stocks ISA with X-O

xyz123

hi

looking to open up a new ISA account for investing in shares / funds.

currently have some funds in a halifax ISA, but am looking to move away from them due to their management fees.

I was looking at x-0 and it looks quite attractive with flat trade fee and no account management fees.

on their fees page i saw they charge a £50 fee for ISA account closure.

Does anyone know if i have to close an account if not used for a certain amount of time or is there a minimum balance. what i am thinking is if in case i move away from x-0 then can i leave account with zero balance rather than pay £50 closure fee.

any other tips/ points to look out / comments on X-O also welcome. ta

westy22

I use X-O for a shares ISA and they are fine. Basic facilities and not much research available on their site but the main functions you need are all there and work well. Divis are credited on time and they seem to get quotes from several market makers to get investors a competitive price when selling or buying.

No funds available though - only shares, ETFs, ITs etc.

afwone

I have been happy with X-O over the few months since I transferred over to them from iii (and I moved to iii in part from Halifax who really are exorbitant).

The most attractive thing about X-O is the low cost. Good for British shares and bonds though as mentioned they do not offer much else. The one thing I regret is that they don't seem to handle IPOs for retail bonds (though they did participate in the recent Esure and Directline share launches).

I haven't thought too much about leaving X-O, but I should think the suggestion of leaving the account running with a balance of £0 would be the way to go, rather than paying the exit fee. I am not sure if their systems would allow that, but no maintenance fees to worry about.

Mickygg

If leaving zero balance doesn't do the trick, just leave one share in it!

Reaper

Somebody who asked in the past reported they were told you have to leave enough in your account in shares or cash to cover the eventual closure fee. Not sure how they monitor or enforce that but you could always ask them to make sure if it makes a difference to you.

Aletank

I use www.tradersown.co.uk

Have a look at this thread focusing on services like X-0 & Traders Own etc
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2945102