Share dealing platforms - totally confused

Cathcoo

I'm having a nightmare trying to pick a good, reasonably cheap trading platform from all the clashing info and reviews out there.
I'd just settled on Hargreaves Landsdown because of their wide range of funds, recommended mobile app and customer service when I took a peek at Trustpilot, where hundreds of unhappy HL customers are queuing up to say how dreadful Hargreaves is for customer service and online trading. AJ Bell apparently isn't much better.
I just want a platform with a broad investment universe, a good app, no flat fee and helpful customer service which doesn't cost the Earth. Any ideas?

enthusiasticsaver

I used Cavendish when I started which uses Fidelity platform. It is a bit clunky but as I was investing monthly by direct debit that didn't matter much to me. That and Charles Stanley were the cheapest at the time. I use Halifax share dealing now with flat fee of 12.50 per annum on our ISAs and £22.50 on my SIPP. Flat fee works better on larger portfolios.

Try comparemyplatform. Hargreaves Lansdowne are expensive which is why I haven't used them. AJ Bell manage my SIPP via HSDL but as I have to make my contributions and withdrawals by post and not on regular basis I have found them ok.

ColdIron

Cathcoo wrote: »

I just want a platform with a broad investment universe, a good app, no flat fee and helpful customer service which doesn't cost the Earth. Any ideas?

HL ticks the boxes on the first four but the fifth will depend on the sums involved and your trading frequency. The GIA has no annual fee but the ISA (which you should be looking at) applies the 0.45% fee although it is capped at £45. They have a chunky £11.95 transaction charge per trade which could be significant if you trade frequently. There is a reduced transaction charge of £1.50 with the monthly savings plan IF you don't mind when you buy in (but not sell) and IF the shares are available in the more limited selection offered. None of this really matters on a 6 figure sum, might be significant on a 5 figure one and likely very expensive on a four figure one (and you probably shouldn't be involved in company shares at this level anyway)

There are plenty of other choices with similar or reduced fees but price should not be your only metric. If you search these boards you will that some providers leave a lot to be desired in terms of timeliness and the need to deal with customer services

As I say a lot will depend on the sums involved and your own trading approach, what would be good for one person could be a poor choice for someone else. You might have a look at the links below

This is a useful summary
http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

You could plug your numbers into these to get an idea and perform a few 'what ifs'
http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5583030
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KqWqWRSNI23Jzs7VqzO5tyYgifOZd0Lr/view

PS I wouldn't put much store in Trustpilot reviews. DYOR and come to an informed conclusion

Linton

I think you should treat trustpilot with extreme caution.

I currently use AJ Bell, II,and Bestinvest and have used Fidelity in the past. There have been no significant problems with any of them. I believe that any of the mainstream platforms should be more than adequate for your needs, assuming you are a normal SIPP investor.

Looking at the HL comments...
HL have about a million customers. Getting about 200 comments, some favourable, over a period of 7 years doesnt seem a strong indicator of any serious problems. Quite a few of the ones I read were about transfers - transfers appear to have sometimes been difficult for all providers.

If by trading you mean continuously buying and selling shares, possibly from across the world, on a daily or more frequent basis then perhaps you may be better advised to use a specialist platform. For normal long term investor usage any of the platforms I have seen are fine.

pip895

Ignore Trustpilot - only the disgruntled leave reviews!

Superscrooge

Hargreaves Lansdown are the most popular fund platform by a long way. So it's almost inevitable they will attract the most reviews on trustpilot.

HL are not the cheapest. But they have a good reputation for customer service which makes them a good choice for novice investors.

The difference in cost between platforms is tiny for small portfolios. The extra cost only becomes significant with larger portfolios.

ColdIron

Superscrooge wrote: »

The difference in cost between platforms is tiny for small portfolios. The extra cost only becomes significant with larger portfolios.

I agree this may be true for funds but not for shares where the opposite is usually the case. The OP is looking to trade shares. With no or low capped annual charges, the fixed transaction costs could be ruinous on a very small portfolio but pretty much insignificant on a large one

Alexland

ColdIron wrote: »

I agree this may be true for funds but not for shares where the opposite is usually the case. The OP is looking to trade shares. With no or low capped annual charges, the fixed transaction costs could be ruinous on a very small portfolio but pretty much insignificant on a large one

Also every penny you save at the start on a small account balance will accumulate value over your investment lifetime. As such it's still worth keeping an eye on costs in the early days.

Alex.

unger

I just started using cavendish (fidelity). To be honest, once you've created your account initially, you can pretty much forget it's via cavendish. You just go straight to the fidelity site and log in there. Lower charges going through cavendish than going through fidelity directly.
I really like it so far. Clear website that shows what money you've got where and how it's doing. The investment finder tool they've got isn't bad, but doesn't work well on mobile/tablet for some reason (you can't filter). They haven't had a couple of unit funds that I was looking for, but I found others that were similar enough that I was happy.

ValiantSon

Superscrooge wrote: »

Hargreaves Lansdown are the most popular fund platform by a long way. So it's almost inevitable they will attract the most reviews on trustpilot.

HL are not the cheapest. But they have a good reputation for customer service which makes them a good choice for novice investors.

The difference in cost between platforms is tiny for small portfolios. The extra cost only becomes significant with larger portfolios.

ColdIron wrote: »

I agree this may be true for funds but not for shares where the opposite is usually the case. The OP is looking to trade shares. With no or low capped annual charges, the fixed transaction costs could be ruinous on a very small portfolio but pretty much insignificant on a large one

Are we absolutely sure that the OP is looking to trade individual shares? The thread title refers to shares, but then one of the positives they identify with HL is the large range of funds available.

Tom99

SnowMan's spreadsheet will help re which is the cheapest:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5583030