Comparing stocks & shares 'tracker' ISAs

the_flying_pig

Hello, grateful for any tips regarding a subject I'm almost clueless on.

I want to spend my full year's £20k allowance on an ISA that simply tracks an index, preferably an international one such as the FTSE all-world index. Maybe withdrawing the money in say 5-10 years or something if I move house or whatever.

I want to know which company will charge me the least for this service [all in, i.e. including every last penny they'd be likely to take off me] but can't find any sensible way of comparing alternative offerings. Is there a website or a guide or something that does this?

Thanks v much in advance.

eskbanker

That's effectively (at least) two different questions, as you need to identify a fund (such as a tracker) and then you also need a platform on which to hold it within an S&S ISA wrapper (or in an unwrapped account or SIPP if applicable).

For fund selection, there are generic sites such as https://www.trustnet.com and https://www.morningstar.com among many others, which allow you to compare funds. Most brokers will also offer similar functionality, although usually constrained by which funds they offer.

http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/ allows you to compare the costs of the platforms themselves, as does http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/ and the SnowMan spreadsheet linked at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5583030

All funds have internal charges, i.e. the fee automatically deducted from investing in them (regardless of platform), and then on top of this you'll also pay a variable platform fee depending on who you go with.

In terms of an initial briefing, the articles on this site (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/investments) are flawed but not entirely worthless in that they're written in easily understood language, but sites such as https://www.monevator.com and https://www.fool.co.uk offer more in-depth coverage.

Finally, the usual caveat for anyone considering leaping into investments - make sure you have enough capital-protected savings first!

the_flying_pig

thanks, that to me at least seems like a really comprehensive reply.

my layman's view: given that at least some parts of government are looking to get 'the man in the street' to save & invest more, the pricing of these products seems almost laughably opaque for the mass market. in the current climate i wouldn't be too surprised to see further government intervention at some point further down the line.