iWeb = Pathetic

bowlhead99

EdGasketTheSecond said:

Can't trade AUY because it has the same symbol on NYSE. Why can't their system handle AUY.L or the SEDOL number?

It has only been listed for trading on LSE for a couple of weeks and previously the only option would have been to buy it in New York or Toronto (presumably those are still options).  What did they say when you emailed them to ask how to buy the London-priced CDI?   

At the end of the day, it's a cheap-and-cheerful barebones system and you are only using it because they don't charge you any significant ongoing fees to maintain an account and not very much per trade, so best-in-class functionality is presumably not the killer feature for you or the other customers, or you wouldn't have an account with them. Most brokers (including the 'bigger brother' version of this service, Halifax Sharedealing) have a phone number that you can call to place a telephone trade with a broker which is helpful when online quotes are not available or you want to need to query something as part of placing a trade. As you're not looking for a provider that even offers a dealing phone line, only a simple online platform, it's just a case of getting exactly what you paid for.

Can't trade XUKS or XSPS as these are 'complex'. Well other platforms cater for this with a complex instruments form; not rocket science.

This is pretty much a case of 'see above'; get what you pay for. Other platforms offer complex instruments and need to employ staff to design forms and enforce compliance with the paperwork side of them, including building systems to capture the data and to allow people to access such instruments when the paperwork on file continues to be valid. You only want to pay a fiver a trade to negotiate a transaction on the stock exchange and settle it, holding your assets as nominee in safe custody indefinitely, with £nil ongoing to maintain the account. It would take them more than £5 of effort to provide forms and engage with you to get the form complete. So you can see why they don't bother to give you the option.

EdGasketTheSecond

But handling a security having the same ticker on different markets is a BASIC requirement. I have worked on financial software and we built the market identifier into our systems decades ago to distinguish where a common ticker code is being traded. It really is poor show to just say they can't trade that security in the 21st century.

I have other platforms I can use; just pointing out iWebs limitations.

bowlhead99

EdGasketTheSecond said:

I have other platforms I can use; just pointing out iWebs limitations.

Yes - I use those other platforms (Youinvest and x-o both let you buy it, for example), but I'd be curious to the answer to my question about "What did they say when you emailed them to ask how to buy the London-priced CDI?".  The customer service staff won't sit there all day inputting dummy trades, and the UK listing is only a couple of weeks old - perhaps they will only realise they need to do something about it if a customer tells them that when trying to buy the UK CDI they are offered the US ADR. 

EdGasketTheSecond

OK I did explain all this to the operator in Live chat; that it needed a market identifier to distinguish AUY.L from the one traded on NYSE. I explained it has a London listing since 17th October. I explained other platforms trade it no problem. The operator referred back to the team and the reply was that it cannot be traded as the identical symbol is traded on NYSE; pathetic.

wmb194

Hmmm, this doesn't sound right. For instance Bloomsbury PLC is BMY in London and Bristol Myers Squib Inc is BMY in New York. For me they both display correctly in the respective 'UK' and 'Int'l' dealing tabs at the first stage of getting a quote. It could just be that the share you want in London  needs to be configured in iWeb's system somehow.

EdGasketTheSecond

You might be right but they weren't offering to do that when I contacted them.

Alexland

EdGasketTheSecond said:

You might be right but they weren't offering to do that when I contacted them.

When dealing with platforms I have found that it helps to be friendly to the agents and be clear what you are after to make it easy for them to create and route your request. In this case it's just a request for a new investment to be added with no need to confuse them with similar investments. possible software limitations. etc.

Alex

EdGasketTheSecond

Thanks; I made it sound simple at the time; no mention of software to the chat operator; just trade AUY in London; simple huh?

Alexland

EdGasketTheSecond said:

Thanks; I made it sound simple at the time; no mention of software to the chat operator; just trade AUY in London; simple huh?

So did they refuse to send the request to their control team (that's what they seem to be called) for consideration? Maybe try again with a different agent.

Thrugelmir

EdGasketTheSecond said:

You might be right but they weren't offering to do that when I contacted them.

Will be added in due course. Probably in a queue awaiting processing. Not as is there's high demand for the stock at a retail level I'd imagine. Only been 379 trades in total since the stock was first listed on the LSE.