Etoro , freetrade, 212, or another?

jamels2

The above appear to be the cheapest platforms , and I can see they offer vanguard etf funds.
I am planning to put 50% in index funds such as vanguard ( globally diversified etc) and then 50% of my own active investments. Then after a year compare the returns on each.
I will start with £1000 and add a few hundred a month after that.
Am I safe using one of the above platforms or should I use a bigger name one despite the platform / trading fees?

eskbanker

jamels2 wrote: »

The above appear to be the cheapest platforms , and I can see they offer vanguard etf funds.
I am planning to put 50% in index funds such as vanguard ( globally diversified etc) and then 50% of my own active investments. Then after a year compare the returns on each.
I will start with £1000 and add a few hundred a month after that.
Am I safe using one of the above platforms or should I use a bigger name one despite the platform / trading fees?

Last time you posted about this plan of yours, I was highlighting the futility of comparing investment returns over a two-year period as it's way too short to draw any meaningful conclusion, so naturally reviewing over an even shorter period is even less likely to be a useful exercise!

Alexland

I prefer my money in more established platforms and those that have basic regard for their customers wellbeing. I am not convinced that those who encouraged clueless retail customers into CFD trading are reformed characters. I don't see why you are not investing directly with the Vanguard Investor platform.

jamels2

Esk I am thinking long term I just want to split it 50-50 to make it easy to compare performance of the safe option Vs active buying/selling. I would keep checking after one two five years etc and either carry on or change my strategy.
Alex, I just want to check that I'm getting the same thing at the end of the day? I'm not worried about being drawn into gambling on oil prices as I can control this myself. Just want to know my funds are safe and I will actually own shares that can be transferred if the platform goes bust?

Alexland

I'd suggest you keep it simple and go with Vanguard Investor at 0.15% and no fund trade fees. They do offer a small number of active and smart beta investments if you really must...

Also consider other tax wrappers such as increasing pension contributions or Lifetime ISA if eligible.

sendu

To answer your question, you're "safe" as long as you invest less than £85k.

But as has been pointed out, comparing performance after 1-5 years doesn't tell you much.

If you just want to play around with stock picking to see how good you are, either do it with a "fake" account that doesn't involve using real money (or just record what you would have bought in a spreadsheet), or limit it to 10% of your total investments.

jamels2

Thanks I think I'll just do it for fun with real money and hope to not lose .. I don't think id take a virtual account seriously enough.
I will be nowhere near 85k for a long time.
If I do it seriously in future I may consider x-o or share centre for a more reputable platform.

coyrls

jamels2 wrote: »

Thanks I think I'll just do it for fun with real money and hope to not lose

Good luck with that strategy! Not my idea of fun.