Platform for Stock and Share ISA Newbie

hellok

Hi all, 

Looking to open my Stock & Share ISA in April and I have been doing some researches. 
I am looking to buy one of those ISA selections, then regularly put a lump sum (around £400/m) into the pot; while I might buy other funds/ETF, on a less regular basis. 

Trying to avoid overpaying, would that be wiser to choose a platform with a fixed annual fee, instead of one charing a % of the total sum I have invested? 

Many thanks !

Albermarle

There are plenty of platform comparison such as this one Compare the UK's cheapest online brokers - Monevator
Just remember though that the fees are much less important than picking the right investments, especially if the difference is fees is only small. 

Alexland

Low percentage platform fees into a single diversified fund without incurring trade fees (eg Vanguard Investor) is usually best when starting from zero but once the account gets large enough, usually over £40k if making monthly contributions into a S&S ISA, then consider transferring to a fixed, capped or zero ongoing fee platform and paying for trades (eg iWeb).

Obviously only invest money that won't be needed for at least 5 years preferably much longer and if this is for retirement consider if a Pension or S&S Lifetime ISA would be more efficient depending on your age and tax position.

deft

You could look at Fidelity, it's a decent platform and I found it very easy to use when I started investing. There's a 0.35% service fee, there are no fees for funds dealing and £10 dealing fee for ETFs, shares, and investment trusts (only £1.50 if it's monthly investing). 
Just check and make sure it offers the funds and ETFs etc. you are looking to invest in. 

Alexland

Yeah Fidelity are also good if you want to pay more for broader market choice. First determine what asset allocation you want to invest in then pick the cheapest good platform/fund combo for your account valuation and contribution pattern. While the account is small you want to be on percentage charges.

hellok

Alexland said:

Low percentage platform fees into a single diversified fund without incurring trade fees (eg Vanguard Investor) is usually best when starting from zero but once the account gets large enough, usually over £40k if making monthly contributions into a S&S ISA, then consider transferring to a fixed, capped or zero ongoing fee platform and paying for trades (eg iWeb).

Obviously only invest money that won't be needed for at least 5 years preferably much longer and if this is for retirement consider if a Pension or S&S Lifetime ISA would be more efficient depending on your age and tax position.

Thanks so much - I have been considering Vanguard VS Fidelity over the weekend, as I’m interested in both of their pre-picked allocations. 

To be fair Fidelity does offer a wider range of choice but I don’t think I will put over £5k in investment. Hence I’m really trying to keep the annual or service fees the minimum.

Alexland

The service from both of them is good. We have used Vanguard Investor at 0.15% several times for small accounts (but always left when they get big enough) and I have been a customer of Fidelity continuously for a couple of decades (we are now benefiting from their capped £45 pa for holding ETFs/ITs in our SIPPs and free child accounts). So it really comes down to the investments.

• If you are happy with the Vanguard multi asset fund series (LifeStrategy) or tracker funds (eg FTSE Global All Cap) then they are generally under 0.25% so your total cost would be under 0.40%.

• You would pay more with Fidelity (as the platform fee alone is 0.35% with a minimum of £45 if you don't have a regular investment plan) but if you prefer something from their wider investment choice it might be something you choose.

deft

The Fidelity fee is capped at £45, it's not a minimum fee. So with an investment of less than £5K and a monthly investing plan you'd pay much less than £45. 

The portion of the fee you pay on exchange-traded investments (shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), etc.) within an ISA or SIPP is capped at £45.

Value of investments                                Service fee (annual amount or %)

Less than £7,500                                      0.35% if you have a regular savings plan or £45 if you don't

fidelity.co.uk/services/charges-fees/fees-more-detail/#tab-link

hellok

deft said:

The Fidelity fee is capped at £45, it's not a minimum fee. So with an investment of less than £5K and a monthly investing plan you'd pay much less than £45. 

The portion of the fee you pay on exchange-traded investments (shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), etc.) within an ISA or SIPP is capped at £45.

Value of investments                                Service fee (annual amount or %)

Less than £7,500                                      0.35% if you have a regular savings plan or £45 if you don't

fidelity.co.uk/services/charges-fees/fees-more-detail/#tab-link

Thank you for checking for me. I will be honest but it is really a tough job to understand and decide what you are gonna invest !

deft

You're welcome. I use it too - I have Fidelity with a regular investment plan, but I pay a discounted fee of 0.25% until end of this year. I will look to transfer the investments to iweb or similar, when it grows to a level where fixed fees make more sense. 

Vanguard makes sense if you mostly care about their funds... I wanted to have a bit more choice personally. 

MDMD

deft said:

The Fidelity fee is capped at £45, it's not a minimum fee. So with an investment of less than £5K and a monthly investing plan you'd pay much less than £45. 

The portion of the fee you pay on exchange-traded investments (shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), etc.) within an ISA or SIPP is capped at £45.

Value of investments                                Service fee (annual amount or %)

Less than £7,500                                      0.35% if you have a regular savings plan or £45 if you don't

fidelity.co.uk/services/charges-fees/fees-more-detail/#tab-link

To be clear the Fidlety fee is only capped at £45 if you have Exchange Traded Items (ETFs, Investment Trusts, shares)

if you have Funds the fee is unlimited at 0.35%.