S&S ISA - Platform Fees

Malibusmash

I have a S&S ISA worth £122k currently in Vanguard LS80 (I've just transferred other years in from a Cash ISA).

Because of the FSCS £85k limit on VG, I'm now looking to transfer £60k out to another S&S ISA and am hoping for some of your opinions on which might be the best platform to go with according to my circumstances.

As I am very much a 'Buy-and-Hold investor', I am conscious of fees and am wondering if a flat £ fee would be better than a % fee - what are your thoughts on this based on the amount of £60k?

I love VG and their LS series (both site and funds so easy to understand and low fees); if I were to invest in another VG fund but through another platform (eg. IWeb), would I be covered for another £85k by the FSCS on IWeb (even though I'm still investing in VG via IWeb)?

I'm 52 years old and won't be touching my S&S ISA until my late 60's.

chockydavid1983

I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago when I went over £85k with iWeb so I opened a new account with VG.
Since they're 2 different platforms, you get £85k protection with each if the issue was with the platform.
If the issue was to do with VG, you'd only be covered for £85k overall still.

george4064

To clarify, do you currently hold Vanguard funds on the Vanguard platform or on a 3rd party platform (such as HL, Cavendish Online or AJ Bell You Invest etc..)?

coyrls

[FONT=&quot]How many platforms do you think you will end up with over the next 10 years? The £85K "protection" is not as relevant as it would be for savings accounts. It’s only really relevant in cases of fraud by a platform and so long as you stick with mainstream platforms, the risk is minimal. In case of platform failure the £85K protection is likely to cover any payment due to the receiver for amounts far in excess of £85K.[/FONT]

Albermarle

The £85K "protection" is not as relevant as it would be for savings accounts.

Yes there are clearly many experienced contributors to this forum who have amounts way above £85K on one platform without any anxiety .
Banks are much more vulnerable as they are lending money and if the debts start going bad they have big issues.
A platform is just a middleman , living off commission in good and bad times .
I think also if things got so bad that Vanguard went bust, then by that time we would be behind the barricades protecting our last tin of beans and not worrying about ISA;s

Malibusmash

george4064 wrote: »

To clarify, do you currently hold Vanguard funds on the Vanguard platform or on a 3rd party platform (such as HL, Cavendish Online or AJ Bell You Invest etc..)?

Yes all funds held with Vanguard direct. I did have a cash ISA paying 1.5% but realised I was actually losing money (inflation), so had it all transferred over.

Malibusmash

coyrls / Albermarke - this is why I just LOVE these forums! You have made me see things from a different point of view - thank you. I will be leaving the lot where it is and take my chances.

I'm also considering setting up a small SIPP (VG don't offer one yet), so would still be very interested in all your views on fees/other platforms.

george4064

Malibusmash wrote: »

coyrls / Albermarke - this is why I just LOVE these forums! You have made me see things from a different point of view - thank you. I will be leaving the lot where it is and take my chances.

I'm also considering setting up a small SIPP (VG don't offer one yet), so would still be very interested in all your views on fees/other platforms.

Firstly, a good place to do some research is here: https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

From a personal point of view over my investing experience I have used both HL and AJ Bell You Invest, I firstly went with HL and once I was more experience I transferred my ISA in full to AJ Bell You Invest.

I would happily recommend AJ Bell You Invest to anyone, I now have an ISA and a SIPP with them and very happy indeed. Ofcourse you can go cheaper than them but its definitely true that you get what you pay for in terms of functionality, reliability, user friendly website and customer service (however this last one is not so important to me as I rarely need to speak to them as I don't get many issues at all! but on the rare occasion I have spoken to them they answer quickly, knowledgeable and sort things out quickly.

Clive_Woody

If you like VLS then by all account the HSBC Global Strategy fund is not that dissimilar, if you fancy stick some of your funds in a different place.

The link below has some interesting discussion around these two funds.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6067313/hsbc-global-strategy-vs-vanguard-lifestrategy

Albermarle

I'm also considering setting up a small SIPP (VG don't offer one yet), so would still be very interested in all your views on fees/other platforms.

It seems clear that VG will not be offering a SIPP but something more like a Personal Pension where you can only invest in their funds. The whole idea of a SIPP is to get access to a very wide range of investment choice ( although you are not obliged to take advantage of this wide choice).
If you mean by a 'small SIPP' something less than £100K and simple , then a % charging based platform is better.
The best known are : HL, Aj Bell & Fidelity . Here is another comparison table:
http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/

Malibusmash

Albermarle wrote: »

It seems clear that VG will not be offering a SIPP but something more like a Personal Pension where you can only invest in their funds. The whole idea of a SIPP is to get access to a very wide range of investment choice ( although you are not obliged to take advantage of this wide choice).
If you mean by a 'small SIPP' something less than £100K and simple , then a % charging based platform is better.
The best known are : HL, Aj Bell & Fidelity . Here is another comparison table:
http://www.comparefundplatforms.com/

Thanks! Although it will be smaller than that and I won't be putting in a large sum, rather drip-feeding monthly amounts of £200, still to buy and hold. (I already contribute £600 per month to my bog standard RL Workplace Pension). In this case, is a % based fee still most appropriate?