S&S ISA Transfer to iWeb

colsten

I requested the transfer an S&S ISA transfer from Halifax Sharedealing by post (no online option for this request) into an existing iWeb ISA on February 23rd. There were 3 funds to be transferred. This was my first ever S&S ISA transfer, so I had set my expectations for completion of the transfer to some 4-6 weeks, with probably an extra week or two added for Covid delays. Much to my amazement, the transfer was actually complete on March 5 - a mere 8 working days from my request. The transfer may have been helped by the fact that Halifax own iWeb but I am still mightily impressed with the speed they processed it.

cricidmuslibale

Colsten, Thank you very much for letting us all know about some very positive news for once!

fred246

I was wondering about doing the same transfer. Is the transfer "in specie"? They don't make you sell your investment and repurchase?

Alexland

colsten said:

Much to my amazement, the transfer was actually complete on March 5 - a mere 8 working days from my request.

I'm surprised that it even took that long given they are the same company. iWeb is not it's own legal entity just a brand of HSD so it's unlikely the fund managers were informed or had to do any work re-registering the assets. As HSD is a fairly small Ltd company (owned by the bigger Halifax etc) then I doubt they even use different IT systems but I once tried logging into iWeb with my HSD credentials and it didn't work so there is probably some control logic about which accounts are associated with which brand somewhere in their login code.

masonic

Yes, assets are held by HSDL Nominees Limited in both cases, so no re-registration required, which is what takes all the time.

Aylesbury_Duck

I'm several weeks into a transfer of Vanguard contributions into an iWeb ISA.  It is incredibly slow.  I'm not in a rush for any reason, other than to limit the platform fee on what is a substantial sum, but it's just silly that it takes so long.  Last year I think it took nine weeks and I think I'm up to six weeks this time around.

colsten

Alexland said:

colsten said:

Much to my amazement, the transfer was actually complete on March 5 - a mere 8 working days from my request.

I'm surprised that it even took that long given they are the same company. iWeb is not it's own legal entity just a brand of HSD so it's unlikely the fund managers were informed or had to do any work re-registering the assets. As HSD is a fairly small Ltd company (owned by the bigger Halifax etc) then I doubt they even use different IT systems but I once tried logging into iWeb with my HSD credentials and it didn't work so there is probably some control logic about which accounts are associated with which brand somewhere in their login code.

The iWeb system looks like a carbon copy of HSD but they definitely have different logins and CS. And different charges (hence my move).

Alexland

I suspect it's exactly the same system configured to look slightly different and charge differently depending on which web address and login details you use for iWeb, Lloyds and HSD branded customer accounts. Or maybe a few matching front end servers kept in sync with software updates etc with a common back end system for reconciling client assets etc.
Looking at the HSD companies house accounts they cannot have too many staff so their phones probably tell them which brand to say based on the number you dial.
I have seen HSD once reply to an email using their Lloyds employee email address so suspect they forgot to set the email alias. I don't use the HSD brand login anymore just iWeb.

Ibrahim5

I was just looking at doing this transfer. I think you have to open the iweb account first (£100). You then ask for the transfer. Do they charge £25 per fund to transfer? Are all the funds on HDSL available on iweb? If I leave it until April do they charge me £36 fee from HSDL or is that only if I still had the account in May 2022?

Alexland

Ibrahim5 said:

I was just looking at doing this transfer. I think you have to open the iweb account first (£100). You then ask for the transfer. Do they charge £25 per fund to transfer? Are all the funds on HDSL available on iweb? If I leave it until April do they charge me £36 fee from HSDL or is that only if I still had the account in May 2022?

Yes you would open the iWeb account(s) first and this costs £100 total (was £25 in previous years). They require every customer to have a Share Dealing Account (which you don't have to use) and the S&S ISA is optional but I assume this is what you are probably looking to transfer. iWeb make no charge to transfer assets in/out of their accounts. You can check their funds and exact classes that are available via iWeb's website but I believe it should precisely match the HSD options as they are the same company.

If your existing account is with HSD then their website says in relation to the old £12.50 charge "We’ll collect your final payment for the 2020/21 tax year in May 2021 in the usual way if you have an ISA." and in relation to the new charge "We’ll take payment for the new £36 fee from cash within your account in April each year. If your account doesn’t have enough cash to cover the fee, we’ll take the remaining amount by Direct Debit or from your Debit Card. The first fee will be taken in April 2022."

If you want to avoid the £36 charge I wouldn't suggest you leave it until next year to start the transfer as it can sometimes take longer than expected if you are moving assets across.

I can't see why you would need to pay HSD £25 per fund to transfer. Looking at their charges they charge £25 if they need to issue a physical certificate or £25 if they need to forcibly sell your holdings because the new provider cannot accept them but hopefully neither of these actions would be required.

Michael_Nottingham

Think carefully about using iWeb - they are cheap but their processes / admin are very poor. I should have learnt my lesson after a SIP transfer. But I have just been informed by iWeb that I have to sign the transfer forms for the 3rd time - as they have now set my ISA up incorrectly for the second time. In contrast my wifes transfer from Fidelity to II went through in record time - so I would recommend II (never thought I would say that several years ago when II were poor).