Are there any reliable investment platforms in the UK?

darkidoe

Peelerfart wrote: »

I can only tell you the method I used before making my first investment. I read MSE,s section on investing.
Then I read it again.

I then, armed with what was reasonable expectation, consulted an ifa. He, and not treading on any toes, told me pretty much everything is already learned.
This convinced me I kind of understood, roughly what I was doing.
Posted on this forum asking for advice. Posters confirmed what I'd learned and thought was correct.

I then reread the advice again, on this site, before choosing my platform.

I've done OK, by which I mean I've made more than I would from the best paying savings accounts, at the time of writing.

And I read more from Personal Finance blogs and Investing blogs.
And come back here and ask vaguely reasonable sounding questions and try not to sound too daft or get beat up too much by banter...

This method is tested on me too! Learnt loads!

AnotherJoe

adredwood wrote: »

Wait, are you saying stocks are safer than funds?

No but you apparently are if you plan to hold shares for a longer term than funds. At least that’s what I read 8nto your statement to hold individual company shares fior the medium to long term.


Or did you mean something else by that and I misunderstood ?

Malchester

Started out with Hargreaves Lansdown - good customer service, excellent research. Then changed Charles Stanley when I got annoyed with HL over their high fees and there policy of doing deals for lower fees with some investors but not others. They were OK. Sold investments to buy a house and have now dipped my toe back in through Vanguard ETFs with view to investing in other funds wit hem over time.

TARDIS

It's easier to choose a platform if you know what you want to invest in first as cost of purchasing different investments e.g. Funds vs shares varies between platforms. There is also a wide range in what is available on each platform and some eg Hargreaves Lansdown, maybe others, have discounts for some funds.

As said above start with funds and avoid individual stocks at least for the time being.

Rather than delay another 2 years you could pick one of the low cost multi asset funds while you read more and plan a more complex portfolio.

BananaRepublic

Shares are high risk and you need to do research. Funds reduce risk, and just need monitoring for sanity’s sake.

AnotherJoe

BananaRepublic wrote: »

Shares are high risk and you need to do research. Funds reduce risk, and just need monitoring for sanity’s sake.

Not all shares. ETFs and ITs are arguably not much more risky than funds at worst, and certainly less risky than individual company shares

Glen_Clark

Good place to start is the best buy page of this website you are on: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/cheap-online-sharedealing?_ga=2.14774326.1017526747.1498207934-1345294851.1496851258
You can ask people but unless they have an account with them all (and who has) they won't know which is best.

adredwood

Thanks folks, I'll continue the research.

A

ValiantSon

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Good place to start is the best buy page of this website you are on: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/cheap-online-sharedealing?_ga=2.14774326.1017526747.1498207934-1345294851.1496851258
You can ask people but unless they have an account with them all (and who has) they won't know which is best.

I'm not much of a fan of the guide on MSE. It makes far too many assumptions and ignores options. The problem with it is that it tries to follow the same format as the guides to current accounts, savings accounts and cash ISAs, but those are very different products. People are better off looking at the broker comparison table on Monevator http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/ and then using this to further research the market by visiting the individual sites to look at thow they are set up and whether they offer the funds wanted.

george4064

http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

My personal experiences:

- Hargreaves Lansdown: good choice for a beginner with slick website, loads of info on their site, top class customer service. However slightly on the expensive side, particularly for unit trusts.

- AJ Bell You Invest: slightly more competitive pricing than HL (however there are cheaper platforms out there), good website and good customer service. Slightly more flexible in its regular investing service than HL (which is why I transferred from HL to AJ Bell).

In summary, I believe there is truth in “You get what you pay for” in terms of website user interface, functionality and customer service when it comes to choosing an investment platform. There is no best platform for everyone because everyone has different requirements and expectations etc..