Investing newbie

[Deleted User]

I've mentioned Vanguard invest as a platform to invest in the Vanguard 60:40 life strategy, although I'll be in the game for a few years the equity is my comfort zone for the next 10 years; the HSBC equivalent is there a particular platform others are using?

older_and_no_wiser

Sandra97 said:

I've mentioned Vanguard invest as a platform to invest in the Vanguard 60:40 life strategy, although I'll be in the game for a few years the equity is my comfort zone for the next 10 years; the HSBC equivalent is there a particular platform others are using?

It depends on how much is in your fund currently. For higher amounts, Interactive Investor is a good option as they charge a flat monthly fee (£12.99 for new customers with first 6 months free)  regardless of how much is in the portfolio. This can be significantly cheaper than a percentage based platform like HL or Vanguard. 

You can get all the Vanguard or HSBC funds on Interactive Investor.

older_and_no_wiser

...maybe you're confusing platforms with funds. The platform is just the company who hold your pension/investment. The investment itself is platform neutral and will have the same cost associated with it regardless of which platform you use to hold it on. 

All platforms (HL, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor etc etc) have their own fees on top of the investment fund fees.

Albermarle

older_and_no_wiser said:

Sandra97 said:

I've mentioned Vanguard invest as a platform to invest in the Vanguard 60:40 life strategy, although I'll be in the game for a few years the equity is my comfort zone for the next 10 years; the HSBC equivalent is there a particular platform others are using?

It depends on how much is in your fund currently. For higher amounts, Interactive Investor is a good option as they charge a flat monthly fee (£12.99 for new customers with first 6 months free)  regardless of how much is in the portfolio. This can be significantly cheaper than a percentage based platform like HL or Vanguard. 

You can get all the Vanguard or HSBC funds on Interactive Investor.

Or if the funds are  less than £50K. you would probably be best with AJ Bell ( 0.25% + £1.50 per buy/sell of the fund ) or Fidelity ( 0.35% , no buy/sell fees) .
The platform is less important than the fund, and it is easy to transfer platforms at a later date if needed( sometimes they even offer cashback deals for transfers )

coyrls

Your current platform is Vanguard, unlike the other platforms mentioned above, the Vanguard platform only offers Vanguard investments (funds and ETFs).

JohnWinder

(funds and ETFs)

The industry could get its nomenclature sorted out. ETF’s are funds, which is what the F is for. What do we mean by funds that are not exchange traded funds?

Eco_Miser

JohnWinder said:

(funds and ETFs)

The industry could get its nomenclature sorted out. ETF’s are funds, which is what the F is for. What do we mean by funds that are not exchange traded funds?

Mostly OEICs (Open Ended Investment Companies), sometimes Unit Trusts (predecessors to OEICs), sometimes something entirely different.

Shares in OEICs are bought from/sold to their manager, usually at a price set once a day, after the manager knows how much is being bought/sold. The shares are created/destroyed as needed, unlike ETFs (and Investment Trusts) which have a fixed number in issue.

[Deleted User]

Right now I'm looking to put in 20k with a stocks and shares ISA, I can understand why there seemed confusion between a platform and a fund but I mentioned a fund name earlier because the platform I was looking at only offered that fund. I think I'm tempted to go with the HSBC fund over Vanguard based on past performance, so the plan at least for the next 5 years is annually fund 20k, I don't want to drip feed as how my current assets are set up I will end up with a tax bill otherwise. AJ Bell at first glance seems to be amongst lowest fees with this setup in mind, would others agree or have a different view?

Notepad_Phil

Sandra97 said:

Right now I'm looking to put in 20k with a stocks and shares ISA, I can understand why there seemed confusion between a platform and a fund but I mentioned a fund name earlier because the platform I was looking at only offered that fund. I think I'm tempted to go with the HSBC fund over Vanguard based on past performance, so the plan at least for the next 5 years is annually fund 20k, I don't want to drip feed as how my current assets are set up I will end up with a tax bill otherwise. AJ Bell at first glance seems to be amongst lowest fees with this setup in mind, would others agree or have a different view?

If your're going to put all the money in in one go and continue to do so for several years then personally I'd go with iweb. There is a one-off opening charge and buying or selling does cost £5, but there is no platform charge and so could prove to be cheaper for you in the longer term. As far as I'm aware, they also do offer both funds that you're thinking of.

Both myself and Mrs Notepad use them for our ISAs.

https://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/our-accounts/self-select-stocks-and-shares-isa.html

[Deleted User]

That platform sounds great, so essentially it's £100 to open, I fund it with 20k, buy HSBC fund that costs £5, then as long as I don't do anything for a year I can sit tight until next year's ISA allowance, fund 20k again and buy more HSBC (assuming I still want that fund at that time) and it's £5?