iWeb platform functionality

DoublePolaroid

Hi all.

All of my non pension investments are in S&S ISA’s, the majority with Vanguard and a smaller amount with HL. I’ll be coming into a 6-figure sum of cash in the coming months and will need to open a GIA for it, with all the attendant considerations for dividend tax and CGT that comes with that. I plan on doing some bed & ISA as well as resetting the buy-in price of my funds annually to keep on top of CGT issues. 

The question is pretty simple: can iWeb users confirm that the website makes it easy to keep track of dividend payments (including those within acc funds) and historical transactions so I can easily stay on top of my tax affairs? I realise this may be a silly question but whenever the subject of this platform arises the basic nature of the website always comes up. I’m not bothered as long as it easily lets me do what I need to do. 

TIA. 

EdSwippet

DoublePolaroid said:

The question is pretty simple: can iWeb users confirm that the website makes it easy to keep track of dividend payments (including those within acc funds) and historical transactions so I can easily stay on top of my tax affairs?

Broadly, yes. I have a GIA with iWeb, and it supplies everything I need for tax. For dividends, an annual 'consolidated tax certificate', and for capital gains, it records average cost-per-share for each pool of funds I hold.

Personally, I'd suggest holding dist rather than acc funds in a GIA, for a generally simpler life. iWeb's trading costs for reinvesting dividends are modest, and I find dist funds much easier to handle for both annual income tax and capital gains tax. I have no experience of acc funds in an iWeb GIA; paying tax on notional income with real money just seems wrong to me.

As for the site's "basic" nature, to be honest I see that as a plus point. It is unflashy, but for a passive buy-and-hold investor it offers everything needed. Its navigation is clean and clear enough, iWeb supply all the tax information you need, and it doesn't feature any dodgy recommended funds lists or other specious "research" (ahem, HL!). A hyperactive day trader probably wouldn't like it, but I'm perfectly happy with it.

DoublePolaroid

Exactly the answer I was looking for Ed, thank you. 

tebbins

I only use it for an ISA to hold non-dividend paying stocks. It can be a bit clunky at first when you're getting used to it but again, the clean no frills functionality is a real bonus. I also use Vanguard and HL and find HL very difficult for this sort of admin. iWeb feels like you're using something from the 90s but it just works.

EdSwippet

IanManc said:
When an equalisation payment has been made Iweb doesn't adjust the initial capital cost or average cost per share shown on an account...

Do (any) other platforms handle this correctly, or do they all have this small blind spot? My experience extends only to iWeb for GIAs.

jimjames

iWeb is great for showing dividend payments received and can report back over various different time periods. I'm not sure how you'd do a report of income not received but reinvested. I suspect you'd need to do that per fund which would be outside the iWeb capability.