. I wish I knew what the new fee structure of HL would be, but I can't see it being a low cost player somehow.

grey_gym_sock

well, your call, but i'd be inclined to wait until more providers' new fee structures are revealed. hopefully, there will be a clearer picture by the end of this year, though some things could take until the end of next year.

dunstonh

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

well, your call, but i'd be inclined to wait until more providers' new fee structures are revealed. hopefully, there will be a clearer picture by the end of this year, though some things could take until the end of next year.

And if you wait, be wary of companies altering their charges in stages. Don't get caught out by those that bring in interim changes for RDR who will have to increase them again for platform review. It is expected that some companies will try and trickle fees in existing in stages rather than the jump in one go.

afwone

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

well, your call, but i'd be inclined to wait until more providers' new fee structures are revealed. hopefully, there will be a clearer picture by the end of this year, though some things could take until the end of next year.

Yes, that was my inclination as well until recently. I just get the impression that it will take quite a while before we can compare fees like-for-like.

Meantime the platform charges stack up with HL. And with iii currently offering the inducement of up to £100 towards exit fees when transferring from another provider to them...

afwone

dunstonh wrote: »

And if you wait, be wary of companies altering their charges in stages. Don't get caught out by those that bring in interim changes for RDR who will have to increase them again for platform review. It is expected that some companies will try and trickle fees in existing in stages rather than the jump in one go.

Yes, I don't trust any of these companies now.

In their defence I can see that changing business models will create huge uncertainty in projected income streams for them, and it will take a while for each to find their niche in the market. That said, the cavalier way that iii (and HL) have treated their customers in recent months doesn't bode well for the future.

antonio1

gingellr wrote: »

Not that this helps but I have spoken to two different people at ii, one said the dividend will go to your new broker the other said ii will get it but will forwarded to the bank account they have on record with them!

Logically in my mind if shares were registered to the ii nominee on the dividend record date and before the shares went ex dividend, the dividend would be paid to the ii nominee. It's then ii's responsibility to transfer the dividend....but that's just my opinion

Resurrecting this old, useful post, what have been people's experience so far where iii are the nominee on the div record date but the holding was transferred to a new provider before the payment date? I'm wondering who will receive it and whether it'll be in shares or cash? If iii could they permit a dividend reinvestment which they'd then have to transfer or would they default to paying the cash dividend. If they permit it I wonder how a dividend reinvestment could take place given the stock doesn't exist any more in the iii account and so no election for dividend handling exists?

aspiration_2

dunstonh wrote: »

I didnt think it was to be honest. It is only £80 a year.

Lets say you have £50k invested with them and 40k is in managed funds. Those managed funds are now £300 a year cheaper than they were on the old pricing. So, the quarterly charge is £80 a year but you are £300 a year better off giving you a net gain of £220.

If one has only equities, say £10,000=00 worth, with iii (and no funds at all) will it be worth moving away to other providers?

dunstonh

aspiration wrote: »

If one has only equities, say £10,000=00 worth, with iii (and no funds at all) will it be worth moving away to other providers?

if you dont need platform services then consider moving to a broker. If you move to another platform who has yet to implement RDR/platform review changes yet then you are just putting yourself through another change when they do.

Most people who are shares only and small value probably dont need a platform.

samwardill

dunstonh wrote: »

Most people who are shares only and small value probably dont need a platform.

Is this true for ISA too? I chose iii initially (and now Selftrade) because I was attracted by £1.50 / trade for regular shares investment in an ISA. Is there a broker who offers anything similar?