Interactive Investor

WatsonNimrod

Apologies in advance about yet another thread about a broker, but I am very interested to gain any feedback positive or negative about Interactive Investors. Ive read most of the threads around, but as I have been with my current provider for 20+ years its hard to move lock stock (even though I know I have to to cut charges).

I am one of the many HL long standing customers who will inevitably be screwed when the charging structure is changed, I have moved some assets already but after doing a fair amount of research on here and other outlets I am not convinced my remaining assets should go to the same provider, and I see it as pointless to wait any longer to see what HL are doing.

Ive read in depth about the bad feeling caused by the fee rise has that damage been repaired and in hindsight to what others have done does it seem an over reaction at the time?

Mainly though I am interested in the reliability of their trading platforms, customer support and user friendliness of their systems.

Ive searched through the threads but there hasn't been a great deal since the fee rises where feelings were understandably high, I might have missed something so apologies if someone has to point me in the right direction.

MTIA

[Deleted User]

Hi,

haven't read the details yet, but is this going to be a charge on new deals, or will it affect funds already held in Vantage?

Linton

I have been with iii for four years regarding the furore over the introduction of the £80/year charge as a gross over-reaction, and would happily recommend them. There were initially some times when the arrangements for automatic paying-out of dividends were a little hit and miss but these problems were resolved and now I am finding the platform reliable with all the functionality I need. On the very few times I have needed it the support has been good.

IronWolf

I was with iii for a few years but moved a year ago.

I think they are a decent broker, what I liked is that you can hold both funds and individual shares with them, including international ones. In terms of customer service, they arent amazing, you can send secure messages which they take a while to respond to, and my new ISA provider has a live chat feature which is obviously much better.

Their fees aren't bad, especially if you trade quite a few times a year as it counts as credits for commission.

The only reason I moved was that I found a broker with lower fees and access to a wider range of international markets, I was quite content with iii otherwise.

foofi22

I've been with II for several years and think the reaction to the introduction of the £80 fee was somewhat over the top. Especially when a change was forced on them and most (if not all) competitors had done little to adapt to these regulatory changes (as far as I know!)

I'm happy to recommend them based on my experience. I don't do anything particularly complex, I hold several funds which I pay into monthly but haven't had any problems.

In terms of 'user friendliness' of the platform, I would say it is 'OK', I don't have experience of other platforms so I can't say much more than that. I have always wondered why platforms don't seem to allow a prospective customer to 'play' around with an example portfolio using their platform, but then maybe they do and I have just missed it!

I am considering moving away, only because I want to find out if I can do the same/similar elsewhere cheaper, not because of an error etc. on their part.

Also - I think it's worth mentioning for regular investments, II allow purchases as low as £20 which may be useful to some, as normally I think the minimum tends to be £50

racing_blue

My wife and I each have ISAs and investment accounts with iii, so 4 accounts in total.

It is possible to link all these accounts (we have done so) which means we pay only £20 per quarter in total. The first 2 trades per quarter are free, which suits our long term buy and hold approach well.

Platform reliable, communication good. Not patronising and they won't send you all sorts of guff in the post like some rivals.

cepheus

Has anyone any experience of OEIC deals by telephone at interactive investor? Will they accept a telephone deal say as late as 10am for a 12am pricing like Hargreaves Lansdowne sometimes do (if pestered)

JohnRo

foofi22 wrote: »

I've been with II for several years and think the reaction to the introduction of the £80 fee was somewhat over the top. Especially when a change was forced on them and most (if not all) competitors had done little to adapt to these regulatory changes (as far as I know!)

Charles Stanley Direct were offering completely clean fund dealing at that point. I suspect their profile then was a lot lower than it is now though.

jimjames

Does anyone know if the iii pricing is now the final RDR version or if there is likely to be a change before April?

At the moment their model looks to be on top for me for my historic ISA portfolio and may use another for current investments.

dtaylor84

I have just received a 'Secure Message' from Interactive Investor stating:

In response to press speculation and customer enquiries following the introduction of new charges by some other investment platforms, we are pleased to confirm Interactive Investor will not be increasing our current pricing, introduced in 2012, and we have no plans to introduce any additional fees.

As our pricing is already transparent, fair and straightforward, it is fully compliant with the forthcoming regulatory changes. You can continue to invest for a straightforward, fixed fee - regardless of investment choice. You can still hold both an Investment account, as well as an ISA account, for the same £20 quarterly fee, with its £20 quarterly commission credit. Our pricing also ensures you will always know exactly how much you will pay in charges.

If you have additional holdings elsewhere you may want to consider transferring them to us. This straightforward process takes just a 15 minute investment of your time, and we will look after the rest of the process for you. All the transfer forms you need can be found within the Account Admin section. You will also get £120 in trading credit (terms apply).

Yours sincerely

Adam Seale
CEO
Interactive Investor Trading Ltd

Terms and conditions of transfer offer
[...]

koru

I got the same message. That's amazing news! The last few days they have widely been labelled as having fees so low, compared with other platforms, that there must be a price hike coming. They must be enjoying going from pariah in 2012 to "too good to be true" in January 2014.

For almost anyone with a big portfolio who doesn't trade much, they are going to be out on their own in terms of cost comparison.