Stocks and Shares ISA - Trading Platform

amillionlittlepieces

Hi all,

Looking to choose a platform to set up a Stocks and Shares ISA. I've whittled my choices down to two options; Charles Stanley Direct or TD Direct Investing.

Does anyone out there have experience in either or both and could offer and pros cons?

Small investing looking at £250-£750 per month.

Thanks

cloud_dog

Re TD Direct, be aware they have been bought by Interactive Investors (III in the older days).

Regarding a platform it might be useful to have a rough understanding what types of investments you are likely to make, i.e. stocks, ETFs, OIECs (UTs), ITs, etc.

The reason I say this is because different platforms have different charging structures and one may be better / worse than another, purely on costs considerations.

For example, my own S&S ISA does not hold OIECs (UTs), and I pay no AMC platform charge but my platform does not cater for OIECs/UTs, which I am fine with.

The OH has an account with TD Direct and we found it good, no particular issues on the customer service front and also where you meet the criteria there wasn't any AMC platform charge.

Radiantsoul

I use both and they both fine.
They are both relatively cheap and their websites are reasonably easy to use, the customer service is also reasonable.
I think both are aimed at long-term investors with reasonable small portfolios who do not trade that often. There are quite a few platforms that cater to this group and the cost and customer service are relatively similar.
As your portfolio gets larger other options may be cheaper.

bowlhead99

I've been with TD a long time, with both ISA and normal unwrapped trading account.

If you have a reasonable amount in there or are doing regular contributions the annual admin fee is waived but you will still pay the percentage-based platform fee on funds (OEICs/UTs) which would be a little lower at Charles Stanley Direct. Most of what I hold there isn't funds but shares or ITs or ETFs so I don't pay much in the way of fees.

As a fund platform they are fine; as a stockbroker they are one of the better ones with some decent features. For example in the unwrapped accounts you can trade extended settlement, hold cash in multiple currencies, use a lot of overseas markets, leave an order to buy or sell at best while the foreign market is closed etc. They check prices across lots of market makers and there are some thinly traded shares i've been able to deal online white other cheap brokers would made you phone. Most IPOs are available. In an ISA you have can't multicurrency cash or extended settlement due to HMRC rules but it's still a decent service.

But if all you need is a platform to buy funds for long term holding they're not particularly special.

It was mentioned above that interactive investor have bought them, but TDDI has the larger customer base and they have not announced how they plan to change services, front end software, pricing etc. You wouldn't expect pricing to go up but the concern could be that service levels could drop. Still, with no transfer out fee, probably not a reason to avoid them.

amillionlittlepieces

cloud_dog wrote: »

Re TD Direct, be aware they have been bought by Interactive Investors (III in the older days).

Regarding a platform it might be useful to have a rough understanding what types of investments you are likely to make, i.e. stocks, ETFs, OIECs (UTs), ITs, etc.

The reason I say this is because different platforms have different charging structures and one may be better / worse than another, purely on costs considerations.

For example, my own S&S ISA does not hold OIECs (UTs), and I pay no AMC platform charge but my platform does not cater for OIECs/UTs, which I am fine with.

The OH has an account with TD Direct and we found it good, no particular issues on the customer service front and also where you meet the criteria there wasn't any AMC platform charge.

Thanks, the reason I came to these two was the low percentage fee due to the small amounts I am starting with. It will mostly be Index Trackers / ETF's I'm looking at.