Are there any reliable investment platforms in the UK?

adredwood

Hi folks - I'm a first-time investor looking for a platform to buy shares in the UK. My criteria are as follows:

- UK company, or UK based branch, to avoid bureaucracy/charges of investing abroad
- access to buying stocks in the UK, preferably also the US, in relatively small amounts (£1000-£5000 per trade)
- more passive than active, certainly no day trading
- buying ethical stocks, so preferably a place that has a filter for this (not essential)

Apologies if I've missed some important info - newbie, after all (:

Any help greatly appreciated!

Andy

jamei305

Not found any since you last asked this question here, nearly two years ago? How about the suggestions given then, did you try any of them? You certainly didn't respond to the thread you started.

Or perhaps you are a spam bot?

TBC15

jamei305 wrote: »

Not found any since you last asked this question here, nearly two years ago? How about the suggestions given then, did you try any of them? You certainly didn't respond to the thread you started.

Or perhaps you are a spam bot?

Nice spot:T

Chap could have been in a coma who knows, best not to jump to conclusions.:rotfl:

jimjames

In case you've forgotten or struggled to find your previous post here it is

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5462629

Have you not done anything about investing since then?

adredwood

Easy folks, just trying to get some advice.

Apologies for the double posting - I'd forgotten I posted here before, must have left 'notify me of replies' unchecked, so I assumed I didn't get any. I decided back then I didn't have the money to invest, so I'm still in the same position.

While I appreciate the replies from the previous post, there seems to be a general undertone of scorn for a newbie who's simply asking for advice. Why would this be a bad thing? I've researched many things on the internet, and I can tell you that searching for a broker is among the most fraught with problems. The brokers I've seen from the UK all seem to have terrible reviews in one corner of the internet or another, so I thought I'd ask on a forum where folks know more than I do.

So, for those who have experience with some of the major brokers online, is there one you would recommmend over others? Just trying to crowdsource opinions as part of a program of finding my feet in this world.

Thanks again,

A

cloud_dog

adredwood wrote: »

The brokers I've seen from the UK all seem to have terrible reviews in one corner of the internet or another, so I thought I'd ask on a forum where folks know more than I do.

Ok so, which ones have you excluded so far?

Plus

I think what got other posters wound up was your first post which mentioned a risky trading platform. We get a lot of spammers and shills who are promoting some service or other, and yours looked like more of the same.

To answer your original question, Monevator has a broker comparison service:
http://monevator.com/two-ways-to-help-you-find-the-best-online-broker-or-investment-platform/
and the rest of the site is good reading for the newbie too. Depending on your objectives, you might find it better to invest in funds than individual shares.

adredwood

- interactive investor apparently had a catastrophic website failure recently, which doesn't sound the most reliable
- Degiro seem too good to be true, and have some pretty bad reviews
- Hargreaves Lansdown may be an option, though a little more expensive than most
- IG don't do investment funds, which would be a plus if possible

Are there other majors I should be considering?

A

adredwood

Thanks Mr Plus, that's helpful.

Honestly hadn't registered I'd name-dropped someone in the original post - it's tricky to write that sort of thing without mentioning at least someone (:

GreenSnake

OP: If you're new to investing, why are you planning to buy individual stocks?

adredwood

Planning to split what I invest, the majority in a more secure environment like funds, a smaller portion in stocks to hold for medium-long term. Does this make sense?